Willcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine

A piece of history! Willcox and Gibbs chain-stitch sewing machine, made by Brown and Sharpe under the brand name Willcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine Company, 1877-1904. James Gibbs patented a new fabric feed mechanism in 1856 and a new way of forming chain stitches with a single thread in 1857. He designed a machine that was light, quiet, cheap, user-friendly and shaped like the letter G (for Gibbs). It had no bobbin and used half as much cotton as a lockstitch machine. He met 'start-up' investor James Willcox by chance, and they founded Willcox & Gibbs in 1859. Willcox's son Charles patented several improvements to the machine and worked with Gibbs to get it into
production. The manufacture of this machine was a major step in the story of mass production. The company contracted clockmaker Brown & Sharpe to make them. Joseph Brown, James Gibbs and Charles Willcox visited small arms factories to learn about the 'American system' of manufacture, and they transferred this innovation to the sewing machine industry. The system involved precise gauging of parts to ensure full interchangeability, unlike the craft-based European system in which tradesmen laboriously filed parts of each machine to ensure they fitted together. Note: This maching is not in working condition.