Product Description

Collectors are bound to love The Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines, Second Edition. The first edition of this book, self-published by author Carter Bays in 1993, sold more than 3,000 copies, and he has totally revamped it for this printing. American sewing machines from 1850 through 1920 are featured in more than 450 large, detailed photographs, half of them in color, and current collector values are estimated. The book traces the history and development of the sewing machine industry from 1800 to after 1900. Almost all known U.S. manufacturers of sewing machines up to 1875 (and several beyond) are highlighted: Singer, Wheeler & Wilson, Shaw & Clark, Weed, Howe, and Holly, to name just a few. Do you own your great aunt's antique treadle sewing machine? This book will identify and give the history of the manufacturer. Specific information is provided on restoring antique sewing machines, and toy sewing machines are also given coverage. This title is sure to become the standard reference for early American sewing machines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #733782 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

About the Author
Carter Bays, a professor of computer science, has been collecting sewing machines for twenty years and has amassed what is universally regarded as the finest collection in the world of early American treadle sewing machines. He began collecting in 1978 because, "nobody else seemed to be doing it." His goal when he started was to assemble the finest collection in the world of early American sewing machines while prices were still affordable. In that regard, he says that his goal was realized, "in the nick of time."

Customer Reviews

Great book!
This is an outstanding book. It replaces the first edition,
which has been the standard reference for early sewing machines
for the past several years. I am not a serious collector, but I had a
couple
of Ca. 1910 sewing machines whose maker I wanted to identify. Not
only does the book identify the maker, it also gives an indication
of the approximate value. I tend to disagree with
the author's assertion that the values for 20th century machines
are "at the low end of the scale." Perhaps he is comparing
their value with much earlier machines (1850 - 1900) - the
area which is the main focus of this book.

an interesting chapter on the history of the sewing machine
is included. And if you want to restore a machine, one short chapter
takes you thru the restoration process. Though short, this
excellent chapter details exactly what one needs to do to restore
a 100 year old sewing machine (or for that matter, any antique
consisting of wood and metal).

There is a chapter on toy sewing machines; for some reason, the
author included several German examples (I thought this book was
about American machines).

Also, several other related appendices are present - the last one
is cute. It contains early photos of sewing machines and their
users, & many are quite amusing.

All-in-all, this has to be the absolute best book on the topic,
despite a few shortcomings.

Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines
Excellent resource book - in new condition. Very thorough!