﻿566 
  ANNUAL 
  EEPOET 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192 
  9 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  patent 
  if 
  the 
  machine 
  proved 
  patentable. 
  In 
  December, 
  1844, 
  

   the 
  Howe 
  family 
  moved 
  into 
  Fisher's 
  house 
  and 
  the 
  shop 
  was 
  set 
  

   up 
  in 
  the 
  small, 
  low 
  garret. 
  With 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  his 
  machine 
  clearly 
  in 
  

   his 
  mind 
  and 
  undisturbed 
  by^ 
  the 
  need 
  of 
  daily 
  laboring 
  elsewhere 
  to 
  

   feed 
  his 
  family, 
  Howe 
  worked 
  steadily 
  on 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  and 
  by 
  

   April, 
  1845, 
  had 
  sewed 
  a 
  seam 
  on 
  his 
  machine. 
  In 
  July 
  of 
  that 
  year 
  

   he 
  sewed 
  on 
  his 
  model 
  machine 
  all 
  the 
  seams 
  of 
  two 
  suits 
  of 
  wool 
  

   clothes, 
  one 
  suit 
  for 
  George 
  Fisher 
  and 
  one 
  for 
  himself. 
  

  

  This 
  pioneer 
  of 
  the 
  millions 
  of 
  sewing 
  machines 
  made 
  since 
  July, 
  

   1845, 
  after 
  crossing 
  the 
  ocean 
  many 
  times, 
  and 
  having 
  been 
  used 
  

   as 
  an 
  irrefutable 
  witness 
  in 
  many 
  courts, 
  can 
  now 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  National 
  Museum, 
  at 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C, 
  where 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  deposited 
  by 
  the 
  grandson 
  of 
  Elias 
  Howe, 
  jr. 
  

  

  When 
  Howe 
  had 
  finished 
  his 
  machine 
  he 
  found 
  that 
  his 
  next 
  

   problem 
  was 
  to 
  convince 
  others 
  that 
  it 
  could 
  sew 
  and 
  do 
  the 
  work 
  as 
  

   well 
  as 
  that 
  performed 
  by 
  hand. 
  Accordingly, 
  he 
  took 
  his 
  little 
  

   machine 
  to 
  the 
  Quincy 
  Hall 
  Clothing 
  Manufactory 
  in 
  Boston 
  and 
  

   offered 
  to 
  sew 
  up 
  any 
  seam 
  that 
  might 
  be 
  brought 
  to 
  him. 
  For 
  two 
  

   weeks 
  he 
  sat 
  daily 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  rooms 
  demonstrating 
  his 
  invention 
  

   and 
  finally 
  challenged 
  five 
  of 
  the 
  swiftest 
  seamtresses 
  in 
  the 
  establish- 
  

   ment 
  to 
  sew 
  a 
  race 
  with 
  the 
  machine. 
  Ten 
  seams 
  of 
  equal 
  length 
  were 
  

   prepared 
  for 
  sewing, 
  one 
  each 
  was 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  five 
  girls 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  

   five 
  to 
  be 
  laid 
  by 
  the 
  machine. 
  The 
  umpire 
  testified 
  that 
  the 
  five 
  

   girls 
  were 
  the 
  fastest 
  sewers 
  that 
  could 
  be 
  found 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  sewed 
  

   as 
  fast 
  as 
  they 
  could; 
  Howe's 
  machine, 
  however, 
  finished 
  the 
  five 
  

   seams 
  a 
  little 
  sooner 
  than 
  the 
  five 
  girls 
  finished 
  their 
  five, 
  and 
  the 
  

   work 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  machine 
  was 
  declared 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  neatest 
  and 
  strongest. 
  

   In 
  spite 
  of 
  this 
  and 
  similar 
  demonstrations 
  no 
  one 
  gave 
  Howe 
  an 
  order 
  

   for 
  a 
  sewing 
  machine. 
  When 
  pressed 
  for 
  reasons 
  some 
  said 
  they 
  

   were 
  afraid 
  it 
  would 
  ruin 
  all 
  the 
  hand 
  sewers 
  by 
  throwing 
  them 
  out 
  

   of 
  work, 
  some 
  objected 
  because 
  the 
  machine 
  would 
  not 
  make 
  the 
  whole 
  

   garment, 
  others 
  said 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  machine 
  was 
  too 
  high 
  as 
  a 
  large 
  

   shirt 
  maker 
  would 
  have 
  to 
  have 
  30 
  or 
  40 
  of 
  them. 
  Howe 
  was 
  not 
  

   discouraged 
  by 
  these 
  objections 
  and 
  set 
  about 
  to 
  get 
  his 
  invention 
  

   patented. 
  He 
  again 
  shut 
  himself 
  up 
  in 
  George 
  Fisher's 
  garret 
  for 
  

   three 
  or 
  four 
  months 
  to 
  make 
  another 
  machine 
  for 
  deposit 
  in 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  Patent 
  Office, 
  as 
  the 
  patent 
  laws 
  then 
  required. 
  Late 
  

   in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1846, 
  a 
  beautiful 
  model 
  and 
  the 
  required 
  papers 
  

   were 
  ready 
  for 
  the 
  Patent 
  Office, 
  and 
  Elias 
  and 
  George 
  took 
  them 
  

   to 
  Washington. 
  This 
  model, 
  Howe's 
  second 
  machine, 
  is 
  also 
  ex- 
  

   hibited 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Museum, 
  alongside 
  of 
  his 
  original 
  machine. 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  better 
  made 
  machine 
  and 
  shows 
  several 
  changes 
  in 
  unimportant 
  

   parts. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  patent 
  was 
  issued 
  on 
  September 
  10, 
  1846, 
  

   Howe 
  and 
  his 
  partner 
  returned 
  to 
  Cambridge. 
  

  

  