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James
Edward Allen Gibbs was a farmer
from just outside Raphine in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He rarely
saw the outside world. When he came across a picture of a
Grover
& Baker machine in a newspaper he decided to try and copy it. Mainly with a
penknife a few farm tools and some wood. Keen
or what!
His sewing
machine went on to be one of the best-selling sewing machines of
all time.
James Edward Allen
Gibbs wooden patent model, nothing like the
model that finally went on sale.
Because he had
only seen the top half of the
Grover & Baker sewing machine he had to imagine how the
bottom would work.
This is
where his stroke of genius came in.
He manufactured a lower revolving hook to catch
the top thread and twist it into a loop to lock it into the
fabric.
What he had not realised was that he had
invented a completely new method of sewing, the chain stitch. In
fact he did not even patent it for a while.
In 1856, Gibbs
spotted a
Singer model A in a shop and examined it carefully.
Realising that his idea was completely different to any other
machine he knew he was on to a winner. He
needed to get his machine patented as soon as humanly possibly.
Isaac Singer was busily patenting anything that could be used
in sewing as were hundreds of others.
Made in metal his machine
would be half the price half the size and half the threading
of his competitors. All he had to do was
get to the patent office.
United States Patent Office
Jas E A Gibbs Application 17427 June 2 1857
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that I, James E A Gibbs of Mill Point in the county of
Pocahontas and the State of Virginia, have invented certain new
and useful improvements to the sewing machine. The design is
intended to use a single upper thread caught caught by a lower
looper or revolving hook. The thread-loop having been caught and
twisted half a revolution, or one hundred and eighty degrees
between each stitch is then released into the next loop of thread.
This method is repeated to form the continuing stitch from the
single upper thread. The material to be moved forward by
pressurised wheel gears.
James Edward Allen
Gibbs, known by many
Chas or Allen Gibbs, patented the
first chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine on June 2, 1857.
This was after his earlier patent for part of a sewing machine in
1856. He
was awarded patent number 17,427 on his machine.
This is J E A Gibbs of Mill Point, Virginia
later 1858 patent showing a much closer similarity to the models
we collect today.
You can clearly see that his first Patent machine was nothing like the
actual machine that went into production. By the time the Willcox
& Gibbs chain stitch arrived on the sewing scene it had a standard
A B Wilson Four-Motion-feed rather than cloth-feeding wheels.
The 1860 Gibbs chainstitch
I have to say that on his machines there are at
least five patent dates that pre-date this one. One as early as
1846! So was he working on the idea of a sewing machine for a lot
longer than we think? Farming can be
very busy one second
then waiting
for crops to grow the
next, so we can guess that he spent his spare time fiddling with
his inventions then shelving it when he was too
busy. Oh for a time machine to help my research!
Anyway, Allen Gibbs
went into partnership with
James and, James' son, Charles Willcox, who were
entrepreneurs and manufacturers of new fangled
ideas. Allen Gibbs became a principal in the
Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company.
Allen
Gibbs
apparently worked with Willcox's son, Charles, to build the first
proper patent model that we recognise today as
the W&G chainstitch.
J E A Gibbs a very 1860's look.
Wouldn't like to meet him in a dark alley!
Allen Gibbs later recounted, "I
was in
Philadelphia
in 1857 selling the first of my first two inventions in the office
of Emery, Houghton and Company, when James Willcox came in. He
remarked that he was a dealer in new inventions, and he asked me
to come to his shop in a Masonic Hall and build a model of my
machine for him".
People assume that it was Gibbs that was the
inventor but Charles Willcox took out loads of patents on the
Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine. It was C H Willcox who patented
the Automatic tension, patent 43819, feed improvements, patent
44490 and 44491 in 1864. Willcox also patented the method of
removing the twists in the thread that caused so many missed
stitches on the early models. Patent 43657 was for his hemming
feet and patent 42036 was for noise reduction on the feed.
The
basic design of the
W&G machines were based on the two main patents taken out by
Gibbs in 1856
and 1857. The patents related to the formation of a chain stitch
by a rotating hook and straight eye-pointed needle.
Bye the
way I still have
some unique W&G chainstitch needles if you would like them just mail me:
alexsussex@aol.com
page on dating Willcox & Gibbs sewing machines.
