The Willcox & Gibbs Adjustable Tension Chainstitch sewing machine, some attachments, display stand. While in 1856 the four heavyweights- Singer, Wheeler. Baker and Howe Sewing Machine Companies were trying to solve the problems of patent litigations and did not have a time to address the issue of an average familys financial limitations and as the result they almost overlooked the market demand for affordable family sewing machine. You know, we are talking about Early American Sewing Machines and yet, it sounds very similar to our current situation , does not it? In 1855 after James E. Gibbs saw a simple illustration of Grover. Baker machine it triggered the new idea: The rotating hook on the main shaft could enter into the loop formed by the friction from the threaded needle going up through the fabric, elongate it and hold expanded while the feed dog moved the fabric until the needle at the next needle bar down stroke goes through the previously formed loop, getting drawn through it and therefore to form a chain. Then in 1856 after actually witnessing a Singer model # 1 machine in action Gibbs has came to the obvious conclusion that the machine was too heavy, complicated, cumbersome and way too expensive. He has decided to create a less-expensive and simple type of sewing machine. James Gibbs and Charles Willcox has obtained a few patents. Major one # 17,427 on June 2, 1857. And patented Feed improvements, a few more patents for the method of removing the twists in the thread and also a patent for noise reduction on the feed. After that they have formed Willcox & Gibbs SMC and The 1st commercial chain stitch sewing machine has been patented. In 1857 the 1st machine has been produced by Brown & Sharp Co and became. Please note the following it is not your typical W&G silent automatic tension sewing machine you can see often being offered for sale on E-bay. It is indeed The One of The Most Desirable items. And similar machines appears on E-Bay very rarely : The thread tension system is entirely different than on the typical W&G chain stitch machines – it allows to generate very reliable seam construction of. Absolute uniformity and various tightness or looseness. Adjustable Tensioner and Pull-Off device along with. Sophisticated thread Guide/Regulator allows precise tension for any different work , type of fabric, requirements. Mechanically draws off the exact length of thread for each stitch. Just Please look at the pics attached yes, the machine just appears similar to popular W & G model # 64 , but on the top of everything listed above it has different threading procedure , Different pressure bar, no inner shaft to work with Automatic tensioner. The Needle plate is different too : No replaceable insert for feed dog, No stitch. On this machine it is the references to the very First Patent 1857 Patent and other information you would not find on later versions introduced in 1877. It is indeed Very rare one of the first versions with NO letter prefix in front of Serial #. When determining the machine age please note the following: as per Grace Rogers Cooper , former Curator of Textiles, Museum of History & Technology (now known as Smithsonian) in her famous book “The invention of The sewing machine ” Serial # 242725 (w/o prefix) has been manufactured in January-February 1874. The First prefix A’ appeared in 1877. Also , as per World known Antique sewing machine expert Mr. Alex Askaroff all models w/o automatic tensioner & no letter “A” prefix are pre 1875 models. Based on that – the machine is 144 years old. There are a few methods to determine the age of W & G machines. This machine Serial # 242725. 242725 / 8000 = 30.24 then add 1838 = 1868. Based on that the machine 150 years old. The average of those 3 info is: 1874+1868/2=1871 or it is 147 years old. It appears that taking into consideration one of the known methods I can make an assumption that this machine has been manufactured around 1870, which is basically confirmed by Smithsonian Catalog/Manual of 1916. From Any Early antique machine being over 140 years old would be hard (if not impossible) to expect to be in great cosmetic condition the original decals did not survived. Here is the list of restorations I have to do to the machine : completely disassembled the machine, clean and polished all moving and chrome plated parts including the smallest screws , stripped old remnants of old paint. I have applied automotive primer, let it dry, then applied automotive black paint, and in a few days I have applied the W&G decal made by exact Wilcox & Gibbs specifications for the Early W & G machines. Then I have applied 3 layers of lacquer to protect the decals. After that I have assemble all previously removed and polished parts together. The machine is functioning extremely well and produced the very nice stitch. Could be used by operating with THE ORIGINAL hand crank or , if. Could be very easy mounted on W&G table with treadle. Now machine looks exactly the same as on the Copy of the Original Patent # 21,129 issued to J E A Gibbs on Aug. Please see Copy of this Patent with drawings on the pics # They both displayed under the glass covers inside the unique display stand for this machine. It is not only the rare collectors item , It is in excellent mechanical condition and guaranteed to perform to the high standards designed by W&G company. When this beautiful show piece would need to be utilized as intended for sewing not only as the hand cranked but with treadle. It is indeed Absolutely beautiful and rare completely functional display piece. Unfortunately , quality of my pics does not shows all beauty of this machine. And now being perfect mechanically it will provide the great service to you. Deserved that at least a basic information to be provided about it: It is. One of the oldest and probably one of the most significant precision machine tool builders. The firm was founded in 1833 by David Brown and his son Joseph R. In 