Willcox and gibbs serial numbers11/29/2022 ![]() ![]() ![]() In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, this rapid sewing machine expansion was halted, but overall production increases for Wheeler & Wilson and Singer continued throughout the war years – see Cooper’s chart on page 40 – so we can assume that W&G continued to make gradual production increases. And we will double that again in 1860 to a level of 6,000. 1859 would prove to be a boom year as all companies had production increases of 2 or 3 times the previous year – so we will increase W&G production to a level of 3,000 machines. In 1858 another healthy production figure would be 900 – making W&G the 4th largest sewing machine maker at the time – a rapid rise indeed. So clearly there is room for improvement on Cooper’s dating guide.Ī generous start-up production number for W&G in 1857 would be 100 – more than Bartholf and just under Howe – both established companies. It is unreasonable to assume that in the last 6 months of 1857 that a start-up sewing machine company would out-produce an established maker – much less produce 10,000 machines. Consider The Combination production numbers that Cooper’s book reports on page 40 for established companies in 1857: Wheeler & Wilson 4,591 ![]() This distribution of production is a simple accommodation. The early Willcox & Gibbs dating guide that we have right now comes from Cooper’s book, page 123: 1857-1866 – 10,000 per year Said another way, it takes time to ramp up production and it would be unreasonable to have a brand new sewing machine company immediately outproduce well established companies. The reasonable assumption is that a start-up sewing machine company’s production will be done at a linear (gradual slope) pace and will have some correlation to the production (and sales) of other sewing machine companies at that time. The mathematical calculations will all be based on data presented in Cooper’s book. While we may never know the actual production numbers of W&G earliest sewing machines, with a few mathematical calculations and reasonable assumptions we can come up with a much improved early serial number dating guide. 17,427 on June 2, 1857.” It is from this date that we can trace the birth of the cute machines that we have come to know and love. According to Grace Rogers Cooper’s book “The Sewing Machine: It’s Invention and Development”, page 40, “After taking out two minor patents (on December 16, 1856, and January 20, 1857), Gibbs obtained his important one, U.S. They were focused on making sewing machines. When Willcox & Gibbs began their partnership, keeping records of their sewing machine production dates, and serial numbers was not a top priority. The following revised rationale of Willcox & Gibbs serial numbers, painstakingly researched by Bill Grewe, initiated this revealing correspondence between the author and ISMACS’ Graham Forsdyke. ![]()
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