﻿THE 
  SEWING 
  MACHINE 
  LEWTON 
  561 
  

  

  BARTHELEMY 
  THIMONNIER 
  

  

  Thirty-five 
  years 
  later, 
  a 
  poor 
  Frencli 
  tailor, 
  entirely 
  ignorant 
  of 
  the 
  

   principles 
  of 
  mechanics, 
  became 
  so 
  absorbed 
  with 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  produc- 
  

   ing 
  a 
  machine 
  to 
  sew 
  the 
  seams 
  of 
  garments, 
  that 
  he 
  spent 
  four 
  years 
  

   endeavoring 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  sew, 
  only 
  working 
  at 
  his 
  trade 
  enough 
  to 
  

   obtain 
  for 
  his 
  family 
  the 
  barest 
  necessities 
  of 
  life. 
  He 
  worked 
  alone 
  

   and 
  in 
  secret 
  and 
  so 
  neglected 
  his 
  business 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  looked 
  upon 
  as 
  

   little 
  more 
  than 
  crazy. 
  By 
  1829 
  he 
  had 
  mastered 
  the 
  mechanical 
  

   difficulties 
  and 
  had 
  produced 
  a 
  sewing 
  machine 
  which 
  made 
  the 
  chain 
  

   stitch 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  a 
  hooked 
  needle 
  like 
  a 
  crochet 
  needle. 
  The 
  next 
  

   year 
  he 
  was 
  given 
  a 
  patent 
  on 
  his 
  machine 
  and 
  soon 
  attracted 
  the 
  

   attention 
  of 
  a 
  skillful 
  engineer 
  who 
  took 
  Thimonnier 
  and 
  his 
  machine 
  

   to 
  Paris. 
  By 
  1831 
  he 
  had 
  made 
  so 
  much 
  progress 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  made 
  a 
  

   member 
  of 
  a 
  prominent 
  clothing 
  firm 
  and 
  had 
  80 
  of 
  his 
  sewing 
  machines 
  

   at 
  work 
  upon 
  uniforms 
  for 
  the 
  French 
  troops. 
  But 
  the 
  tailors 
  looked 
  

   upon 
  the 
  new 
  invention 
  as 
  a 
  dangerous 
  competition 
  and 
  an 
  infuriated 
  

   mob 
  smashed 
  every 
  machine 
  they 
  could 
  find, 
  forcing 
  the 
  inventor 
  

   to 
  flee 
  for 
  his 
  life. 
  We 
  see 
  poor 
  Thimonnier 
  trudging 
  homeward 
  from 
  

   Paris 
  with 
  his 
  sewing 
  machine 
  on 
  his 
  back 
  and 
  exhibiting 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  

   curiosity 
  for 
  a 
  living. 
  Later 
  he 
  tried 
  to 
  provide 
  for 
  his 
  family 
  by 
  selling 
  

   handmade 
  wooden 
  machines 
  for 
  $10 
  each. 
  He 
  kept 
  on 
  trying 
  to 
  

   perfect 
  his 
  machine 
  and 
  by 
  1845 
  he 
  had 
  so 
  improved 
  it 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  

   able 
  to 
  sew 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  200 
  stitches 
  per 
  minute. 
  At 
  this 
  time 
  he 
  

   obtained 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  a 
  friend 
  named 
  Magnin 
  to 
  manufacture 
  the 
  ma- 
  

   chines, 
  and 
  he 
  soon 
  had 
  a 
  machine 
  capable 
  of 
  sewing 
  all 
  kinds 
  of 
  fabrics 
  

   from 
  fine 
  muslin 
  to 
  leather. 
  The 
  revolution 
  of 
  1848 
  put 
  a 
  stop 
  to 
  his 
  

   sewing-machine 
  business 
  and 
  Thimonnier 
  went 
  to 
  England 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  

   time. 
  Together 
  with 
  Magnin 
  he 
  secured 
  a 
  patent 
  for 
  his 
  machine 
  in 
  

   England 
  in 
  1849 
  and 
  the 
  next 
  year 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  granted 
  him 
  one, 
  

   but 
  by 
  this 
  time 
  other 
  inventors 
  had 
  entered 
  the 
  field 
  with 
  more 
  

   practical 
  machines. 
  

  

  Thimonnier 
  sent 
  his 
  machine 
  to 
  the 
  Universal 
  Exhibition 
  in 
  London 
  

   in 
  1851, 
  but 
  through 
  a 
  mistake 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  judges 
  and 
  no 
  

   attention 
  was 
  paid 
  to 
  it. 
  This 
  greatly 
  discouraged 
  him 
  and 
  although 
  

   he 
  continued 
  to 
  work 
  with 
  his 
  machine 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  his 
  lifelong 
  

   struggle 
  had 
  exhausted 
  him 
  and 
  he 
  died 
  in 
  poverty 
  in 
  1857, 
  aged 
  64 
  

   years. 
  When 
  we 
  see 
  Thimonnier's 
  lifelong 
  effort 
  and 
  bitter 
  struggles 
  

   continued 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  so 
  many 
  failures, 
  we 
  must 
  believe 
  that 
  the 
  man 
  

   was 
  possessed 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  an 
  ordinary 
  share 
  of 
  energy 
  and 
  persever- 
  

   ance, 
  and 
  that 
  his 
  failure 
  to 
  popularize 
  his 
  machine 
  was 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  

   times 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  lived 
  and 
  the 
  people 
  among 
  whom 
  he 
  sought 
  to 
  

   introduce 
  it. 
  In 
  one 
  sense 
  his 
  life 
  was 
  a 
  total 
  failure, 
  for 
  he 
  reaped 
  

   none 
  of 
  the 
  wealth 
  which 
  was 
  showered 
  upon 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  pioneers 
  in 
  

   the 
  sewing-machine 
  trade; 
  but 
  before 
  he 
  died 
  he 
  had 
  the 
  realization 
  

  

  