[Sewing Machine] Isaac Merritt Singer was the most flamboyant of 19th-century sewing machine inventors, having sharpened his skills as an actor before becoming an inventor. Around 1850, he began concentrating on improving an existing sewing machine.

Success followed quickly. This 1853 model is a commercial sewing machine. The patent claims were for the methods of feeding the cloth, regulating the tension on the needle thread, and lubricating the needle thread so that leather could be sewn.

The development of practical sewing machines contributed to the growth of the ready-made clothing industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, gift of the Singer Manufacturing Company, 1960.

Sewing Machine patent model, patented May 30, 1853, patent number 10975, invented by Isaac M. Singer (1811-75)

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