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Alex is considered one of the foremost experts of pioneering machines and their inventors. He has written extensively for trade magazines, radio, television, consulted on films, books and publications world wide.
"Spending a lifetime in the sewing trade it would become a passion of mine to find out about the inventor that made my profession possible. For over 30 years I have keenly collected every anecdote and piece of information that I could uncover to bring you one of the most complete works to date on this inventive genius and sewing machine pioneer."
"In my history of Elias Howe I try and find the man, his struggles hopes and failures. All-in-all I want to bring you a tiny drop of his life force for he is the most important man in sewing history, the man who changed our world. From the clothes you are wearing to the chair you watch TV on, they are all made on the humble sewing machine. I do hope you like my history of Elias Howe and may others take the flag forward to complete my work."
Elias Howe
Elias Howe, 9th of July 1819 to the 3rd Oct 1867
Elias Howe (Junior) patented the first ever proper lockstitch sewing machine in the world. His invention helped toward the mass production of sewing machines and clothing. That in turn revolutionized the sewing industry and freed women from the drudgery of some of their daily labour (excuse my English spelling). From a modest beginning he became the second wealthiest man in the world from his invention! What an opening paragraph! And open to argument, sewing machines littered the century. In fact thousands of sewing machines had been made before Elias Howe brought his machine to patent! The Howe Patent Model
Read on and find out about our amazing young farmer who suffered from a weak constitution and was plagued by ill health. Ill health that finally stole him just as he was about to enjoy his rewards. Elias Howe's story is a brief but turbulent one. It was one that touched the birth of the first proper sewing machine industry. Elias Howe knew all the pioneers in his field and most of the great names in the sewing business from Isaac Singer to Grover & Baker. Historians tell us that it was Walter Hunt, years earlier who made the first lock stitch sewing machine but he never patented it. Also we only saw his 'improved model' made after he had seen Elias Howe's and many other machines. We cannot rely on Walter Hunt's machine but we can on Elias's Patent Model which is registered and fact. Many say that Elias Howe had somehow seen Walter Hunt's machine and basically copied it. If he did he didn't remember it very well as they look very different. It is actually more likely to be the other way around as Walter Hunt had plenty of time to examine Elias Howe's machine before appearing in court with his model. There was no definitive proof of Elias seeing Walter's machine and none was ever produced in later court proceedings, so it is unlikely, even though they do have a tiny resemblance in odd places. However most lockstitch machines have a resemblance to each other as it would be hard to make one that does not! Elias Howe was, much to his competitors disgust, given the rights to his patents. Even after the best lawyers in the land had tried to prove otherwise and stop him. So we will also give him the benefit of the doubt!
Let us ignore this arguing point and stick to the facts. Elias Howe's machine clearly shows the brilliant idea of a curved needle with a hole at the point end (all needles before had the hole where they had always been, like a modern hand-sewing needle). This needle carried a thread, forward, through a piece of material where another thread, held in a metal shuttle, passed through a loop in the needle thread (caused by the needle moving forward then suddenly backward). The needle was then retracted and this action pulled the two threads to lock them in the fabric. The Lockstitch was born. The shuttle was not new it had been used in the textile industry since the time of the Egyptians and before in India but making a miniature metal one was his stroke of genius. Along with the wrong-end eyed-needle (that's a tongue twister but I hope you know what I mean) these were his two great ideas which he patented. Also there was the semi-automatic method of feeding the work through the machine. It was these ideas that would later help him win one of the toughest court-case's of the century. The Elias Howe patent of 1846
These ideas seems so fundamental now but, way back in 1846, they were revolutionary. For centuries people had wanted a machine or engine that would sew, however not even Leonardo Da Vinci could figure it out. Elias Howe did what no other man had done. No not boldly go into space but he boldly went where no man had gone before, to the shuttle lockstitch. If you read my Sewing Machine History you will see the muddled path that led to this point in history. It is a fascinating read. Go on read it I know you really want to. If you are going to read the rest of this piece that has taken three decades to write you had better put the kettle on and make yourself a nice cup of tea, or a gin and tonic if that's your poison. Everyone knew the first person to ever make a machine would become rich. Many thousands of people worked in the sewing industry. Great factories employed girls, even children, hand sewing. Every stitch on every piece of clothing, upholstery, shoes, leather and sails was hand stitched. Look around you for a second. Even today every stitch you are wearing right down to your car seat is still sewn. Some of the factories worked the young girls until their eyesight went. They were sent home to spend the rest of their lives with poor eyesight brought on by the constant strain of sewing 12 hours a day in foul factory conditions. It was not a good life. Elias Howe, the beginning Elias Howe was born in Spencer, Massachusetts on the 9th of July 1819. He was the son of a farmer and doctor Elias Howe Senior and mother Polly Beamis. As Elias grew Howe Snr believed that his son had an inventive streak something that he later came to bank his farm on when he had to double mortgage it to fund Elias's court cases. This inventive streak he encouraged and it paid off in the end. I was always fascinated by what happened to Elias Howe's wealth and at the end of this page is an interesting note from one of his distant relatives. Elias Howe Senior worked his mills and farm and he had the help of his eight children. The grist mill pulled in money during the autumn grinding grain as did the saw mill and shingle machines. The farm itself was a constant struggle but they all pulled together to make it work. By the time Elias Howe Jr was six, yes six years old he was working on dad's farm. One of Elias Howe jr's jobs was making cards for the cotton mills in the area. This amounted to placing wire teeth into lengths of leather to strip back the bales of cotton before thread making. The cotton cards were then sent to the cotton mills for use in their industry. It was early outwork. Elias went to school in the quiet months, usually winter. By the age of 11 Elias went to work on a neighbouring farm but soon returned to the familiarity of home where he worked until he was 16. It became clear the Elias's father that his son was weaker than normal and as much as he wanted he could not do a hard days work on the farm without being constantly exhausted. Elias's dad always worried about his frail son and would take special care to help him any way he could. It was this later help in life which proved to be the lottery winner. Elias's invention There are several different versions of how Elias Howe came to invent such a remarkable machine and I will go into those step-by-step later. Family history "Proud was he of his name and race, Of old Sir William and Sir Hugh, And in the parlor, full in view, His coat of arms, well framed and glazed, Upon the wall in colors blazed; Upon a helmet barred; below The scroll reads, "By the name of Howe," And over this, no longer bright, Though glimmering with a latent light, "Was hung the sword his grandsire bore, In the rebellious days of yore, Down there at Concord in the fight." Elias Howe Snr was the 4th great-grandson of John Howe who arrived in America in 1630 from Brinklow in Warwickshire. John Howe had the claim to fame to be the first white man to settle in Marlborough and helped found the town of Sudbury MA. One of John Howe's grandson's, David, opened the Wayside Inn in Sudbury where Wordsworth (Longfellow) spent time writing his superb poems and verses. The Wayside still exists today as the oldest Bed & Breakfast in America. How fascinating is that! Amasa Bemis Howe
