If Elias Howe Invented the Sewing Machine, Why is it Called a Singer?

Sorry ... the history books aren't quite right. Eliastwo threads and a shuttle -- the same idea Hunt
Howe did not invent the first sewing machine. Inhad used ten years earlier. Howe continued to
fact, if you define sewing machine as "a machinedevelop his machine; by 1845 he had completed a
that can sew items in a practical and usablemachine that was able to perform all the
manner", then he didn't invent a sewing machinestitchwork to assemble two suits of woolen
at all!clothes. In 1846 Howe received a patent on his
Actually, the first sewing machine patent wasdevice.
received in 1755 by Charles Weisenthal in London.The journal, "Scientific American" was impressed
Technically, his machine did embroidery, but it wasas they praised Howe's "extraordinary invention".
the first to recognize that an eye-pointed needlePerhaps Hunt would have received similar praise
did not need to pass entirely through a garment.had he bothered to patent his device more than
This machine was not labor or time-saving,ten years earlier.
though, and was thus not a practical solution as aUnfortunately, "Scientific American" were the only
"machine that can be used for sewing".ones impressed. Howe spent three years trying
Another machine was invented in Paris in 1804 byto drum up interest in both American and England.
Thomas Stone and John Henderson -- it involvedBy 1849, he was basically broke. His wife died
a pair of pincers on either side of a piece of(and he had to borrow the money to reach her
material. The pincers would grab a needle as itbedside before she died). He attended her funeral
passed through the material. This machine was noin a borrowed suit; he then heard that the ship
faster than hand-sewing and was not accepted ascontaining all his household goods was wrecked
a solution, either.and all his goods were lost. Discouraged, He gave
In 1790, Englishman Thomas Saint patented aup his sewing machine quest and took a machine
machine that had many of the features of a realshop job for a weekly wage.
sewing machine: an overhanging arm, a straight,Actually, Howe's machine failed for a good reason,
perpendicular needle, a horizontal cloth table, andit was not quite a practical solution. His machine did
needle fed from a spool. It's doubtful whether ornot have a presser foot; in order to sew fabric,
not Saint ever really built his machine, though. Athe pieces had to be matched inside a metal
version made in 1873 from his original patent plansframe. This frame was then attached to the
did not work.machine and guided the stitching. Once you
In 1830, Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnierreached the end of the frame, it had to be
patented the next sewing machine. This oneremoved and the fabric reset. This meant that A)
actually worked -- although it was a huge deviceno continuous stitching was possible, and B) you
set in a frame similar to a wooden loom.could only stitch in straight lines, you could not
It was able to sew a straight chainstitch and wasfollow a curve. Because of this, Howe's machine
about as fast as a hand sewer. By 1831,could not be considered a serious solution to the
Thimonnier had about 80 seamstresses in hissewing problem and was therefore not a true and
tailoring shop using his machines to sew uniformspractical "sewing machine".
for the French army. The machines could sewIn 1850 a familiar name entered the sewing
about 100 stitches a minute by that time.machine world -- Isaac Singer. I think that Singer
Technically, Thimonnier invented the first machineshould be considered the inventor of the first
that could be used to really accomplish somepractical sewing machine -- it could stitch
sewing.continuous lines, it could stitch around curves, it
Unfortunately, for him, the social structure of theused a pressor foot, and it was a marketable
time was not ready to accept this type ofsolution available for a reasonable price.
technilogical advance. Fearful for their jobs, mobsOther inventors also introduced sewing machines
of journeyman tailors rushed his shop andto compete with Singer -- and the sewing
destroyed his machines. Thimonnier tried at leastmachine industry was born.
twice more to introduce his machines (nowHowever, Elias Howe was not quite finished. He
improved to 300 stitches a minute), but similarnoticed that all sewing machines used two threads
bad luck dogged him. He finally gave up and died aand a shuttle.
poor man in 1857.He held a patent on this method (even though
In 1834, the sewing machine was invented againHunt had invented it first a decade earlier) Howe
in New York by Walter Hunt. Hunt's machine wasthen embraced that great American business plan,
a major improvement over previous one's."Those who can, do -- those who can't, sue!"
Instead of stitching the easily unraveled chainstitchHowe began a vigorous legal campaign against all
like all previous machines, Hunt's could produce asewing machine manufacturers. It's interesting to
lockstitch. He did this by using two thread spools:note that it was impossible to build a practical
one above, one below. He used a shuttle to pushsewing machine solely by using Howe's patents. It
the lower thread through the loop caused by thetook many patented items (they soon ranged into
needle pushing through the fabric. This samethe 100's) in order to construct a workable sewing
principle has since been used by all successfulmachine. Still, the idea of two threads and a
sewing machines.shuttle was also an essential component of a
Unfortunately, for Hunt (and others, it turns out),usable sewing machine.
he neglected to patent this machine with the twoThe courts agreed. Howe soon received royalties
threads and a shuttle system. Hunt was also aof up to $25 per every sewing machine sold.
Quaker; when his daughter suggested his machineWithout selling a single machine of his own design,
would do harm to seamstresses who might beHowe became rich.
put out of work, Hunt seemed to agree. He tookSinger and others tried to oppose him. They
no further interest in his sewing machine.uncovered Walter Hunt's earlier work and tried to
Not long after, in 1839, a Bostonian machine shopfind some proof that was presentable in court in
owner named Ari Davis was approached by twoorder to break Howe's patent. Unfortunately,
men who wanted to build a knitting machine.when Hunt lost interest in his device, he neglected
During their discussions, Davis suggested they tryto keep any of the devices he had already
a sewing machine instead. The men figured such aconstructed or notes of their workings.
machine would be a financial bonanza and DavisAlthough Hunt was first, it was impossible to
attempted -- and failed -- to create such aprove in court and Howe's suit held up.
machine.So -- it's apparent that Elias Howe did not invent
The noteworthy part of this Boston venture wasthe first sewing machine. He didn't even invent the
that Davis had an apprentice who took anfirst sewing device. What he did do was be the
interest in this matter. The apprentice's name wasfirst to patent a component that was used by
Elias Howe.the real inventor of the first workable, usable, and
Howe began trying to develop a sewing machinemarketable sewing machine, Isaac Singer.
on his own. He came up with the idea of using