1864
120314-139148 1865
139149-157886 1866
157887-190886 1867
190887-225886 1868
225887-261004 1869
261005-338407 1870
338408-389246 1871
389247-441257 1872
441258-477437 1873
477438-497438 1874
497439-512439 1875

(Smithsonian photo 45513-B, an engraving of a Grover and Baker sewing
machine from an advertising brochure of about 1870.)]

[Illustration: Figure 93.--HANCOCK SEWING MACHINE, 1867. One of the many
inventors who turned his talents to inventing and producing a
mechanically simple and cheaper machine was Henry J. Hancock. His 1867
machine is only about six inches wide; it uses a tambour-type needle,
pulling a loop of thread from below the stitching surface. (Smithsonian
photo P63197.)]

[Illustration: Figure 94.--HANCOCK SEWING MACHINE, 1868. Hancock in 1868
received both a design patent and a mechanical patent now using the
eye-pointed needle and a hook to form the chainstitch. The design was an
open framework circle with a mirror mounted in front of the table clamp.
The purpose of the designated "looking glass" was decorative only. The
Hancock machines were only manufactured for a few years. They measure
10-1/2 inches in width, slightly larger than the earlier machine.
(Smithsonian photo 48328-M.)]

[Illustration: Figure 95.--[A.C.] HERRON'S PATENT SEWING MACHINE, 1858.
The manufacturer of this machine is not known, but the machine was based
on the patent of Abial C. Herron issued August 4, 1857. All the machines
carry a small heart-shaped plate just above the needle descent bearing
the patentee's name and the patent date. The patent covered an
improvement in the method of making the chainstitch. The machines were
provided with a hand crank, but were also meant to be operated by a belt
and treadle. No records of the extent of manufacture of this machine
have been found. This machine head measures 14 inches in width, about
standard size. (Smithsonian photo 48329-J.)]

[Illustration: Figure 96.--A. B. HOWE SEWING MACHINE of about 1860.
(Smithsonian photo 45525-C.)]

Figures 96, 97, and 98.--THE HOWE MACHINES. It is difficult for many to
believe that the stamped legend "Elias Howe patent, Sept. 10, 1846" does
not certify that a machine is an original Howe. Although Elias Howe was
granted a patent for the lockstitch machine in 1846, he did not
establish a sewing-machine factory for about twenty years. E