This is the actual signature of Amasa Bemis Howe, Elias's Brother, helper, friend and also inventor. Now back to Elias Howe. In 1834/5 Elias Howe, now 16, went to work in a textile mill at Lowell where he gained precious knowledge of shuttle movements and fabrics. He worked in the repair workshop for the cotton spinning machinery. The mill was badly hit by a state-wide depression and in 1837 Elias Howe moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here he found work in a rope making factory before getting a job working as a mechanic's apprentice along side his cousin Nathaniel Banks. Nathaniel P Banks became a Major General before becoming Speaker in the house of Representatives. These influential connections would later help Elias gain a rare patent extension worth millions. Now the real good stuff starts in 1838 while Elias Howe was working for master craftsman Ari Davis in Cornhill, Boston. Ari Davies specialized in precision instruments and sewing machine repairs, yippee we're on a roll boys. Elias Howe was a frail thin young man with a rash of curly hair and an inventive streak. In-between his constant bouts of weakness Elias Howe worked for this precision engineer learning a skill that would later help him make one of the greatest inventions in history and become one of the wealthiest men in America. While in Boston with the volotile Ari Davis he would repair not only nautical instruments, which Ari specialised in, but the constant stream of new-fangled faulty sewing machines that were badly designed and never really sewed well. Ari often boasted that he could make a sewing machine better than what was available, although he never attempted to do so. In 1839 the two men even had a small wager on it. Ari and Elias Howe knew full well that the first inventor of a proper sewing machine would become a wealthy man and they probably had long discussions over the machines as they went about repairing the mechanisms. Elias would often travel around as a journeyman fixing machines on site. He would arrive back at the end of the week exhausted. This grounding in repairing multiple machines of all different shapes and sizes was just perfect for the inventive mind of Elias Howe. His father back on the farm was to be proved right about his son. Give that man a cigar. Elias played with his sewing machine ideas while working away at Ari's business. In 1841, at the age of 22, Elias Howe gained his first wife. Elias Howe married Elizabeth Ames on the 3rd of March 1841 in Cambridge Massachusetts.
With the arrival of children and earning nine dollars a week Elias had his work cut out. He would work all day and come home exhausted. He would sit and watch his children play while his wife busily mended and made clothes by hand for extra money. It was in bed that his first sewing machine thoughts were to take physical form. He would get up and write down his idea. As soon as he could he would make the part needed for his new invention. Sometimes it would work sometimes not. He often said to his dear wife I wish I could just lie here in bed for the rest of time. A wish that would sadly come true many years before it should. By 1844 his uncle had invented a slicing machine for palm leaves which could slice the large leaves into thin strips. His father, Elias Howe Snr, left the farm with his family and for a period moved up to Cambridge to help in the business of making palm-leaf strips for hats. Elias, his family and his dad all lived together until a fire ripped through the palm-leaf cutting-machine business. Times were hard the depression was still biting and Elias was frail, often being unable to go out to work. Dad went back to run the farm and left Elias in the capable hands of his adoring wife. By 1844 Elias had the good fortune to bump into a old school-mate, a wealthy young man looking to invest his inheritance. George Fisher was a merchant in the wood and coal industry and was only too willing to help an old friend. It was a bit more of a partnership that he imagined. A near penniless Elias Howe and his family moved in with George Fisher. Later George would drop Elias just as he was about to make his fortune. George would have become a multi-millionaire if he had stuck with Elias just a little longer than he did. For housing Elias and providing him with a workshop, tools and finances (which grew, first to hundreds then over two-thousand dollars), he would receive half of his patent if it ever made it to a patent. It was a big risk but one an old friend was willing to take. Later George Fisher would say... "I believe I was the only one of Elias Howe's friends and neighbours in the area that had any confidence in his ability and his invention. Many people thought of him as an eccentric visionary trying to invent the impossible." In fact things got much worse as Elias could not make the journeys necessary for his work as a journeyman mechanic for Ari Davies. Poor old Elias had to take a job as engine driver on the Boston Railway. The thought of standing on the engine room platform did not sound so fatiguing. However this also proved to physical for Elias and he had to give it up. While resting Elias spent his time perfecting his patent model shut away in a small annex of George Fisher's house. By the spring of 1845 Elias had made his first seam on his new fangled sewing engine. By the spring of 1846 everything was finally ready, his sewing engine was built. In fact he had made two machines one for the Patent Office and one to show off at exhibitions. Quite possibly, had Elias been of a stronger constitution, he would never have had enough time off work to complete his invention. How strange fate is.
1846 The most important date in sewing machine history Elias Howe had played with his ideas for years and nearly eight years after his first discussions with Ari Davies (and over 40 prototypes) he had made his first fully working machine. It was little more than wire and wood but it was a sewing machine. It was capable, in Elias's hands, of sewing over 250 lock-stitches a minute without breaking thread, 300 if Elias was in a good mood. Few other people could get a stitch out of the contraption but the maker had the magic touch! By the spring of 1846 the machine was ready for patenting. To prove its worth Elias stitched up his own suit which he wore until the cloth perished. In fact he made one for George Fisher as well. Later he would often point out that even though the cloth was worn the stitch was still strong. Elias Howe, in his new home-made suit, and George Fisher boarded the train for Washington to exhibit at the Washington State Fair.
