Antique & Patented
Early Sewing Machines

Rare and desirable full size antique sewing machines that we are currently offering for sale are the main focus of this antique sewing machine page.

We always try to keep a good selection of these early and unusual vintage sewing machines on hand, including hard-to-find patented cast iron models, as well as the small cast iron travel and child-size sewing machines that you will find listed on the Toy Sewing Machine page. 

We also carry a good selection of  Singer Featherweight Sewing Machines which are a favorite with today's quilters and crafters, and they are listed on that separate page. 

The invention of the sewing machine in the mid-19th century played an  important role in the Industrial Revolution.  There has been ongoing debate about which inventor should  be recognized as the "father of the sewing machine".  This confusion stems in part from the simple fact that the idea of a "sewing machine" seems to have occurred almost simultaneously to inventors all over the world, or the concept had been stewing in folks minds for years. 

Elias Howe Jr. is one of the most commonly heard names associated with the invention and patents for early sewing machines.   He was granted some of the earliest patents but died penniless and endured the humiliation of seeing others profit from his idea.  Isaac Merrit Singer was a brilliant salesman as well as inventor, and he saw financial success because he was simply a shrewder businessman than most of his other sewing machine inventor counterparts. 

Other names tied to sewing machine development, patents for sewing machines, and their invention include Allen Benjamin Wilson, Thomas Saint, Newton Wilson, and Barthelemy Thimonnier. Information on them and many others can be found in the reference on he subject by Carter Bays whose book is in the 4th printing now or in the reference on early sewing machines by Grace Cooper that the Smithsonian sponsored.  

So while there is debate about who should be given credit for designing the first mechanized means of stitching together two pieces of fabric, there is no debate that these early antique sewing machines revolutionized daily household life in America and the rest of the world.

Early  Patented Antique Sewing Machines

*** Click Heading to see Items ***

• "Skinny Pillar" Patented Shaw & Clark Sewing Machine Returned to Consignor
• Antique "Original Express" Hand Crank Cast Iron Sewing SOLD!
• Early Paw Foot Ketchem's Patent 1860's Sewing Machine
• Wilcox & Gibbs "Noiseless" Electric Sewing Machine SOLD!
• Orvis & Williams Patented 1858 First Model Sewing Machine