his early life was spent in Oswego. He worked as a 

 mechanic and cabinetmaker, but acquired an interest in 

 the theater. Under the name of Isaac Merritt, he went 

 to Rochester and became an actor. In 1839, during an 

 absence from the theater, he completed his first inven- 

 tion, a mechanical excavator, which he sold for 82000. 

 With the money Singer organized a theatrical troupe of 

 his own, which he called "The Merritt Players." When 

 the group failed in Fredericksburg, Ohio, Singer was 

 stranded for lack of funds. 



Forced to find some type of employment, Singer took 

 a job in a Fredericksburg plant that manufactured 

 wooden printers' type. He quickly recognized the need 

 for an improved type-carving machine. After inventing 

 and patenting one, he found no financial support in 

 Fredericksburg and decided to take the machine to 

 New York City. Here, the firm of A. B. Taylor and 

 Co. agreed to furnish the money and give Singer room 

 in its Hague Street factory to build machines. A boiler 

 explosion destroyed the first machine, and Taylor refused 

 to advance more money. 



While Singer was with Taylor, George B. Zieber, a 

 bookseller who had seen the type-carving machine, 

 considered its value to publishers. Zieber offered to 

 help Singer and raised $1700 to build another model. 

 In June 1850 the machine was completed. Singer and 

 Zieber took the machine to Boston where they rented 

 display space in the steam-powered workshop of Orson 



C. Phelps at 19 Harvard Place. Only a few publishers 

 came to look at the machine, and none wanted to buy il. 



Singer, contemplating his future, became interested 

 in Phelps' work, manufacturing sewing machines for 

 J. A. Lerow and S. C. Blodgett. Phelps welcomed 

 Singer's interest as the design of the mechanism was 

 faulty and purchasers kept returning the machines for 

 repairs. Singer examined the sewing machine with the 

 eyes of a practical machinist. He criticized the action 

 of the shuttle, which passed around a circle, and the 

 needle bar, which pushed a curved needle horizontally. 

 Singer suggested that the shuttle move to and fro in a 

 straight path and that a straight needle be used verti- 

 cally. Phelps encouraged Singer to abandon the type- 

 carving machine and turn his energies toward the 

 improvement of the sewing machine. Convinced that 

 he could make his ideas work, Singer sketched a rough 

 draft of his proposed machine, and with the support of 

 Zieber and Phelps the work began. 



Singer continued to be active in the sewing-machine 

 business until 1863. He made his home in Paris lor a 

 short time and then moved to England. While living 

 at Torquay he conceived the idea of a fabulous ( irei o- 

 Roman mansion, which he planned to have built at 

 Paignton. Singer called it "The Wigwam." Unfortu- 

 nately, after all his plans, he did not live to see its 

 completion. Singer died on July 23, 1875. of heart 

 disease at the age of sixty-three. 



143 