Roll up, roll up, come and see the future...
Crowds huddled around to see the invention that would drag women from the drudgery of their daily choirs. The marvel of the age. However no one bought the machine. Not one single sale followed. It was just too expensive for people to gamble on. $300 was the sale price. It must have been a quiet and depressing journey back from Washington.
Unperturbed Elias still went forward with his patent application.
Patent No 4750 patent awarded to Elias Howe September 10th 1846. (Patent 5346. Patent 5942 Bradshaw improved Howe 1848) Elias soon began to see that sales were not going to be so easy. After years of bad machines people were sceptical about yet another sewing machine! Amazing as it seems now there were actually hundreds of thousand of inferior sewing machines before 1846 and not one of them made a reliable, regular stitch. Proving his machine was better than anyone's was going to be a big problem. Another problem is that it took him more than two months to make a machine and he was trying to sell it for $300, over eight months average wages! George Fisher was now in a mournful state. He also came to see there was little prospect of Elias selling his sewing machines and George had now spent over $2,000 supporting and paying for Elias and his family. With George Fisher's wealth diminishing by the day he had to get up enough strength to ask Elias to move out so as to cut his losses and constant drain. Elias and family sadly moved back in with his dad while he continued in vain to try and sell his sewing engine. Let's step back a second and look at his invention. Some say his invention came about because of his continual ill health and his long spells in bed, watching his wife sewing. It here that his inspirational movement of his sewing machine was born. It certainly meant he had the time and opportunity! Hey that sounds more like a murder trial, read on... Other say that it was Elias Howe's early training as a machinist's apprentice at the Lowell Textile Mill that helped his invention. Others that it was the inspiration of his inventive family and possibly Ari Davies. I guess it was a mixture of all his experiences that led to his sewing engine. I have a dream Later on Elias Howe himself had another version for the courts. Elias Howe told how the idea of a needle with a hole in the 'wrong end' came to him. It was all a dream... Elias Howe was in the middle of a dream where Red Indians were firing arrows through cloth wigwams snagging threads and drawing the threads through with the tips of the arrows. Elias woke in the middle of his dream, rushed to his workshop, and put his 'dream' into practice. The rest, as they say, is history, or just a good story for the court. Whatever the truth, what we know is that he did build a machine that made a lock stitch with two threads, a shuttle and a bent/curved needle with a hole at the wrong end! "Be it known that I, Elias Howe, Jr., of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful machine for sewing seams in cloth or other articles requiring to be sewed; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof. In sewing a seam with my machine two threads are employed, one of which threads is carried through the cloth by means of a curved needle..." Now, this was not a great machine. It had lots of problems. it still fed the work vertically with the needle moving horizontally. The fabric had to be supported on pins in short lengths. Operators who tried to use it ended up with pricked fingers and a scowling face. What the machine did do was allow others to see his ideas and make improvements on it.This in turn led to a massive expansion in the sewing machine industry. IN an instant anyone seeing the shuttle movement could copy it. Watching the movement of the Howe sewing machine at one of his demonstrations or exhibitions would have been a Eureka moment to an engineer.
Even after many demonstrations beating as many as five sewing girls at a time Elias Howe's Chunky and awkward machine was not a seller. In fact hard as poor old Elias Howe tried he could not sell his invention. One big problem was the price. This hand-made marvel cost, in today's value, the price of a new car! No wonder no one would risk buying it or investing in it. It would have been the most expensive item in the house besides the house itself!
Elias was an unlucky salesman, he never had Singer's flare and could not sell his machine in America.
Shortly before Elias had his machine patented he had to prove its worth. In a hall at the Quincy Clothing Company Elias set up a large demonstration of his sewing engine. For 14 days Elias Howe Jr sat at his chair and sewed up every bit of clothing that was brought to him. Tailors brought him the worst they could find but he sewed it all. He sewed against the best and the fastest and bets were wagered, he beat them all. The Quincy Hall demonstration
He had proven that he could sew the same as seven skilled tailors. The tailors were unhappy about this, six obsolete tailors and one sewing engine operator was their future! Wrong. No one could ever have guessed the explosion in industry that reliable sewing machines or sewing engines were going to create. Unfortunately his modern marvel did not sell. He could not find a manufacturer in America willing to take on production or someone who would buy his patent. October 1846 Amasa Howe sails to Britain Elias Howe's older brother, Amasa, told him that he might find a buyer in England on the other side of the world. England was a hub of industrial factories and new ideas. Elias Howe Snr decided to pay for a ticket for Amasa who was stronger than Elias. The idea was for Amasa to go to England and see if there were prospects for the machine. I have a funny feeling that Amasa Howe never took the machine just samples and diagrams of the Howe sewing machine. Amasa set off and eventually returned with great news. England was a hive of industry. Manufacturing in steel was everywhere. Amasa saw huge potential and had news that several manufacturers would be very interested in Elias's invention. Now, here we must stop for a mo. I have uncovered conflicting evidence that Elias took his family to England and some other information that states he set sail just with his brother Amasa Howe and sent for his wife and kids later, when he was in a state of depression. Glorious tales of hardship spring to mind. The two brothers working their passage to England, cooking their own meals along the way and struggling for riches in a foreign land. February 5th 1847 Elias Howe goes to England Elias and Amasa sailed to the manufacturing centre of the world. If he was going to find a buyer, Europe would be the place. Elias Howe reluctantly left his country, wife and kids and set off for the distant land of his forbearers. It was an arduous trip and worse was to come. Once again history agrees to disagree. Some say that Elias and Amasa, far from finding instant riches, they beat their heads against closed doors, taking on seasonal work to pay for board and lodgings in Victorian England for nearly two years before before bumping into their temporary saviour, William Thomas, A wolf in sheep's clothing by all accounts. Some say that it was William Thomas who forwarded the money for Elias's passage to England in the first place after an initial meeting the year before with Amasa Howe. William Thomas, Cheapside, London. Amongst many things William Thomas was a corset and umbrella manufacturer. William Thomas of Cheapside, London, bought the rights to Elias Howe's machine. However after he had disposed of Elias he could not get the machine to work and after several failed attempts by other engineers never managed to adapt the machine properly for his business. The machine needed the touch of Elias himself. Thomas had paid £250 for Elias's machine and he paid for a verbal agreement to use as many machines as he may wish in his business for free. These machines never materialised. William Thomas also bought the patent rights