Figure 116. — Quaker City sewing machine. During the 

 first decade of sewing-machine manufacture many types of 

 handsome wooden cases were developed to house the mecha- 

 nisms. Although such cases increased the total cost, they were 

 greatly admired and were purchased whenever family funds 

 permitted. The machine was based on the patents of William 

 P. Uhlinger: a mechanical patent for a double chainstitch 

 machine on August 17. 1858 (antedated May 8), and a pat- 

 ent for the casing on December 28. 1858. The machine 

 head was lowered into the casing as the lid was brought 



forward and closed — an idea much ahead of its time. 



This Quaker City machine, serial number 18, was pur- 

 chased by Benjamin F. Meadows of Lafayette, Alabama, for 

 $150 just prior to the Civil War. Relatively few machines of 

 this type were manufactured, and the Quaker City Sewing 

 Machine Co. existed for only a few years. Its apparent hope 

 for a southern market was short-lived, and it was unable to 

 compete either with the companies licensed under the 

 ''Combination" or with those producing less expensive 

 machines. (Smithsonian photo 46953-A.) 



107 



