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Singer Manufacturing Company sewing machine patent litigation reports

Creation: 1923-1941
 Collection
Accession: 2641

Abstract

The Singer Manufacturing Company, once the world's leading producer of sewing machines, was incorporated in 1863 as the successor to I.M. Singer & Co., established in 1851. The records are mostly different drafts of internal reports created for the use of company officers explaining the progress of various patent and trademark suits brought against the company in both the United States and Europe.

Dates

  • Creation: 1923-1941

Creator

Extent

0.25 Linear Foot (one half-box)

Historical Note

The Singer Company, once the world's leading producer of sewing machines, was the successor to I.M. Singer & Co., established in 1851. Isaac M. Singer (1811-1875) had patented improvements resulting in the first commercially viable sewing machine. Edward Clark (1811-1882), who joined the firm in 1854, provided the planning skills and business acumen that ensured the firm's success. The company produced its first treadle-operated machine in 1856, and Clark introduced installment selling the same year. The firm was incorporated as the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1863, and from 1871 to 1872, it constructed a factory at Elizabethport, New Jersey, that was then the largest in the world devoted to a single product. Singer developed a worldwide sales organization. It built its first foreign factory at Glasgow in 1867 (replaced by a much larger works at Clydebank in 1882-1884) and another at Podolsk, Russia, in 1902. In the same year, Singer absorbed its major U.S. competitor, the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company.

Singer prospered during its first hundred years, but in the years 1951 to 1957, the domestic sewing machine market collapsed. The amount of home sewing done by American women declined sharply, and increasing Japanese imports caused Singer's market share to fall from 66% to 33%. The company made attempts to diversify into electronics and aerospace and was renamed the Singer Company in 1963. The sewing machine business continued to shrink as more women sought careers outside the home, and in mid-1986, it was spun off to a separate subsidiary, SSMC Inc. After the 1987 stock market crash, the company was acquired by Paul A. Bilzerian (1950-), a corporate raider, who quickly sold off eight of the twelve Singer divisions, including all rights to the Singer name. SSMC Inc. was sold to Semi-Tech Microelectronic's (Far East) Limited in April 1990. The much-shrunken Singer Company was renamed Bicoastal Corporation in October 1989.

Scope and Contents

The records are mostly different drafts of internal reports created for the use of company officers explaining the progress of various patent and trademark suits brought against the company in both the United States and Europe, beginning with the dispute with Elias Howe Jr. (1819-1867), the inventor of an earlier, but inferior sewing machine. There is also a copy of the 90th-anniversary issue of "The Singer Light," an employee magazine, from 1941.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Related Materials

Singer Company records (Accession 2207), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library.

Singer Manufacturing Company miscellany (Accession 2681), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library.

Language of Materials

English

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Singer Manufacturing Company sewing machine patent litigation reports
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2021: Ashley Williams

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400