for the Howe sewing machine and its needle and shuttle. This was to prove the best deal of his career. On December 1st 1846 William Thomas gained his patent for much of the Howe sewing machine. It was to earn him a fortune. William Thomas paid Elias Howe to modify his sewing machine for the umbrella and corset stays. This took Elias the best part of a year to do. While he was busily working away Amasa Howe was of little use so he decided that he would return to America. Slowly Elias Howe managed to perfect his machine for William's business. During this period, away from home, missing his family, his work slowed and his weak constitution surfaced. The London air was damp and smog-filled, not a good place for someone of Elias's constitution. Victorian London was the place of Charles Dickens, beggars and street hustlers as well as untold wealth. It was sneaky William Thomas who saw his work failing and came up with another cunning plan. "Look my old son, why not let me bring your wife over, and your kids as well. I'll put them up for you. Wouldn't you like that my boy." Said William placing a comforting hand on Elias's weak shoulder. The plan worked and with his loving family around him Elias, filled with enthusiasm, managed to adapt his sewing machine for the corset and umbrella stays. Remember these machines were hand built and extremely complex. Each modification could take days, even weeks, and then not work. It was the new territory of invention, of failure and ultimate success. However once Elias was finished William Thomas had no further use for him and his mood quickly changed. Far from being an asset Elias Howe was now a drain. All businessmen know what to do with losses in their companies. Thomas had everything he needed from Elias, his machine to be copied, his patents signed over to him and his agreements. All this had been paid for legitimately and perfectly legally, but business minds are necessarily cold-blooded.
William Thomas made it so awkward at work that he eventually forced Elias to quit his well paid job. At the time Elias was receiving £3 a week. that was six times the average wage and plenty to keep Elias's family well fed and looked after. Sneaky old William Thomas was already a successful manufacturer employing thousands of workers in the sewing industry. He manufactured everything from umbrellas to corsets. If he could get the machine copied in Britain he could cut his work-force by over two thousand workers (going on Elias's demonstrations). Every business owner would find that appealing and, by letting Elias go, he instantly saved £3 a week on Elias's wages to boot. However, once William Thomas had got rid of Elias Howe, he never seemed to get the machine off the ground. The complexities of the handmade mechanics made manufacturing very expensive and problematic. I bet there are a few funny looking wooden and metal prototype contraptions in London lofts slowly rotting away today worth a mint. But and it is a big but William Thomas had the all important patent protection from Elias. This was to lead to massive revenue when sewing machines started to appear in Britain using any of Elias Howe's patent. Wow! They say that the initial investment from William Thomas of £250 paid back over one million pounds in royalties, licence and patent fees. Mummamia! That was the best investment ever. Back to poor old Elias. Once again he has been thwarted. Once again he has had the door of success slammed in his face. Is he ever going to strike it rich. You bet your life he is. No job, no machine and no money and on the far side of the world away from all his friends and most of his family. What to do? While Elias thought what to do he came across Charles Inglis. Luckily he befriended Charles Inglis who let Elias use his rooms and workshop in Essex. Here he tried to make another sewing machine but lack of money and his wife's failing health proved too much. Charles Inglis helped out where he could but he was just a coach maker and of no fortune himself. Nearly broke and disheartened Elias decided to use his last earnings and some borrowed money from Charles get his frail wife and kids back home. It was a long and dangerous journey back then, weeks at sea under sail blown by the temperamental winds. All Alone in a foreign land
Elias Howe patent sewing machine of 1846
Elias was loathed to leave England himself as he had nearly finished his forth sewing machine. In all this time he had only made four complete sewing machines. If he could complete this one his money worries would be over. Finally, broke and living on hand-outs he managed, by hook and by crook, to get his machine finished and ready to sell. He had spent his last penny making his forth sewing machine but he then sold it for a pittance because he was so desperate to get home. Shortly after, Elias Howe was selling the clothes of his back and his last laundry. He decided enough was enough. With his savings form the machine and clothes and some borrowed money from Charles he booked passage to Home, America. Some say he took Charles Inglis with him. He bid farewell to the unforgiving England and set sail. By now he was so broke he had to drag his last belongings, on a broken hand wagon, the long road from Essex to the London Docks. The man with the weak constitution but a heart of oak leaves the land he had hoped would make him rich. April 1849 Elias arrives back in New York Broke, Elias Howe arrived back in America with a single English coin in his pocket. Terrible news was waiting for him. Elizabeth, who had returned home on an earlier passage, was seriously ill. the journey had proved just too much for Elias's wife. Elias was desperate and once again his dad came to the rescue sending money to Elias for the journey to his wife's bedside. Elias made the mad rush to Cambridge and arrived to find his poor wife dying of consumption. She had held on for days but once she had touched her beloved husband she let go and slipped away to sleep the eternal sleep. Heartbroken, Elias had to organise her funeral and had to go to her funeral in borrowed clothes. This was the lowest point in Elias's life and it could have been his end as well. However fortune was about to smile on the brave. With the sad loss of his wife Elias now had his three children to support and no living. All he had earned in the entire world was the English coin in his pocket. His invention had not been the winner he had hoped. In fact it had been just the opposite, so far... Elias Howe's children at this point were Simon Ames Howe, Julia Maria Howe and Jane Robinson Howe. 1849 the year the tables turn Back home in America, to Elias Howe's utter astonishment, the sewing machine industry was flourishing. Like the computer industry a year can be a long time and Elias Howe had been gone two years. While he was away no one bothered to even check if they were infringing any patents and Elias was on the other side of the world. While the cats away the mice do play! Isaac Singer and several others had all been hard at work making sewing machines in his absence. Now, while none of these machines looked exactly like Elias's machine they had all infringed on his patents. Singer had his needle and his machine also created a two-thread lock stitch shuttle which Elias had patents for. "Sweet Lord, the sewing machines are even being used as family attractions for ten cents a time like tattooed ladies at the circus. I simply cannot believe my eyes, and if that is not bad enough they are all using my ideas." Elias was now on the boil, enough was enough. People were getting rich of his hard work. The Howe family were now in battle-station mode. Elias's father re-mortgaged the family farm so that Elias Howe could pursue his rights in court.Elias found someone who was gong to London to grab back the patent machine and its paperwork. In all likelihood it was not actually the patent machine but his final machine sold to an Essex mechanic for £4. He did state that it was the patent machine in the courts but who knows?
