Bibliography

The following is a bibliography of materials that relate to the development of the sewing machine. It references Smithsonian Institution publications, collector guides, company histories, technical manuals, and nineteenth century accounts.

The standard history of sewing machines is Grace Rogers Cooper's book, The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Development. First published in 1968, and then revised and expanded in 1976, it provided the foundation for the history of the sewing machine. Most of the photographs in her book are of sewing machines and patent models in the National Museum of American History's Textile Collection. Serving as a guide to the collection and an early classic in the history of the sewing machine, Cooper's book remains in demand. As part of this project, Cooper's book, as well as Frederick Lewton's The Servant in the House, will be scanned and linked to the website at www.sil.si.edu.

The Smithsonian's collection of trade literature includes over 3,000 pieces related to sewing machines. The National Museum of American History continues to collect sewing machine trade literature and ephemera that will be added to the Website as resources permit.

One new avenue of obtaining information is to search the Internet. The researcher would find a wealth of information on sewing machines and people with Websites willing to share what they know.

Smithsonian Institution Publications

Cooper, Grace Rogers. The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Development. (2d edition, revised and expanded.) Washington, D.C.: National Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, 1976. 238 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

Janssen, Barbara Suit, ed. Icons of Invention: American Patent Models. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1990. 74 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Lewton, Frederick Lewis. The Servant in the House: A Brief History of the Sewing Machine. Smithsonian Publication 3056. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1930. 24 pages, 8 plates. Reprinted from the Smithsonian Annual Report for 1929.

Science Museum Publications

Gilbert, Keith Reginald. Sewing Machines. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Science Museum, 1970. 51 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Quarterly Journal

Snell, Maggie, editor. ISMACS NEWS: Journal of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society. London: Maggie Snell, 1985-current. Illustrations, photographs, index, book reviews.

Collector Guides

Bays, Carter. The Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines. Columbia, South Carolina:

Carter Bays, 1993. 301 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography, price guide.

Head, Carol. Old Sewing Machines. Great Britain: Shire Publications, Ltd., 1982. 32 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Jewell, F. Brian. Veteran Sewing Machines: A Collector's Guide. South Brunswick and New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1975. 159 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

Johnson-Srebro, Nancy. Featherweight 221: The Perfect Portable: Appreciating, Finding and Using The Singer Model 221 Featherweight. Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania: Silver Star, Inc., 1992. 72 pages, illustrations, photographs.

________. Featherweight 221: The Perfect Portable and Its Stitches Across History. Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania: Silver Star, Inc., 1997. 184 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Landgraf, Otto. Oldtimer-Sewing Machine. Schweinfurt, Germany: Weppert, 1988.192 pages, illustrations, photographs, bibliography.

Law, Charles B. Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines: A Reference Manual for the History, Identification, Maintenance, and Use of Antique and Vintage Model Sewing Machines. Charles Basebase Law, 1998. 350 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Thomas, Glenda. Toy and Miniature Sewing Machines: An Identification & Value Guide. Paducah, Kentucky: Collectors Books, Schroeder Publishing Co., 1995. 253 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

________. Toy and Miniature Sewing Machines: An Identification & Value Guide: Book II. Paducah, Kentucky: Collectors Books, Schroeder Publishing Co., 1997. 312 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

Wilhelm, Peter. Old French Sewing Machines: A Book for Sewing Machine Friends and Collectors. Gleichen: P. Wilhelm, 1992. 120 pages, illustrations, photographs, bibliography.

Company Histories

Bissell, Don. The First Conglomerate: 145 Years of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Brunswick, Maine: Audenreed Press, 1999. 239 pages, illustrations, photographs, bibliography, index.

Brandon, Ruth. Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1977. 244 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

Carstensen, Fred V. American Enterprise in Foreign Markets: Singer and International Harvester in Imperial Russia. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1984. 289 pages, bibliography, index.

Davies, Robert Bruce. Peacefully Working To Conquer the World: Singer Sewing Machines In Foreign Markets, 1854-1900. New York: Arno Press, 1976. 390 pages, illustrations, bibliography.

Godfrey, Frank P. An International History of the Sewing Machine. London: Robert Hale, 1982. 320 pages, illustrations, photographs.

Hounshell, David A. From the American System to Mass Production 1800-1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States. Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press, 1984. 411 pages, illustrations, photographs, index, bibliography.

Scott, John. Genius Rewarded, or the Story of the Sewing Machine. New York: J. J. Caulon, 1880. 63 pages, illustrations.

Construction and Technical Information

Ewers, William, H. W. Baylor with H. H. Kenaga. Sincere's Sewing Machine Service Book. 3^rd edition. Phoenix, Arizona: Sincere Press, 1971. 209 pages, illustrations, photographs. Sewing machine service book.

Ewers, William, H. H. Kenaga. Sincere's Zig Zag Sewing Machine Service Book. Phoenix, Arizona: Sincere Press, 1970. 176 pages, illustrations. Zig Zag sewing machine service book.

Hasluck, Paul N., editor. Sewing Machines: Their Construction, Adjustment, and Repair. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, [1915?]. 160 pages, index, illustrations.

Kunkel, Karen. The Complete Sewing Machine Handbook. New York, New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1997. 160 pages, illustrations, photographs, bibliography, index.

National Education Association Edition. Mechanics of the Sewing Machine, Monograph Five. New York, New York: Singer Sewing Machine Co., 1914. 80 pages, photographs, illustrations.

Urquhart, John W. Sewing Machinery, Being a Practical Manual of the Sewing Machine, Comprising Its History and Details of Its Construction with Full Technical Directions for the Adjusting of Sewing Machines. London: C. Lockwood, 1881. 172 pages, illustrations.

19^th-Century Histories

Adams, Charles K. "Sewing Machines." Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, vol. 7. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1895.

Brockett, Linus P. "Sewing Machines." Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, vol. 4. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1874.

Fairfield, George A. "Report on Sewing Machines." Report of the Commissioners of the United States to the International Exhibition Held in Vienna, 1873, Vol. 3. 1874.

Knight, Edward H. "Sewing Machines." Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary, vol. 3. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1882.

Scientific American. Issues 1849-1896. New York: Munn & Co.

Barbara Suit Janssen
Museum Specialist, Textile Collection
National Museum of American History
October 2000