﻿560 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  19 
  29 
  

  

  in 
  1851, 
  the 
  important 
  part 
  they 
  were 
  to 
  play 
  in 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  

   of 
  the 
  whole 
  world 
  was 
  so 
  little 
  appreciated 
  that 
  no 
  mention 
  was 
  made 
  

   of 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  long 
  list 
  of 
  achievements 
  discussed 
  by 
  writers 
  of 
  the 
  

   time. 
  A 
  series 
  of 
  reviews 
  and 
  essays 
  under 
  the 
  general 
  title 
  of 
  Gifts 
  

   of 
  Science 
  to 
  Industry, 
  which 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  London 
  Times 
  during 
  

   the 
  progress 
  of 
  the 
  "great 
  exhibition" 
  in 
  1851, 
  discuss 
  the 
  outstanding 
  

   achievements 
  of 
  the 
  times 
  as 
  shown 
  at 
  the 
  exhibition 
  but 
  make 
  no 
  

   mention 
  of 
  the 
  sewing 
  machine. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  first 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  sewing 
  machine 
  appeared 
  in 
  England 
  the 
  

   credit 
  for 
  producing 
  the 
  first 
  practical 
  machine 
  belongs 
  to 
  Americans. 
  

   The 
  possibility 
  of 
  sewing 
  by 
  machinery 
  was 
  practically 
  demonstrated 
  

   over 
  100 
  years 
  ago; 
  but 
  it 
  required 
  the 
  combined 
  efforts 
  of 
  a 
  genera- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  inventors 
  to 
  improve 
  the 
  sewing 
  machine 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  

   really 
  a 
  labor-saving 
  instrument. 
  Its 
  history 
  is 
  a 
  record 
  of 
  rapid 
  

   advancement 
  in 
  mechanical 
  movements 
  and 
  combinations 
  of 
  devices, 
  

   which 
  had 
  apparently 
  never 
  been 
  thought 
  of 
  until 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  

   eighteenth 
  century. 
  While 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  people 
  have 
  contributed, 
  

   by 
  their 
  powers 
  of 
  invention, 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  perfection 
  of 
  the 
  sewing 
  

   machine, 
  and 
  are 
  therefore 
  entitled 
  to 
  duo 
  honor 
  and 
  praise 
  for 
  the 
  

   results 
  of 
  these 
  labors, 
  still 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  Thomas 
  Saint, 
  Barthelemy 
  

   Thimonnier, 
  Walter 
  Hunt, 
  Elias 
  Howe, 
  jr., 
  Allen 
  B. 
  Wilson, 
  Isaac 
  

   Merrit 
  Singer, 
  and 
  James 
  E. 
  A. 
  Gibbs, 
  must 
  always 
  be 
  recognized 
  as 
  

   those 
  of 
  men 
  in 
  whose 
  minds 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  sewing 
  machine 
  was 
  first 
  

   conceived 
  in 
  anything 
  like 
  the 
  form 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  preserved 
  

   until 
  now, 
  and 
  whose 
  early 
  crude 
  productions 
  contained 
  any 
  of 
  those 
  

   features 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  essential 
  after 
  so 
  many 
  years 
  of 
  

   improvement 
  and 
  progress. 
  

  

  The 
  fascinating 
  story 
  of 
  the 
  invention 
  of 
  this 
  most 
  useful 
  household 
  

   servant 
  is 
  best 
  told 
  by 
  revealing 
  a 
  few 
  incidents 
  in 
  the 
  fives 
  of 
  several 
  

   of 
  these 
  great 
  inventive 
  geniuses 
  who 
  contributed 
  most 
  to 
  make 
  ma- 
  

   chine 
  sewing 
  practicable. 
  Thimonnier, 
  Hunt, 
  Howe, 
  Wilson, 
  Singer, 
  

   and 
  Gibbs 
  — 
  among 
  the 
  thousands 
  who 
  have 
  spent 
  months 
  and 
  years 
  

   of 
  effort 
  to 
  improve 
  upon 
  the 
  hand 
  method 
  of 
  sewing, 
  these 
  six 
  stand 
  

   out 
  as 
  shining 
  stars 
  of 
  great 
  brilliance 
  in 
  a 
  firmament 
  already 
  bright 
  

  

  with 
  hosts 
  of 
  others. 
  

  

  THOMAS 
  SAINT 
  

  

  The 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  machine 
  that 
  would 
  use 
  a 
  needle 
  and 
  thread 
  for 
  the 
  

   purpose 
  of 
  sewing 
  together 
  two 
  or 
  more 
  pieces 
  of 
  cloth 
  or 
  leather 
  

   after 
  the 
  manner 
  in 
  which 
  this 
  had 
  been 
  done 
  by 
  human 
  hands 
  for 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  years 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  first 
  thought 
  out 
  by 
  an 
  

   Englishman, 
  Thomas 
  Saint, 
  who 
  in 
  1790 
  received 
  a 
  patent 
  for 
  a 
  

   machine 
  for 
  sewing 
  leather. 
  His 
  drawings 
  show 
  certain 
  features 
  

   which 
  are 
  essential 
  to 
  the 
  sewing 
  machines 
  used 
  to-day, 
  but 
  so 
  far 
  

   as 
  known 
  Saint's 
  idea 
  was 
  not 
  put 
  to 
  any 
  practical 
  use 
  by 
  him. 
  

  

  