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The 55 shilling dream machine
In the 1860’s James Galloway Weir, a Scotsman
with a canny business sense saw the potential for a cheap machine
in the Victorian market. Laws prohibiting how you advertised your
wares were scarce and hard to enforce. In 1863 Weir
set up as
an importer or commission agent. He imported a beautiful
small and cheap machine from Canada and called it his own. And So
the British Weir sewing machine business was established.
James had spent some time in Canada and had struck up a
relationship with Charles Raymond the Canadian machine
manufacturer. It was only natural that he saw the potential of a
business relationship between the two.
The son of James Ross Weir James Galloway Weir was
born in 1839. He was a man on the move by his early
20's he was already importing machines from the other side of the
globe. His first machine, the Lady, was a German imported chain
stitch. However James was looking for a cheaper more reliable
machine and he found it in Canada.
Charles Raymond
The
connection!
Across the pond, America was in the middle of a
desperate civil war so Weir looked to Canada for supplies. He imported
a popular machine from Charles
Raymond who had patented his first machine by 1857. The
machine was know under various names such as Improved Common Sense
and Globe but the name that really stuck in America was, The New
England Machine. It is interesting to note that Weir himself
advertised these machines as The American Hand Machine, though
they were from Canada!
Back in Britain it was not until the Trades
Description Act of 1890 that people were banned from stating they
made an item that they in fact, just imported. Many importers got
away with false descriptions until 1890. Thomas Shakespeare
also imported, or possibly copied, the Raymond machines and marked them The Royal
Sewing Machine Company, Birmingham, England. These are super rare
machines today and few have survived.
1890 was many years away and James Weir happily
marketed the Raymond machines under his own name, right up until
1885 he was claiming to be a manufacturer and
in truth may have had some input to the machines design because of
his relationship with Raymond. The fact
that he states that he made machines is possibly true
but no one has yet ascertained positive proof that he made any
machines from scratch. As an importer it would seem like a whole
different profession.
Sperm Whales were hunted for their bright
burning candles, lamp oil and sewing machine oil!
Charles Raymond, whom James
was importing from, had started manufacturing sewing machines in partnership with
William Nettleton and by 1861 Raymond had established a factory at
Guelph,
Ontario, Canada.
The company initially produced chain-stitch machines. They were exported
world-wide with several European agents including William Moore in
Ireland, P Frank in
Liverpool
and finally our man in London James Weir. Although the machines
were Canadian they were pretty much identical to the bestselling New England
American models and so Weir called his model the American Hand
Machine.
Initially Raymond had sold
his London machines through the
Highbury Sewing Machine Co of 75 or 73 Hollaway Road North,
London, but soon supplied Weir with most of his machines. For a
few years all went well with the Raymond and Weir partnership.
A very rare note from Weir advertising his
New American
But by the 1870's Raymond's production in Canada
was in trouble as were several other Canadian sewing machine
companies. With the war over competition from the huge American
manufacturers on their doorstep was proving too much.
By 1879
Raymond had completely sold out to the giant White Sewing Machine Company
(this date seems to vary quite considerably in my research).
It
was leading up to this time that Weir was unable to import his
machines from Raymond. It may well have been that White's would
not supply him but I am only surmising.
What we do know is that James
and Raymond had a falling out and supplies from Canada ceased.
Raymond even went so far as to take out an advert in a trade
magazine of the day letting everyone know that had split.Nasty!
After his split with
the Raymond Company,
for whatever reason, Weir found a French manufacturer
to produce his popular model. He
took this opportunity to make several changes
to the machine, namely the thread holder and tension assembly.
Weirs patents were in 1872 Pat No 580 hook improvements.
Further improvements were made in 1873 No 2738. The basic hook
seems to be attributed to F. D. Parker patent No 582. How these
numbers were so similar has confused me as Parkers patent dates to
1859.
I have yet to discover the
possible French manufacturer of Weir machines, possibly Goodwin of Paris, so if you happen to know mail
me this instant!
alexsussex@aol.com
I have there London manufacturing base as, The
Weir Manufacturing Co of Belmont Street, NW London and Ferdinand
Place. Anybody else
know that? You do now. I expect to see it everywhere by next year.
He also had a larger premises at Chalk Farm, London.
Whether Weir actually manufactured these machines himself at his
London addresses is unclear but we do know he made large profits
which would come from cutting out suppliers and making them
himself.
Anyway in
1877 he dropped the lady model from Germany and launched the
Globe, basically an identical machine to the Raymond New
England type he was previously selling. The transfers were
slightly different but very little else, oh except the price it
was now two guineas! The same year he launched the Zephyr
and the Argus. He now had a formidable range but it was his
little dream machine that sold like hot cakes.
The 55 shilling Raymond Weir
James, living in London had premises at
Hanaway Street and later at 2 Carlisle Street in Soho. Soho was
once a centre of the sewing trade.