This 1861 patent clearly shows Chas Willcox
as the inventor of the unique W&G needle with the grooved shank
that made sure all needles went into the exact same position on
the W&G machines. Another simple stroke of genius.
Link to:Willcox & Gibbs chainstitch needles
The Willcox & Gibbs Trademark on all their
machines
In
1858, Willcox & Gibbs engaged the firm of J. R. Brown
&
Sharpe of Providence, Rhode Island, to produce the sewing
machines.
David Brown and his son
Joseph opened
a shop in Providence under the name David Brown & Son
in 1833 for making and repairing
clocks, watches and
undertaking other precision work.
Lucien Sharpe joined the business as an apprentice in 1848
and became a full partner in J.R. Brown & Sharpe in 1853.
The first
sewing machines were finished in November 1858. Willcox,
who was in charge of production, had
no production problems
at all with Brown
& Sharp because at the time they were makers of clocks, watches and
measuring instruments. They were used to
working with super-fine tolerances and to a high quality. It was
these points that were later to produce the wonderful machine
collectors seek today.
Patent 29448 July 1860
Be it known that I, Chas H Willcox, Assignor to
James Willcox, of New York of the County of New York and the State
of New York have invented a means of securing the correct position
of the needle in the needlebar. The adjustment of the needle is an
important feature and often falls to untrained women and children
employed as machinists to try and accomplish this. It has long be
desired to accomplish this by an automatic action, without failure
and with no need of skill.
Among those who
worked on Willcox and Gibbs machines at the Brown and Sharpe
factory was one Henry Leland who was in charge of the
sewing-machine department from 1878 until 1890. See a little note
of interest I have added at the bottom.
And so in 1858, the company had finally began the manufacture of a chainstitch sewing
machine which gained popularity at once. While Grover & Baker
and Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines were selling for around
$100, the Willcox & Gibbs machine sold for $50.
Don't
forget the weekly wage was little more than a few dollars in 1858,
two years before the American Civil War.
To
market their machine, Willcox and Gibbs opened an office at 658
Broadway in
New York City
the following year.
The machines were a
great success as they were half the price of competitors and
generally regarded as the most reliable of any single thread or chainstitch
machines. Gibbs advertised his machines as having an elastic
chain stitch and they certainly handled many different
fabrics with ease.
Early
Machines have a wealth of patent info on them. This one is very unusual
as having an 1846 date. In fact there are five pre-1857 dates!
Note how, if
you look at the back of a W&G machine, the profile/outline of the machine
is a perfect G, a clever little idea Gibbs had so that you always
recognized his machine. Between
Charles & James Willcox, Allen Gibbs made one of the most famous
sewing machines in the world. Most of the
patents were taken out by Willcox & Gibbs but in 1871 two patents
(June & July) were taken out by Willcox & Carleton.
One
of the best things about the W&G machines is that all the
components were checked with very accurate watch and clock gauges to ensure that all parts were
easily interchangeable. This was truly mass production on a superb
quality and scale.
Their machines were much lighter and smoother
than the competitions and were ideal for such difficult tasks as
hat making.
With sales flourishing, Willcox &
Gibbs had their
impressive main
offices built on Broadway in New York and established themselves as major players in
the sewing field.
Due to the weight of shipping the
machines to England, the firm had special hand wheels cast,
originally in
Coalbrookdale, England. Been there it's great.
These hand wheel versions were
completely different to the large cast iron treadle ones that sold
in the States and have proved a great favourite with collectors.
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale has been referred to
as the one of the most extraordinary places in the world. It was
where the industrial revolution all started in the 18th century. A
steep valley with the fast flowing River Severn cutting through
its middle it was the perfect place. It had all the mineral
resources in abundance and pioneers like Abraham Darby and Thomas
Telford concocted their magical potions. They made miracles come
true and changed our world forever. If you ever have the chance to
visit this beautiful place you will be inspired. Early
Coalbrookdale iron and steel is highly collectible today.
Willcox &Gibbs
went on to advertise their superb machines in many ways.
If
one thread will do, why bother with two,
To break, to confuse, and to tangle?
There is not a sound when my looper goes round,
No shuttles or bobbins to jangle.
I am quick, yet I make not a single mistake,
You have only to keep me a-going.
And never will I shirk the least bit of work.
But do all the family sewing.
