Singer New Family Sewing Machine, 1870

Object/Artifact

-

Windham Textile and History Museum

The Sewing Machine on Exhibit, with the Cover On. Front View. After Cleaning.: The image shows a vintage wooden sewing table with an ornate black metal treadle base, standing on a wooden floor in front of blinds-covered windows. On top of the table is a wooden box with a sign reading "WELCOME TO DUNHAM LIBRARY", listing several rules for visitors, such as no food or drinks, using pencils only, signing in as a researcher, treating materials kindly without writing on them, using computers solely for research, leaving materials in the library, and seeking assistance from employees for accessing archival material. This setup likely serves a functional role in a library or museum, conveying guidelines to maintain the condition and organization of library resources.
The Sewing Machine on Exhibit, with the Cover On. Front View. After Cleaning.

The image shows a vintage wooden sewing table with an ornate black metal treadle base, standing on a wooden floor in front of blinds-covered windows. On top of the table is a wooden box with a sign reading "WELCOME TO DUNHAM LIBRARY", listing several rules for visitors, such as no food or drinks, using pencils only, signing in as a researcher, treating materials kindly without writing on them, using computers solely for research, leaving materials in the library, and seeking assistance from employees for accessing archival material. This setup likely serves a functional role in a library or museum, conveying guidelines to maintain the condition and organization of library resources.

Name/Title

Singer New Family Sewing Machine, 1870

Entry/Object ID

2024.64.01

Description

Singer New Family home sewing machine, serial no. 440656 341656. Wood and iron cabinet. Treadle. Steel machine, painted black, with "guitar-shaped" base. Once had gold leafing, but very little left. No. allotted: 47,000. Allotment year: 1870. Factory: New York City Mott Street. For Singer serial numbers, see https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/early-serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-early-serial-number-database.html.

Use

Home sewing.

Context

The patenting of the sewing machine by Massachusetts native and Connecticut transplant Elias Howe in 1846 touched off a technological, industrial, and social revolution in the United States. By making possible the manufacture of inexpensive clothing, it greatly sped up the pace of American industrialization (which had begun only a few decades earlier with the inventions of the drum carder, spinning jenny, power loom, and cotton gin) and led to the building of newer, larger, and more modern textile mills, such as the Willimantic Linen Company’s great granite Mill Number Two and modern brick Mill Number Four. By changing the way that clothing was manufactured, it spelled the end of cottage industry and the old putting out system and ushered in the age of the sweatshop. By appealing to middle class homemakers, it facilitated the Cult of Domesticity and provided middle class women with the opportunity to prove that they could master complex machinery. Widely available a half century before typewriters or automobiles, more than any other machine the sewing machine came to symbolize American women’s work in the modern machine age. From "Sewing Revolution: The Machine That Changed America," by Jamie Eves, Beverly L. York, Carol Buch, and Michele Palmer. https://millmuseum.org/sewing-revolution/.

Collection

Other Sewing Machines Collection

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Singer Sewing Machine Company

Date made

1870

Time Period

19th Century

Place

City

New York, NY

Region

Northeast

Continent

North America

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Machine, Sewing

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Machine, Needlework

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Needleworking Equipment

Nomenclature Class

Textileworking T&E

Nomenclature Category

Category 04: Tools & Equipment for Materials

Accessories

Accessory

Leather drive belt

Material

Wood, Cast Iron, Steel

Color

Black

Location

Location

Exhibit Room

Stairwell Gallery

* Untyped Location

Main Museum Building

Category

Exhibit

Date

November 25, 2024

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Date Examined

Nov 24, 2024

Examined By

Eves, J.

Cleanliness

Arrived quite dirty, with some rust. Given basic cleaning: wood washed with Murphy's Oil Soap. Metal rubbed with cleaning oil.

Surface

Most of the gold leafing worn off.

Web Links and URLs

Singer Sewing Machine Early Serial Number Database, Sewing Revolution: The Machine that Made America

Provenance

Provenance Detail

According to the donor, the machine was in the cellar of his mother's home. It had been given to her by her brother. The Mom recently passed away, and the donor found it while cleaning out her house. No other family wanted it.

Created By

historian@millmuseum.org

Create Date

November 25, 2024

Updated By

historian@millmuseum.org

Update Date

November 25, 2024