History of the Sewing Machine

I was looking for a good book about the history of sewing machines, saw this and thought there it is... Well much to my surprise this is NOT a book about the history of sewing machines, it it a biography on Elias Howe the inventor of the modern sewing machine. From research I know the first patent connected to a mechanical device to aid the art of sewing was to Charles Fredrick Wiesenthal, a German-born engineer working in England in 1755. Thomas Saint was issued the first patent for a complete machine for sewing in 1790. though they do not know that a working machine was ever made. In 1829/30 - The first practical and widely used sewing machine was invented by Barthélemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, who was almost killed by an angry mob of tailors that burnt down his manufacturing plant because they were afraid of losing their jobs. There are several other people that created parts or sewing machines long before Mr. Howe.If your looking for the History of Sewing machines this is NOT the book to purchase. Do your research on line you will learn much much more. If your looking for a biography of Mr. Elias Howe and his sewing machine this is a good book. It was interesting to learn of Mr. Howes struggles in life, his struggles in getting his sewing machine patented and manufactured and sold to the public and his struggles with patent infringement.

Last year I did a presentation on the history of the sewing machine for my local American Sewing Guild group. During the research process I was looking for books to help me write up the presentation in an informative and concise manner. I also wanted to add some books to my research library as well as to have them for display in case someone in our group wanted to delve further into the subject. I bought this book for that reason. It's a nice book with plenty of info if you want to know more about how and where the sewing machine got it's start.

This book is more interesting than its title and cover might suggest. In less than 50 pages Parton covers how the first machines worked, who perfected the mechanisms, how companies marketed the earliest machines, what obstacles sewing machines faced when introduced, and why new features were added or mothballed. Black-and-white photos perfectly illustrate the book's information. There's a lot more information in this book than one might expect from its size.Not many people will want to know the history of the sewing machine... but for those of us who do, this is the one book to have.

Very informative. Talks about how the first machine came about and how it never came to be for a long time because of peoples fears of new technology. Seems that all thru history we have been afraid of new technology and where it will lead us. It really is a very interesting read.

Nice history on sewing machines. Clean book and quick delivery. Made a nice Christmas Gift.

Handy history and a good quick reference for any of my visitors A good addition to my librar and collection.

Good book.

Good service and product Thank you

Better than it looks. Very easy to read. I loved it.

Book damaged inside packaging should not have been sold/sent waste of my time to go through return process a a