Soho of course is now far more
famous for its
shady nightlife, strip clubs and gambling
joints than long forgotten sewing machine magnates.
If
you want an exciting night out in London...say no more!
In a
very short period, with manufacturing secure,
Weir's 55-shilling dream machine became a great
success.
Within ten years Weir went from sleeping under
his workshop bench to become a wealthy man. They
say because of his early struggles in life he was always kind to those with
little.
His small, light, pretty and
simple machine that
produced the most fundamental of all stitches was making him loads
of money. Lucky fella! He advertised his machine as
the New American. Often referred to as The New England Machine.
The later half of the Victorian period was one of
great invention and discovery and Weir was there to seize the opportunity.
*****
It was a time of great
change in the World. Let me tell you a little about the period.
America was still
rebuilding after its bloody civil war but, union and expansion was
explosive.
Queen Victoria sat on
her throne at her Palace in London as the most powerful leader our
planet had ever known. Her dominions stretched to the Four Corners
of the Earth and she ruled two thirds of the Globe. In truth the
sun never set upon her empire.
The last great Indian
war was started in America by the Red Indian Shaman, Paiute, whose
ghost dance would free them from the Paleface. In December 1890 it ended with their
terrible destruction at Wounded Knee Creek.
On
a more positive note Aspirin (what a relief!) was discovered
and so were the first x-rays. The independent Labour party was
founded and Britain took control of Hong Kong only to have to give
it back a 100 years later.
In New Zealand
women were allowed to vote, the first nation to do so. So who
thought of that great idea! Only kidding girls.
Eiffel built his
famous tower in the centre of Paris, and later used his technique
to make a frame for Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty modelled on
Singers French wife, Isabella, a French actress considered one of
the most beautiful women in Europe at the time. Doesn't it always
amaze you how these old men with money attract such beautiful
women, true love of course!
The AC electric motor
was invented and Gillette found out how to make a razor that did
not cut you to ribbons.
George Bernard Shaw
was beginning his novels such as Antony & Cleopatra and
Pygmalion at the same time as the zip was invented.
Oscar Wilde was
putting the finishing touches to his work, the importance of being
earnest while Edison was sorting out how to put moving pictures
onto a screen. Watching paper pictures skip round inspired many.
What the maid saw through the keyhole at a fair!
No later Weir was genuine
without his bed-stamp, notice the cross-cut gears.
Singer had just
completed the World’s first ever skyscraper in New York, it
stood over 600ft high. He rode to work in a huge carriage, down
Central Avenue, to the tallest building in the world, show
off!
*****
Back in England Weir had
reached a pinnacle in his sewing machine career. His machines were
now by Royal Appointment after Queen Victoria commanded to see
one. "Bring one round young fellow and be sharp about
it." He had also supplied H.R.H The Princess Mary and a whole
list of important establishments including the Royal Medical
College, Guy's Hospital, and my personal favourite, Broadmoor
Lunatic Asylum! One can only guess at why they would have needed
some, a rush on straight jackets perhaps!
The virtually unknown Weir
Zephyr
His improvements to the
original Raymond machine are more than many people realise. The
super-rare Zephyr had many similarities to his chain stitch models
and close examination of one will show how James progressed from
one machine into the other with of course the benefit of a
two-thread lock stitch mechanism.
Note on
this super-rare Weir Zephyr lock-stitch the similar gearing,
presser bar spring, foot lifter arm. They look so similar to the
Weir Chain Stitch that it is easy to see how James' mind was
working when he designed this machine.
This
beauty came onto Ebay in Sept 2007. The first one that I have ever
seen. The seller was kind enough to grant me permission to use one
of his pictures on my site to show collectors.
James
Galloway Weir Zephyr sewing machine
circa
1875-85
After close examination
of many models over the years let me tell you what he did improve
upon (this
bit is for the nerds among us, me included).
Weir
improved not only the tension which became far more practical and
easy to adjust but also he added more oil holes for longer life.
He cut all the gears in a spiral pattern rather than straight
which makes the whole machine smoother and far quieter plus the
gears lasted longer as there was more wearing surface on each gear.
Then there was the better
needle slide which was prone to wear on the older models and the
thumb nut to adjust the stitch length rather than the silly screw
on older models.
All in all he did a great job on improving a best
selling machine. Then there were the boxes in different woods and
with little hidden drawers.
Weir's marketing skills kept
his small chain stitch a best seller even though it did not do a lock
stitch like many of the oppositions machines. It was the size that
made it so practical and its simplicity. Even today there is no
machine made as easy to thread as Weir's little marvel.
A woodcut of the super rare Weir Victoria
There must have been several
copies of the Weir around as he became almost paranoid about
making sure his was the only machine to buy. This makes me laugh
as he was the person who originally copied Raymond's machine!