1853 the company get Lucian Sharpe as a partner and became. Early work consisted of making and repairing clocks. B & S Co is credited with many inventions including Standard Wire Gages, the B & S taper, pressure angle gearing, milling cutter, caliper, micrometer and the universal milling machine. All collectors of Antique tools know the name of this company very well. When they have began to be associated with W & G and produce # 64 chain stitch machine they basically transformed all American Sewing Machines manufacturing and set “the bar” for all of manufacturers to another level. They first began to mass produce truly interchangeable extremely highly precision parts for W. G SMC and only stop doing that in 1948. And they were continue to be the one of leaders of the industry till 2001 when all of the assets of the B&S including the intellectual property, designs, trademarks and facilities were acquired by Hexagon AB, without the acquisition of B&S. The Brown & Sharpe brand of measurement products became the Epitome of super high quality and precision and that is one of the reasons why W &G machines are so popular as the collectors item. 1- W & G Adjustable tensionI Sewing machine, 1870. 1-Hard wood functional mechanically display base with bronze handle which opens to display Copies of Original Patent #21129. 4- W & G needles. 1- needle and nut wrench , W & G. 1- Cloth Guide, W & G. 1 Large Attachment screw , W & G. 2- Price list of attachments, W & G copy from Smithsonian , will be forward in PDF. 1 Direction Manual , 36 p , From Smithsonian , will be forward in PDF. 1-Historical Book of Perfection of sewing mechanism -Willcox & Gibbs Copy from Smithsonian, will be provided in PDF format. Other various historical literature from Smithsonian. Etired textile engineer and. Sewing machines have always been a part of my job. My background in mechanical engineering combined with some nostalgia, passion and plenty of time on my hands has made the great implication on my current activities Antique and vintage sewing machine restoration. In order to retain the authenticity of original time-honored design, those fine details which once embellished the antique sewing machines and my own clear. The metal parts and treadle legs refinishing no stripping to remove the original finish, no rust preventative primer, no decals or clear coating to make it more appealing in a photo. Here is a brief description of. Clean surface with Murphys oil soap. Chrome plated parts and apply a thin coat of a mixture of Boiled linseed oil & turpentine on the originally painted parts and re-assemble machine. Gear driven machines are being properly cleaned, greased and oiled, the timing is being checked , bobbin case or shuttle are being taken apart, cleaned and oiled for smooth thread draw, stitch adjusted to be equal on both sides. If appropriate for that particular model/class, machine is being tested to sew at slow and fast speeds and in reverse on numerous layers of denim to assure it is sewing with ease. For machines with motor /light /foot pedal control the following steps are being taken to assure that machine is electrically safe to operate: the motor, pedal, light wires, are inspected for electrical safety and replaced (if necessary) from the coils to the connector. The foot pedals are being cleaned and adjusted for smooth speed control. The machines I offer for sale are electrically safe and fully guaranteed to sew very well. Please feel free to ask any questions. The following information you should know. I must be contacted within 24 hours of receipt of item to initiate a return. Only after the issue has been verified I will accept a return. If you do not do this we cannot guarantee receipt of the return and will not issue any credit. I will issue a credit after I have actually received the item and verified the issue. Please contact me with detailed address information for accurate quotes. I will pack all items with a great care with utilization of proper force of impact absorbing materials. As the rule , I will place the sewing machines head into the double-box and will use bubble wrap or rags inside the first box. If it would be a treadle or cabinet sewing machine , I will double-box machines head separately. I will disassemble cabinet / irons legs (if appropriate), then I will write the instruction with photo attachment of step-by-step assembly process to avoid any possible confusion during assembly. Or if it would be required, I could even crate the cabinet and will place and secure machine head in the double carton underneath. I put a lot of effort , time and quality materials into cabinetry restoration process and it would be extremely upsetting to me if the finished piece would be broken during transportation. Tracking information is also available directly on E-Bay page. Please note that the tracking status provided on E-Bay’s website is not updated regularly. It is my responsibility and the matter of honor to make sure that my listing is thorough, honest, and accurate. Please feel free to contact me with any inquiries. I will try to respond within 24 hours or less. I encourage and will enjoy all communication with other members. Feedback system is critical to our E-bay community. User Feedback speaks to the reputation and trustworthiness of both E-Bay’s buyers and sellers. I take it very seriously and hope you will do the same. The honest communication is the most critical factor. I hope everything would be in accordance with you expectation. I will try my best to provide accurate item descriptions and high quality photos for all my listings. The item “Early Rare Willcox & Gibbs Adjustable tension crank antique sewing machine, 1870″ is in sale since Friday, September 21, 2018. This item is in the category “Antiques\Sewing (Pre-1930)\Sewing Machines”. The seller is “dmr1826″ and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Maker: Willcox & Gibbs
- Original/Reproduction: Original
