Figure 105. — Landfear's patent sewing machine of about 

 1857. Another of the many machines that, except for isolated 

 examples, have almost completely disappeared from the 

 records is Landfear's machine. Fortunately, this manu- 

 facturer marked his machine — where many did not — 

 stamping it: "Landfear's patent - Dec r 1856, No. 262, 

 W. H. Johnson's Patent Feb. 26th 1856, Manfrd by Parkers, 

 Snow, Brooks & Co., West Meriden, Conn." (There was a 

 Parker sewing machine manufactured by the Charles Parker 

 Co. of Meriden, but his machine was a double-thread chain- 

 stitch machine and was licensed by the "Combination." The 

 Landfear machine may have been an earlier attempt by a 

 predecessor or closely related company.) 

 The Landfear patent was for a shuttle machine, but it also 



included a mode for regulating stitch length. The name 

 chosen for this machine may be incorrect, since the single- 

 thread chainstitch mechanism is primarily that of W. H. 

 Johnson, but since the Johnson patent also was used on 

 other machines the name "Landfear" was assigned. The 

 machine was probably another attempt to evade royalty 

 payment to the "Combination." 



The serial number 262 indicates that at least that many 

 machines were manufactured, although this model is the 

 only one known to be in existence. The support arm of the 

 machine head is iron, cast as a vase of flowers and painted in 

 natural colors. The paint on the head is original, but the 

 table has been refinished, and the iron legs, which had 

 rusted, have been repainted. (Smithsonian photo 48440-G.) 



98 