It went to the
extreme when even his instruction leaflets became invalid unless
they had been red-stamped genuine! All his literature that I have
seen from the period clearly states that unless the machine was
bought from his only premises at No 2 Carlisle Street, Soho, they
were not genuine!
He also mentions his address is two doors from
Soho Square just to make sure you don't buy a machine from one of
his close competitors. That's a canny Scot for you.
The last machine, a Weir Argus Lockstitch
Before his retirement Weir experimented with a few
other machines. His last machine sold by his daughter and
son-in-law who carried on his business was the Improved Argus
lock stitch. It sold for the sum of 84 shillings and was their
most expensive machine.
*****
This is a bit off topic but connected with Weir's
Argus. The American Sewing Machine Company was founded by
E.Todd in 1863. They were trading out of Ludgate Square in London
and imported models from all over the world. I have seen there
badge on Canadian, American, German and Swedish machines. The
Husqvarna Freja
was a Todd-American Sewing Machine Co import.
Stories go that they had strong ties with the Southern Confederacy
during the American Civil war and stamped the seven stars on there
machine plates as support for the Confederate States, just a
story.
*****
Now back to the relevance of all this and the Argus.
Some experts say that the Weir Argus was a
German import from Bottcher in Berlin. However the similarity to the American New Home models
of the same period is startling, especially New Home’s Nelson
model.
We know he was importing from America and to top it
all if I look closely on my model, in the right light,
underneath the gold, you can just see the name Nelson across the
machine! I bought it from a dress shop where it was on display. It
took a month of bargaining for them to let me have it but my
persistence eventually paid off.
This is the only Weir
Argus to have surfaced so far! Although I know of a couple of
Todd Nelson's which are obviously from the same manufacturer,
German or American it is impressive. Where is my time machine when I need it!
Back to
James. So time rolls on and Weir is
now getting tired of the business. He has meddled with other
machines including a superb machine he called the Victoria,
probably an early Wanzer but
none of these sold in great numbers.
Oh by-the-way for the history
fanatics amongst us (me included) Weir also had a storage/manufacturing facility
he referred to as his works at Ferdinand Place in Chalk
Farm Road NW London.
A stunning treadle Weir. Makes
me dribble just looking at it!
At 41 he is fed up with business. We all know how that feels
right! Ain't that grass always greener! He decides to retire from
the sewing industry and follow his passion. How we would all love to retire early. I think I will drop
dead over a sewing machine at 75 with the old dear prodding me
with a stick to finish the job!
Anyway
James leaves the business to relatives and goes into politics
full-time.Although they say he was not a strong
political speaker he was young and full of energy.
In 1892, he was elected Member of Parliament for
Ross and Cromarty and followed a colourful life in politics for
many years. Lots can be found about his career on the net but we
are concerned with his sewing machine life so I will desist from
too much waffle on the subject.
James popped his clogs on
the 18th of May 1911 in Hampstead, London. One of the
giants of the early sewing machine industry had gone but what a
legacy he had left behind him. Some of the most sought after and
collectible machines of all time. Every serious collector should
have at least one in his collection.
I once bumped into the wife of
his grandson, how amazing is that! She had called me out to service her sewing machine.
In her living room was a grand oil painting that looked so
familiar. I kept staring at it but could not fathom why it felt
like I should know him. When I asked I was amazed to be confronted
with one sewing histories giants.
She told me some
information that I never knew, that Weir lost one of his brothers
in the Siege of Paris, probably the same siege that made Singer
head for England from France, and another brother was killed
in Spain.
After his retirement
from the sewing machine world, he handed over the firm to James Columbine, part of his family. They
traded from the same Soho shop right up until the 1890's.
Their
literature from 1891 proudly states:
Sewing Machine Manufacturer to
Her most gracious Majesty the Queen.
James G Weir was know as Galloway
Weir in Parliament probably to accentuate his Scottish roots
6/07/1839- 18/05/1911
And so James Galloway Weir disappears from our
industry. He died in late spring 1911 in his early 70's. He was
buried in Marylebone Cemetery, London. His wealth by now was said
to be considerable.
Of all the very early sewing machines the
Raymond/Weir, which had a short production run, many hand-painted,
is
undoubtedly one of the prettiest, compact and beautiful,
with soft flowing lines and delicate profile.
The machine appeals to all
collectors even outside the sewing machine world. She would simply
perfect on a ladies dressing table in Victorian London.
The little gems have crossed the world and made men
rich, Weir's 55-shilling machine is what collectors dream
about.
Values
Weir
Raymond machines vary in value but they always fetch good prices.
I have seen models go for over $1500. The machines can only get
older and rarer.
Well I do hope you liked my
brief history of the man and his machines. You should check out Singer's
history. Now there's a man nearly 30 children! read on.
A brief history of J G Weir
By
Alex Askaroff
©
1999-2008
Please do let me know what you thought
of my efforts: alexsussex@aol.com
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