Figure 83. — Florence sewing machine. The Florence 

 machine was based on the patents of Leander W. 

 Langdon, whose first patent was obtained in 1855. 

 Langdon sewing machines were manufactured by 

 the inventor for a few years. It was his patent of 

 March 20, 1860, that was the immediate forerunner 

 of the Florence machine, whose name was derived 

 from the city of manufacture, Florence, Massa- 

 chusetts. The Howe royalty records of 1860 listed 

 the Florence Sewing Machine Co. as one that took 

 out a license that year. Langdon's patent of July 14, 

 1863, was incorporated into the machines manu- 

 factured after that date; however, the date is always 

 incorrectly stamped ''July 18 1863." In 1865, the 

 machine won a silver medal at the Tenth Exhibition 

 of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics As- 

 sociation. 



Over 100,000 Florence machines were manufac- 

 tured by 1870. About 1880 the company changed 

 the name of the machine to Crown. Improvements 

 led to the name New Crown by 1885. About this 

 time the right to use the name Florence for a sewing 

 machine was purchased by a midwestern firm for 

 an entirely different machine. In 1885 the Florence 

 company began to manufacture lamp stoves and 

 heating stoves and shordy thereafter they discon- 

 tinued the manufacture of sewing machines. 



Using the serial numbers, Florence machines can 

 be dated approximately as follows: 



No record of the number of machines produced each 

 year between 1877 and 1885 is available. 



The machine shown here, serial number 49131, 

 was manufactured in 1865. It is stamped with the 

 following patent dates: "Oct. 30, 1855, Mar. 20. 

 I860, Jan. 22. 1861, and July 18, 1863" and the 

 Wilson patent date "Nov. 12, 1850." The machines 

 from 1860-1863 are marked with the early Langdon 

 patents, excluding the 1863 one. and they have the 

 additional patent dates of Howe and others: "Sept. 

 10, 1846, Nov. 12, 1850, Aug. 12, 1851, May 30. 

 1854, Dec. 19, 1854, Nov. 4, 1856." (Smithsonian 

 photo 45572-A.) 



Figure 84. — Globe sewing machine. J. G. Folsom re- 

 ceived two design patents in 1864, one on March 1 

 for a spool holder and one on May 1 7 for the basic 

 style of the machine. Also in the same year, he was 

 awarded a mechanical patent for an adjustment in 

 the lower looper that would accommodate a change 

 in needle size. Using these patents, he manufactured 

 a single-thread, chainstitch machine, the Globe. 

 Folsom also exhibited his machine-; at the Tenth 

 Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Me- 

 chanics Association in 1865. The Globe attracted 

 particular attention and was awarded a silver medal. 



In 1866 Folsom devised a new treadle attachment 

 for hand-operated machines; the invention was 

 featured in Scientific Anient ait, volume 14, number 

 1 7. with a Globe machine. Folsom again exhibited 

 at the Massachusetts Mechanics exhibition in 1869. 

 In addition to an improved single-thread Globe, he 

 also showed a double-thread, elastic-stitch (double 

 chainstitch) machine for which he received a silver 

 medal. 



Folsom machines were manufactured until 1871; 

 280 machines were manufactured in that year. 



The Globe sewing machine illustrated is stamped 

 "J.G. Folsom. Maker. Winchendon, Mass. Patented 

 April 28, 1863 [Ketchum's patent]. Mar. 1, 1864. 

 May 17, 1864." The machine was manufactured 

 before November 1864 or it would include the 

 patent for the lower loop adjustment. (Smithsonian 

 photo 48216 H.) 



Note: At least five sewing machines, those in 

 figures 84 through 89, are similar enough in 

 appearance to cause some confusion, because 

 their basic design stems from a short pillar. 



85 