Ansom Burlingame was the man of the hour and carried out exactly what Elias had wanted. While on other business in England he found one of the two machines over there and copies of the patent paperwork. This cost a small fortune but would pay dividends later. Elias tried to get George Fisher (who still owned half the American patents) back on board but he had already lost so much money to Elias he was more than reluctant. However in 1851 he did sell his half to three entrepreneurs, Daniel Johnson, William Whiting and George Jackson but they soon ran out of money funding Elias's court proceedings. In 1852 the half-share in Elias's patent was bought up by George W Bliss of Massachusetts. Bliss also helped with the law suits on condition that he held a second mortgage on Elias's fathers farm. Boy did that dad have faith in his son. Time after time he has bailed him out and encouraged his son. What a dad.
Things were not easy. Singer had a great lawyer in his partner Clark and the weeks turned into months then years. The whole family held their breath as the lawyers fought out a bitter and contracted battle, much of it was reported almost daily in the papers. Elias demanded money from all the sewing machine manufacturers that were infringing on his patents. They in turn helped finance Elias Howe's destruction in the courts. For five years Elias Howe battled in the courts. He cases he won some then some lost. The courts se-sawed back and forth. For example in 1850 Elias decided to have his machine made and he ordered 14 sewing machines from a manufactory in Gold Street, New York. All was fine until everyone found out the machines were pretty useless. Like William Thomas and Bradshaw had found out the machines had to be made by Elias himself if they were to work. To compound this, both Singer and Elias Howe advertised extensively trying to persuade the public of their just causes. All this time Walter Hunt (an earlier inventor) was being paid by Isaac Singer to break Howe's patent claims. In the year 1853, Walter Hunt applied for a patent upon his sewing machine invention, but was refused on the ground of abandonment. This is fascinating reading… Judge Charles Mason, Commissioner of Patents, May, 1854
"Hunt
claims priority upon the ground that he invented the
Judge Charles Mason then went on to attack Elias Howe…
Elias Howe, Jr, acquired the power, by
the invention lay dormant in his hands. He held control Walter Hunt testified, under oath, as follows…
"Elias
Howe has several times stated to me that he was Eventually, Walter Hunt's earlier designs proved that he had in fact invented a lock stitch machine. Pity he never proved it in 1834, kept proper records or bothered to patented it. Elias Howe and Isaac Singer were now bitter enemies and several times they nearly came to blows. In fact I think one time Isaac physically booted Elias out of a demonstration he was doing. Fable has it that Elias was walking along the street when he peered into a shop window only to find the excellent actor and promoter, Isaac Singer hard at work demonstrating his sewing machine. A furious Elias rushed in to confront the larger more powerful Singer only to be booted out of the shop. 1854 Elias Victorious! Finally it all ends up in the Supreme Court and all those years later the final decision is announced. Elias Howe won. Wow, what a relief! He must have jumped for joy that day.I can see the whole family hugging and kissing in the court as Isaac Singer fumes out in a rage. From this point in history it meant that everyone using his patent had to pay him. For the first time in his turbulent life Elias would be in the money. And people who had been using his patent would have to pay him for money they had already earned from its use!
Did Howe copy someone else's design? Now let's step back and think about this. Many people, some experts in the sewing field, say Elias Howe merely copied Walter Hunt's and others designs. Walter hunt had produced two lock-stitch machines many years earlier but it is unlikely that these Blodgett & Lerow machines ever crossed the path of Elias Howe. The facts are that even the best lawyers in the land could not remove his patent right. The best money could hire tried every nasty trick in the book and failed and remember they were there at the time not centuries later. They heard the testimonies, saw the look on the faces of the men. Looked into the eyes of the people in the dock. Saw the sweat on the brows. Put yourself for a moment in Elias Howe's shoes. He arrived back from England penniless and in ill health. His poor young wife succumbs after years of hardship and dies. Elias is left with a young family to support and no income. He finds that the only thing that he has ever done that is really worth anything is being copied and making other men rich. You must ask yourself, would you really go and get your father to mortgage the family farm? Would you really risk the only security you have left for yourself, your children and your parents? Would you risk all and go against what seemed to be the whole world if you did not believe one hundred percent that you were right?
