Figure 81. — Eureka sewing machine, 1859. An 

 example of the main short-lived types of which no 

 written record can be found, this particular machine 

 was used as a patent model for certain minor im- 

 provements in 1859. It has the name "Eureka" 

 painted on the top and the following inscription 

 incised on the baster plate: "Eureka Shuttle S. M. 

 Co. 469 Broadway, N.Y." Although it is a shuttle 

 machine, it carries no patent dates and was not in- 

 cluded in the Howe royalty records. Neither is it 

 listed in the obsolescence list published in 1881. 

 The company probably could not pay its royalty 

 fees and was forced out of business almost immedi- 

 ately. If this machine had not been used as a 

 patent model, no record of the company's existence 

 might remain. It should be noted that as in most 

 shuttle machines the head was meant to be set 

 into a treadle-powered table. Since most tables are 

 very similar, they are not required for identifica- 

 tion. (Smithsonian photo 48328-C.) 



Figure 82. — M. Finkle sewing machine, 1857. The 

 M. Finkle machines were manufactured in 1856 and 

 1857. Sometime before or about 1859, the inventor, 

 Milton Finkle, formed a partnership and the ma- 

 chines were subsequently called M. Finkle & Lyon 

 and later simply Finkle & Lyon. In 1859 the 



machine was awarded a silver medal by the Ameri- 

 can Institute for producing superior manufacturing 

 and family lockstitch sewing machines. It also won a 

 silver medal in Boston in 1860 at the Massachusetts 

 Charitable Mechanics Association Exhibition. Al- 

 though the name of the machine was changed to 

 Victor in 1867, the company name remained 

 Finkle & Lyon until about 1872 when it was 

 changed to Victor also. Victor machines were 

 manufactured until about 1890. 

 Machines can be dated by their serial number ap- 

 proximately as follows: 



No estimates are available for the years 

 1890. (Smithsonian photo 4821 6-A.) 



1877 to 



83 