All have confessed, that I am best
For fine robes for dear baby I prepare;
While the boisterous boy will fail to destroy
My work with the roughest of Wear.
And when the fair maid is for bridal arrayed
I make with the neatest of seams,
The elegant trousseau, that gratifies you so,
And fills the fond lover with sweat dreams.
An article praising The W&G machine appeared in an 1859
issue of Scientific American.
It concluded that-- one cannot but admire the beauty and accuracy
of the machine's movements, and the entire absence of all noise,
even when it is running at the rate of two-thousand stitches and
upwards per minute.
the machine was a hit and sold like hot cakes.
In
Britain, orders we initially taken by a Miss Headdon of Fleet
Street as can be seen from the advert below.
The most perfect regularity and beauty The
Willcox & Gibbs European arm set up in the late 1850's at 37 Moorgate Street and 135 Regent's Street, London.
Willcox
& Gibbs later had their European
head offices at 150 Cheapside
and 20 Fore Street, London. The
same road incidentally as Frister & Rossmann and several other major
manufacturers and importers like The American Sewing Machine
Co. They must have all known each other and been in
competition with each other.
W&G
protected their machines as well as possible and advertised
strenuously to stop people
from buying similar
competitors models.
Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine for straw
hats For
example it is well known that Frister & Rossmann bought out an
almost identical chainstitch to the W&G.
They in turn sold these models to The American Sewing Machine Co
(A British firm funnily connected in some way with the importers
E. Todd).
 The
Eldredge sewing machine a straight copy of the W&G
Also Meyers of Leipzig and Clemens Muller had similar machines as
well as several others like the
National Sewing Machine Company in Fetter Lane, London,
copied Willcox & Gibbs machines.
Frister & Rossmann
Chain-stitch sewing machine
A super rare W&G copy, Frister & Rossmann's Berlin Chainstitch
now in my Sewalot collection
Due to the superb engineering of these
chainstitch machines they were popular for many decades and remained almost
unchanged except for minor feed modifications since the introduction of the Automatic Tension in 1874.
The pre 1874 models had a
glass tensioner models and are now extremely rare.
  
Standard threading, oiling and parts for the Willcox &
Gibbs machine
Simplicity, Speed and Silence The pre-1875 non-automatic
tensioned W&G machines are similar but different. Below
is a picture from one in my collection. They rarely survive in
this condition and it is worth looking at your normal machine and comparing
the differences, there are many.
The Willcox & Gibbs machines were available
on free trial they were so sure that you would love them!
Civil War enthusiasts love
this model as the stitch it makes is the real thing that men in
uniform would have had there clothes made on. Below is the early
pre 1875 Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine. It is worth noting the
differences.
W&G The
difference
An early 1866 model Glass-tensioned Willcox &
Gibbs
sewing machine. Some came on deeper wooden bases. In
1887 a Willcox & Gibbs Automatic machine was selling in the UK
for £6 with its box and bits.
Now, with the average wage at under
ten shillings a week this represented a sum of 12 weeks wages!
What would that be today. Average wage £300 a week times that by
12. Now you see why they are such good buys on Ebay. Grab one
while you can before they rocket again! You
can understand why these beauties have survived, they were built
with no expense spared and were little masterpieces of Victorian
engineering. Today technology has marched on but you will never
beat this model for sheer quality.
!862 Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine
As I have said the main or
Chief Office was at 20 Fore Street, London but they had agents in
most cities in the UK. Here are the Willcox & Gibbs shops and
offices that I am aware of...
Nottingham...................11 Market
Street
Manchester.................. 83 Mosley Street
Leeds............................ 87 & 89 Park Lane
Leicester.......................94 High Street
Birmingham..................Bright Buildings, John Bright Street
Luton.............................Silver Street
Glasgow........................75 Renfield Street
And main European Agents
Belfast...........................12 Dublin Road
Paris...............................20 Rue Des Petits-Champs
Milan.............................5 Viale Piave
Brussels.........................51 Quai Au Bois A Bruler
The James Gibbs sewing
machine... 
James Gibbs sewing
machine. James did not only make the
usual models, this is from an 1877 patent application.
The Willcox & Gibbs
Company carried on trading for decades and had manufacturing
plants all over the world making all sorts of machines and
attachments. Later they merged with MEC and became MEC-Willcox.
Right up to the 1970's, In
the UK, Willcox & Gibbs had a
factory, manufacturing sewing machines, in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire.