They say that history belongs to the victors and although elsewhere on my site I put the opposing argument, on this page Elias Howe is the winner. He comes out of court triumphant. How great he must have felt on that day walking down the court steps, victorious. My reasons for believing in Elias? Basically, like a cake mixture he had all the right ingredients. Firstly he had spent time working in the textile industry. He would have been very familiar with looms and the age old method of passing a bobbin through the cloth. Secondly, while ill he had spent time watching his pretty young wife hand sew knowing that if he could speed up her sewing they would make more money for the family. No health benefits in those days, just poverty and starvation. Thirdly he had worked on countless sewing machines as a repairer-come-journeyman for Ari Davies. He was used to nearly every mechanism of the day that produced a stitch. Finally he was the son of a farmer and if I have learnt one thing on my travels, farmers can make just about anything. They are the most pioneering self-sufficient breed on God's earth. Put all these ingredients together and you have the perfect mix for the necessity of invention. This is why I believe Elias Howe was the first real inventor of a type of lock-stitch sewing machine. Of course he was inspired by other mechanical operations he learned from. I mean human evolution does not jump it evolves, no monkey is going to design a space ship! Elias was the man who did it and patented it first. Today they are thousands of engineers who could design a sewing machine but only because of the knowledge they have gained. I am rambling on here so I will stop.
The dream comes true for the curly-haired inventor Anyway, Elias Howe was now victorious in court and although his enemies spent endless hours trying to tarnish his reputation it was all in vain. In 1854, some eight years after his original patent, Elias Howe was rolling in cash. Isaac Singer had to fork out over fifteen thousand dollars in back payments as did several other infringers. I bet that hurt! This was more money than Elias Howe could ever have dreamed, and there was more to come. He paid off all his debts and father's mortgage on his farm. 1854 was possibly the best year of Elias Howe's life.
A very early picture of a Howe sewing machine shop circa 1856 Every sewing machine made in America that used Elias Howe's patents had to pay him royalties, five dollars for every machine sold in the USA and another dollar for everyone sold abroad. Elias had hit the big time. In a few years millions rolled in. He became one of the wealthiest men in the world, an old time Bill Gates of yesteryear.
Elias had also bought back the rights to the other half of his patent and was now earning around $1,000 a day! The price of a new house every day... In 1854, Amasa Howe, Elias Howe's brother set up a sewing machine factory to start producing sewing machines. A dream had come true. One of the funny things with inventors is that they often spend more time in court than on their inventions. This was true of the Wright brothers and Herr Rudolf Diesel of the diesel engine. They both spent more time in court than in the workshop. The Sewing Machine Cartel The following year, in 1856, the Sewing Machine Cartel was formed and the big boys, who held most of the patents covering this new fangled machine, sued and charged everyone for using their patents. Elias Howe reluctantly shook hands with the devil himself and went into business-bed with Isaac Singer. Of course the Sewing Machine Cartel was really little more than an illegal monopoly and the law was eventually changed to dismantle it. That took 20 years!
Elias Howe rose meteorically to one of the richest men in the world. He hired writers to re-write his version of events and tried to make sure history remembered him as the man who truly invented the sewing machine. It did not work. Some of the biographies are a bit silly, born a cripple but leads charges in the War! These re-writes probably did him more harm than good. Patent Extension-Twice In 1860, 14 years after his initial patent, Elias Howe managed to yet again extend/renew his patent rights for another seven years. There was talk of greasing the wheels to get this extension and he must have known the right people in the right places as there was little or no justification for the extension. He tried it again in 1867 but failed. However from 1860, instead of the $5 he was getting, he only received $1 for every sewing machine made by any manufacturer in the US. Elias backs the Union Army When the American Civil War raged some stories say that Elias Howe used some of his enormous wealth (now the third richest man in America) to equipe much of the 17th cavalry regiment of Connecticut volunteers, then enlisted himself, as a private in Company D as regimental postmaster. This showed the modesty of the man that many fault today. He could have bought himself just about any position that he liked. These facts needs confirming for such a weak man to serve as a private from 1862 until July of 1865 is amazing. The hardships alone would kill a strong able bodied man. Then again he may have been in his prime and willing to fight in what he believed. I would never blame a man for that, nor should any. As the Civil War ended there were many scars to heal after the war and some men raged on, like the James brothers, Jesse and Frank who joined with the Younger's to form the James-Younger Gang. In 1866 in Liberty, Missouri the gang made off with over $60,000 from the first American bank robbery. It was to be the start of many.
In 1867 Elias Howe, still only 48, was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition and decorated by Napoleon III with the Cross or Legion of Honor for his contribution to fellow man. This European trip once again left our man exhausted and he returned home to convalesce. By 1867 Elias Howe had been awarded over $2,000,000 in patent and licence fees. Elias had also amassed a fortune of over $10,000,000. He had become one of the richest men of his day!
3rd October 1867 Death of a pioneer Unfortunately, the one thing that all Elias Howe's money could not buy was good health. In October of 1867, two years after the bloody war ended, in Brooklyn, New York, poor old Elias bit the dust. He died at his son-in-law's home from a sudden blood clot.He was only 48. Strangely enough it was the same year as he claimed amazing success and world-wide awards, also the year that his patents finally ran out. Was all the stress, good and bad, just to much for Elias?
And so the legend dies. The papers were full of testimonials to the great man. The Funeral of Elias Howe Elias was laid in sate in a magnificent rosewood coffin lined in satin and gold. The New York Times stated that the burial service was read, over the remains of Elias, at the First Universalist Church of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts by the Reverend Greenwood of Malden. The church was crammed full as people tried to pay their last respects and hear the service. A great man was departing. Reverend Greenwood praised Elias's generosity and paid him the highest tributes especially for his work and benefits to the poor. The funeral was attended by all the most important men in his field including Elias's feuding family. I believe that he left A second wife, Rose Halladay, and six children, the youngest a girl was possibly named, Mertie. Please could someone out there in Internet land fill me in of Elias's second wife and children as there is no information that I have gathered on her besides her death in 1890. alexsussex@aol.com Elias Howe & Rose Halladay/Howe (died 10th October 1890) are buried together at Greenwood Cemetery in New York. They have a magnificent memorial just a few yards from Walter Hunt's, the man who invented the safety pin and who had tried to destroy him. In his short life Elias Howe had been part of the inventive genius that would change the world forever. He had fought with giants and won. Whatever people tell you Elias Howe will go down in history as the first man to patent a lock stitch sewing machine..., well done mate. The strangest twist to this tale is that most youngsters today will have only heard of Elias Howe because of the Beatles! At the end of the Beatles film Help there is a little dedication...To Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine! How weird. The End... Almost Elias Howe Junior, inventor and maker of sewing machines The Howe sewing machines There were actually two factories making Howe sewing machines and both run by relatives keen to capitalise on Elias Howe's patented inventions and protections. Two Howe sewing machine companies The Howe Sewing Machine Company And the Howe Machine Company In 1853-4 Amasa Howe had set up the first Howe sewing machine manufacturing business in New York with his brother Elias and a nephew. Later, in 1865, there was also the Stockwell brothers, Connecticut.
