Name/Title
Sewing Machine, Willcox & Gibbs NoiselessContext
In the southeast bedroom of the Neill-Cochran House Museum, known as the Cochran Girl’s Bedroom, sits a Willcox & Gibbs Noiseless Automatic Sewing Machine originally purchased in 1917.
The machine is powered by a foot pedal known as a treadle, and features an extendable wooden table top, a wrought iron stand, and rubber ball brake in the guard to prevent the wheel from turning the wrong way.
Along with the sewing machine, our collection includes a receipt, a certificate of warranty (10 years), an instruction manual, and a packet of Willcox & Gibbs No. 2 needles. The machine was purchased for $5.00 from the Famous-Barr Co. Department Store in St. Louis, MO, on September 19th, 1917.
James Edward Allen Gibbs and James Willcox established their sewing machine business in London, in 1859, and sold machines throughout Great Britain and the United States. Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company priortized making machines that were portable, precise, and quiet. The company closed in 1973.
The sewing machine and original paperwork were given to the Neill-Cochran House Museum by Katherine St. Cyr in 2019. You can see it, and all the "noiseless" artifacts in our collection, Wed-Sun, 11-4pm.Acquisition
Accession
2019.02Source or Donor
Katherine St. CyrAcquisition Method
Gift