In 1978 the
High Wycombe W&G factory was an
engineering plant with around 100
staff. They imported
castings from their foundry in the USA.
With Beaver computer controlled
machines the castings were machined
and then built into industrial sewing
machines.
The
finished sewing
machines were sent to America and
supplied to retailers around Europe. The rest of the work
was precision engineering for MOD and
Seagull marine engines. At one point MEC-Willcox
was the largest distributors fro sewing machine parts in the
world. They had come a long way from their roots in New York.
(Thanks
for that Alan).
Later
MEC Willcox concentrated on supplying industrial parts to the
trade then in the UK merged with Bogod of London and then
Eastman's.
I often
placed orders with them from their W&G Braintree industrial
unit, then Holmewood in Derbyshire. That is Why I still have
some original W&G needles for the chain stitch machines.
Willcox & Gibbs chainstitch needles
Dating
Willcox & Gibbs sewing machines
And now for my final little fact
Leland, one of the men at the Brown and Sharpe factory went on to
devote the skills that he had learned on sewing machines to good
use, forming the prestigious Cadillac Car Company. How about that
for a cracker!
The End
...Almost
Willcox &
Gibbs in England
A superb addition was supplied by David Clark in
January 2010
I was factory foreman for Willcox and Gibbs at
their Poole factory in Dorset for several years.
Possible fact:
Company legend was that the flatlock Willcox &
Gibbs sewing machine was designed by Amelia Earheart the pilot.
Possibly via
Brown and Sharp. (Oh how I would love that to be
true).
Right up to the 1970's, in the UK, Willcox &
Gibbs had a factory, manufacturing sewing machines, in High
Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and another smaller factory in Poole
Dorset which concentrated on loopers, the looper holders, feed
bars, the feeders, the tiny segregating plate that separated the
cotton between the needles, in fact, most of the tiny high
precision components that went at the working face of the
machine.
They also made pulleys for the flatlock and also
loopers for the overlock machines. The components were made to
very close tolerances, typically the thickness of the loopers
was tied down to 6 tenths of a thousandth of an inch over 4
components. As an example, a human hair is about 3 thousandth of
an inch thick.
The blade of a looper was about 32 thousandth of
an inch thick and we had to hang a 7lb weight from the end and
the looper must not take a permanent set.
The Poole factory also made the rotating hook for
the earlier machines. These were made from investment castings.
The shaft was ground to size and had a flat milled on to it. A
washer was soldered onto the shaft to but up against the end of
the shaft running under the machine. The hook was polished all
over and machined and polished so the hook was in the correct
position. We were still making these hooks in the early 1970s.
I was told that although old, these machines were
in daily use making straw hats for the natives. I believe Taiwan
may have been mentioned.
In 1978 the High Wycombe W&G factory was an
engineering plant with around 100 staff. They imported castings
from their foundry in the USA. With Beaver computer controlled
machines the castings were machined and then built into
industrial sewing machines. They were flatlocks and overlockers.
The stitch from the flatlock had, I believe nine
threads, four under the feed bar fed through the four loopers,
four fed through the top via the needles and one thread that
went backwards and forwards through the threads by using a
swinging cross hook. This stitch would stretch and go back and
was widely used in babies and toddlers clothing.
The finished sewing machines were sent to America
and supplied to retailers around Europe. The rest of the work
was sub contract engineering work, precision engineering for the
MOD and crankshafts for Seagull outboard motors. At one point
MEC-Willcox was the largest distributor of sewing machine parts
in the world. They had come a long way from their roots in New
York.
Work in the Poole factory varied depending on the
state of the pound versus the dollar. This meant the order book
would range from 3 years to 3 months depending whether it was
cheaper to manufacture in the UK or the states.
I am not sure when the flatlock was first built
but certainly some of the drawings we were working from were
drawn by Brown and Sharpe and I seem to remember a date of around
1923 on some of them.
The End
Well
that's it folks. I spend hours researching and writing
these pages so do let me know what you
think or if you have any information to add:
alexsussex@aol.com Fancy a funny read:
Ena
Wilf & The One-Armed Machinist
A brilliant slice of 1940's life:
Spies
& Spitfires
Alex's stories are now available to keep.
Click on the picture for more information.
Time
for a great true story:
Patches
of heaven
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