The Stockwell brothers were Elias's son's-in-laws. They opened a factory at Bridgeport Connecticut. The factory was actually opened by Elias Howe in 1865 just at the end of the American Civil War. In truth he had little to do with the factory but allowed his image to be put on each machine. These machines were marked as original Howe sewing machines. The factory eventually closed around 1885-6. If you have a Howe sewing machine and it has a brass badge on it with the image of Elias Howe (see below) then you will have one of the Stockwell Brothers machines made between 1865 and 1886.
The second factory (the first one really established many years earlier) was run by Elias's older brother Amasa (who he had gone to England with) and also Elias's nephew. In New York they produced around 100,000 machines before closing. In his first few years the factory only produced about 50 machines a year, one a week but by its take-over in 1871-2 it was producing over 20,000 machines a year. Amasa
B Howe sewing machine serial numbers 1854 1-60 Reading in-between the lines I believe that Elias and Amasa had a falling out in the early 1860's and Elias then gave his support and help to his in-laws. Amasa even took Elias to court over the use of the Howe name on sewing machines. Amasa Howe had been using the Howe name for many years before, when in 1863 Elias Howe decided to set up, with his sons-in-law the Howe Sewing Machine Company. Of course confusion followed. You cannot have to businesses using the same name. 1865 proved a difficult year for the Howe family, not with money problems but the use of the now famous Howe name. Simplicity, Durability and Lightness in Running. The Amasa Howe factory was in New York and had opened around 11 years earlier that the Stockwell Brothers in 1853-4. They made super machines that won many medals and great respect. Amasa Howe models are marked A, B, C and so-on whereas the Stockwell Brothers are numbered 1, 2, 3, and so on.
The grand and pompous opening by Elias Howe of the Stockwell brothers factory in 1865 was a great affair. Elias had pumped a small fortune in the factory to produce a high number of sewing machines. Initially the company was set up to supply the demand that Amasa could not handle.Well to supply demand and make money really. At first the two companies agreed to a peace pact and temporarily joined in name (in 1865) but Amasa soon split away from the Stockwell brothers as soon as he saw that they were having quality problems and that reflected on his sales. He was being tarred with the same brush and sales were falling. Remember Amasa Howe machines were fit for royalty, they were the pinnacle of sewing machine excellence and cost a kings ransom. Poor quality was not an option. It was an acrimonious split and litigation followed over the naming of both the factories machines. From that point on Elias and Amasa fell out and hardly talked. The elder brother who had seen Elias through so much had been caught up in the race for riches. How many families today still squabble over money? Yes mine too. Elias
and Stockwell Brothers serial numbers By 1868
the company was already producing 35,000 machines a year. However they
possibly did not start with number 1. A massive decline in sales followed over the next 10 years. Now back to our Howe factories... Elias was stuck in the middle of feuding relations and his untimely death brought no conclusion. All machines from Amasa's factory were marked A. B. Howe. The factory closed in the early 1870's after Amasa's son (Benjamin Porter Howe) sold the factory to the Stockwell Brothers who later shut it down. One way to stop confusion I suppose! The Stockwell brothers factory finally closed 15 years later in 1886. And so the Howe name moves out of the sewing machine business.
Many machines were marked such as...Howe Model-B manufactured in New York and sold by the Amasa Howe Sewing Machine Co. No. 4 Sixth Street Pittsburgh, PA.
By 1885 the Stockwell Brothers had a made a large range of sewing machines with the brass Howe badge on them from industrials to a copy of the Singer 12k fiddlebase. In England the most popular Howe sewing machine was the Swift & Sure model, a streamlined early sewing machine which was very pretty to look at. Circa 1870 Howe Express sewing machine
It is said that as many as a million Howe machines were produced from both companies and abroad. This is highly unlikely seeing as how few turn up today. Howe sewing machines in England The rarest Howe sewing machines being the early Amasa Howe/Elias Howe hand models (most were treadle machines). By 1863 their partnership was faltering but the machine came out of just the one depot of 8 Ludgate Street, St Paul's London. Later in England the distributors ran out of Holborn Viaduct in London and elsewhere. I have little information on them. Above is one of their Howe imports. Nahum Salamon Nahum Salamon was a Londoner and some say the founder of the British sewing machine industry for it was he that first shipped Howe sewing machines across from America. Well that is what many historians tell you but in fact although Nahum Salamon was instrumental in the early British sewing machine history along with pioneers like Newton Wilson it could be Luke McKernan who is our forgotten first man off the blocks in 1859.
By 1860 Nahum Salamon was the patent agent for Howe sewing machines made by Amasa Howe. Did they meet years earlier on Elias & Amasa Howe's ill-fated journey to Britain to sell their new fangled invention? Why did the Luke McKernan/Howe partnership last only a few months?
Just five years after Amasa Howe had started making machines in 1854 he appointed his London and European agent as Luke McKernan. Luke McKernan had premises at 142 High Holborn, London before moving to Cheapside, London. However within the year Amasa Howe opened his own depot at No 8 Ludgate Street and appointed Nahum Salamon as his manager come agent come importer come distributor. Basically giving him full reign over Howe machines also possibly in Europe including Paris where Moses and Joseph Mayer were appointed agents, Rome and Berlin. By 1870 Chevalier was the French agent.
There is some evidence that the Howe/Salamon/Mckernan split was acrimonious as Howe had to take a court order out against Mckernan to stop him trading using the Howe name.
