THE SEWING-MACHINE 



practicability. It only remained for men of energy 

 and business ability to apply themselves to the work of 

 manufacture and to the development of facilities for 

 marketing their products. Men who early appre- 

 ciated the importance of the sewing-machine as a 

 factor in the commercial advancement of the world 

 applied themselves with great zeal to the promotion 

 of the industry. Factories were established in Bridge- 

 port, Boston, New York, and other cities for the ex- 

 clusive manufacture of sewing-machines. Bridgeport 

 has always held a conspicuous place in the indus- 

 try, and the history of the development and manu- 

 facture of the sewing-machine will always be closely 

 associated with that Connecticut city. The impor- 

 tance of New York city as a commercial center was 

 early appreciated by sewing-machine manufacturers, 

 and it was made the principal sales -depot for that in- 

 dustry by establishments located throughout New 

 England. One of the leading concerns then in exist- 

 ence for the manufacture of sewing-machines carried 

 on its operations in New York city. 



"In 1855 litigation arose, involving three of the 

 principal sewing-machine companies then in existence. 

 It was claimed by each of the parties concerned that 

 the others were infringing upon certain of their patent 

 rights. Numerous suits were instituted on these pat- 

 ents, and when the contesting parties finally came to- 

 gether in 1856 for trying some of the cases in court, 

 an amicable settlement was agreed upon whereby the 

 parties to the suits were to pool their patents, thus 

 permitting any one of them to use the patents of all 



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