Part 4 (1/2)

According to the contract made by the partners, the hurriedly built first machine was to be sent to the Patent Office with an application in the naer and Phelps An application was made between the end of Septeer refers to it briefly in the application for, ”My present invention is of improvements on a machine heretofore invented by ”[55]

[Illustration: Figure 28--SINGER'S PATENT MODEL, 1851; a co the serial number 22 (Ser had bought Phelps' interest in the company

Whether the first application was later abandoned by Singer or whether it was rejected is not known,[56] but a patent on the first application was never issued The final disposition of this first machine has reure 29--SINGER'S PERPENDICULAR ACTION sewingfrom _Illustrated News_, June 25, 1853, which states: ”The sewing machine has, within the last two years acquired a wide celebrity, and established its character as one of theinstruet to call attention to the fact that this instrument is peculiarly calculated for female operatives They should never allow its use to be monopolized by men” (Smithsonian photo 48091-D)]

A few machines were manufactured in late 1850 and early 1851, and these attracted considerable attention; orders began to be received in advance of production The pending patent application did not delay the ust 12, 1851, when the patent was granted The patent ure 28[58]

It ht eye-pointed needle and a reciprocating shuttle The patent claims, as quoted fro to the shuttle an additional forward motion after it has been stopped to close the loop, as described, for the purpose of drawing the stitch tight, when such additional iven at and in combination with the feed motion of the cloth in the reverse direction, and the final upward motion of the needle, as described, so that the two threads shall be drawn tight at the sa the doard motion of the needle by the combination of a friction-pad to prevent the slack above the cloth, with the eye on the needle-carrier for drawing back the thread, for the purposes and in thethe bobbin from which the needle is supplied with thread on an adjustable arm attached to the frame, substantially as described, when this is coh an eye or guide attached to andwith the needle-carrier, as described, whereby any desired length of thread can be given for the fore ofdescribed in the Singer patent was ”by the friction surface of a wheel, whose periphery is forhtly serrated, against which the cloth is pressed by a spring plate or pad” Although claimed by the inventor in the handwritten specifications, it was not allowed as original

The29) were duplicates of the patent model Theserather than for faure 30--I M SINGER & CO NEW YORK SHOWROOM of the mid-1850s, as illustrated in _Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper_, August 29, 1857; onlymachines are shown in this illustration (Sure 31--HUNT AND WEBSTER'S SEWING-MACHINE MANUFACTORY exhibition and salesroom in Boston, as illustrated in _Ballou's Pictorial_, July 5, 1856; onlymachines are shown

(S the roups and even at circuses; this personal association then encouraged him to improve its reliability and convenience He developed a wooden packing case which doubled as a stand for the machine and a treadle to allow it to be operated by foot Because of the dier put the pivot of the treadle toward its center, about where the instep of the foot would rest This produced the heel-and-toe action treadle, a fa machine until its replaceuide and arrange the cloth that was being stitched Singer also added a flywheel to smooth out the treadle action and later an iron stand with a treadle wide enough for both feet The treadle had been in use for two years before a rival pointed out that it rin it was then too late for patent laws did not per a device that had been in public use

A new obstacle appeared in the Singer coeht, enlisting the legal aid of Edward Clark, a lawyer and financier

Howe's action was opposed on the basis of Hunt's machine of 1834, which they stated had anticipated Howe's invention

While they were resisting, Howe sued three firerfirms and the purchasers to provide an account of the profits accrued frothethe pendency of the suit[59] As a result of this action, a nuer's rivals purchased licenses from Howe and advertised that anyone could sell their reat coer and Clark[60] decided it was best to seek a settlement with Howe On July 1, 1854, they paid hiure 32--SINGER'S NEW FAMILY SEWING MACHINE, illustration fro about 1858 or 1859 which states: ”A few months since, we ca machine for family purposes hter and ant form; a machine decorated in the best style of art, so as to make a beautiful ornament in the parlor or boudoir; aTo supply this public want, we have just produced, and are now prepared to receive orders for, 'Singer's new Fa Machine'” (Smithsonian photo 48091-H)]

In spite of this defeat, the Singer co hts to the Morey and Johnsonor curved arh this point had not been claimed in the 1849 patent, the established principle of patent law allowed that a novel device introduced and used in a patentedthe life of the patent Upon becoer applied for a reissue which covered this type of yielding pressure It was granted on June 27, 1854 The Singer coiven the pressure bar also

[Illustration: Figure 33--SINGER FAMILY MACHINE, 1858, head only

(S had begun to overco -machine showrooms when the co 30) These were rich with carved walnut furniture, gilded ornaments, and carpeted floors, places in which Victorian women were not asha woer beca industry that had ure 34--GROVER AND BAKER'S PATENT MODEL, 1851

(Sht, faer cos 32 and 33) Comparatively few of these ht The men in the shop dubbed the machine ”The Grasshopper,” but it was officially called the new Fa Machine or the Faer company brochures of the 1920s referred to it as the Turtleback Machine

Since the cost of sewing e faested the adoption of the hire-purchase plan

Into the A

Singer and Clark continued to be partners until 1863 when a corporation was forer decided to withdraw from active work He received 40 percent of the stock and retired to Paris and later to England, where he died in 1875

[Illustration: Figure 35--THIS GROVER AND BAKER CABINET-STYLE SEWING MACHINE of 1856 bears the serial number 5675 and the patent dates February 11, 1851, June 22, 1852, February 22, 1853, and May 27, 1856

(Smithsonian photo 45572-F)]

By theation over rival patent rights seemed destined to ruin the economics of the new industry