So now let's go to January 1862 London. Nahum Salamon was set up, importing and selling Howe machines. Don't forget sewing machines were new at this point in history and the Howe factory in America was having trouble supplying demand. They were still only producing around 1,500 machines a year.
Nahum Salamon was on the move, as well as his London empire he was looking to the heartland of British manufacturing for regular, cheaper supplies. Nahum Salamon became an investor, company director and then Chairman of the Coventry Machinists Company.
Although Nahum Salamon was the British distributor, manager and agent for Amasa Howe sewing machines (which he held until 1867) he was also looking to manufacture himself.
It may have been because of the success of the Howe sewing machine at the 1862 London Exhibition where the machine won gold that he decided he was onto a good thing and kept in with Howe or it may have been as he had paid William Thomas for his using his Howe patents. You have to remember that Amasa Howe had been making sewing machines since 1854 and by now had perfected his machines. The Stockwell Brothers had not even stared until 1865.
British Howe Models Howe sewing machine models in 1863 were alphabetical, Models, A, B, C, D and E, ranging from ten pounds ten shillings to an staggering twenty eight pounds for the Howe model E cylinder arm. Twenty eight pounds would have been the best part of a years wages in 1863. Then there were models 1-10. Many were similar with different cabinets or embellishments. Model's A & D were the family machines (the D had a cylinder arm for shirt sleeves), B was the professionals machine, larger and tougher. Model C was the big-boy for leather work.
There was also the Swiftsure, Little Howe and the Howe Express (picture above somewhere) models. In the early days of Nahum Salamon's fledging company all sales of Howe sewing machines paid for by cheque had to have the cheque made out to Nahum Salamon personally. this showed that he was the boss.
Nahum Salamon had possibly helped set up the Coventry sewing machine business to make and sell sewing machines under the Howe licence rather than spend the huge amount of time ordering machines from across the other side of the world and waiting ages for the ships to arrive. This would make sense. Also in Britain there was a preference to hand machines whereas in America they preferred treadle machines. Making his own machines he could simply do away with the Howe treadle.
You will have to jump to my history of James Starley as he is entwined with Nahum Salamon in Coventry, all very confusing I must say but luckily it changes. Nahum Salamon eventually turned his eye to bicycles as well as sewing machines up in Coventry. Actually they used to call them velocipedes which sounds like a prehistoric animal. Nahum Salamon had so many dealing with so many people involved in the early sewing machine trade that he became one of the very first experts on the British sewing machine trade. In 1863 Nahum Salamon wrote and published a book on the history of the sewing machine, one of the first books on the subject. He went back as far as 1750 and wrote a somewhat glowing and biased testimonial to Elias Howe in it. Of course he would do wouldn't he. I mean if he upset the great man he would have upset the apple-cart as well.
By 1873 the Coventry Machinist's Co were doing so well with velocipedes that they discontinued sewing machine manufacture and concentrated on bikes. Their popular European sewing machine was now being farmed out and made in Manchester. And so we can leave Howe machines who stopped manufacture of sewing machines around 1885.
Nahum Salamon had retired from Coventry business around 1881 and died in November 1900. Blimey I bet that has given you a headache! Interestingly Salamon retired the year that James Starley died. Did he see the death of workaholic James Starley as a warning to retire and enjoy himself first?
The last Howe model. Elias how made many men rich and many lawyers retired wealthy men from his constant litigations. All serious collectors should have a Howe machine or two in their collections, well I have only one but I'm not serious enough! Elias Howe Junior
The End, really this time... A brief history of Elias
Howe Well I do hope you like this little chapter in sewing machine history. I have spent over 30 years collecting data, endless hours researching and writing for your interest. I love to know what you think, also if you spot any mistakes do mail me: alexsussex@aol.com If you have a second spare for a good read click below. It is the true story about a young girl growing up during the Second World War in England, gripping stuff:
Dear Alex, TIffany B USA
Hi
I wanted to applaud you for your extensive coverage of
Howe sewing
machines.
Until I reached your sight, I had no idea there was such an
information base available, Your coverage
of Elias Howe was inspirational and informative. Thank you for your
time and concern sir, and for helping me understand, perhaps why my
history beyond two generations was shrouded. What an amazing adventure
and wonderful search I have been able to
see. My smile was enchanted as I slowly
uncovered it all, the bobbin,
The eye of the needle at the wrong end! All
the stories of Elias Howe I heard as being
my great great uncle. My mother telling me to look into it someday.
His patent box viewed in the Smithsonian! And then your website.
This is a marvellous piece by Warren Fabion. Many thanks Warren. Elias Howe’s wealth from Warren Faubion Hi Alex, You asked where Elias Howe’s wealth went. I would like to imagine Elias Howe's wealth became the foundation of America as he helped finance the Union Army. I suppose the sad part was the Civil War pitted brother against brother, as did the Revolutionary War against England. Elias descended from William Howe, (the lazy general). William Howe was in charge of the British Army and appointed by George III he married George's half sister. I've read it purported previously that Howe was a grandson of George 1st. So we can trace the blood of royal England through Britain the Union Army and through the South to the Louisiana Purchase and the blood of its own fighting against itself.
William Howe was not considered a great general being censured even in
England when he returned. I think he was one of the greatest generals
that ever lived for standing down and being reluctant after Bunker Hill
to needlessly waste more lives. Perhaps British History should rewrite
him. After his return from Cuba he Left Opelousas Louisiana to come to Houston Texas. Mary, Amanda Howe's daughter is buried here in Houston (died 1926). So I can tell you my friend, the real wealth of the Howe family it lies deep in a heart as big as the Louisiana Purchase. My family’s closest neighbor at that time was Jim Bowie. I can trace Howe blood to heroes of every American war since then to the present. You asked where Elias Howe’s wealth went. Look now at America! See the wealth! Look at your sewing machines, there it is.
Warren Faubion (Relation of Elias Howe) Many thanks to al the people who have sent in pictures and information to help complete this page.
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