Numero oggetto
60/133
Titolo
Little Wanzer,
Creatore
Descrizione
This is a ‘Little Wanzer’ lock knit sewing machine made by the Wanzer Sewing Machine Company of Great Portland Street London. It was patented on 16 May and 17 June 1867. The machine has a marble base and is stored in a wooden box along with several steel and brass attachments, including screws and a foot plate. The machine was in the donor’s husband’s family for many years and was in used until 1960.
Invented in the early 19th century, the sewing machine sped up the process of making clothes both domestically and commercially. Within the home, it reduced the amount of time women spent tailoring clothes for their families, enabling them to craft more garments for sale. Due to the sewing machine, the clothing industry flourished, with different fashions becoming available for the middle classes. However, workers did not see an increase in wages and they suffered in dreadful working conditions. The demand for better wages formed an important arm of the suffragette movement.
Descrizione fisica
1 sewing machine: metal, marble
Storico archivio
MERL 'Associated information' form – 'Handbook of Instructions in Trade Record Collection.', Note, Eileen Hatt, 1960 – ‘“Little Wanzer” // Lock knit sewing machine; made by the Wanzer Sewing Machine Co., Great Portland Street, London. // Patent Date 1867. // Given to Miss MARTHA LIMMER of DOUGHTY’S HOSPITAL, NORWICH, by her aunt, who is said to have bought the machine in KINGS LYNN. Mrs Limmer used the machine during the girlhood of her two nieces, FLORA ELIZABETH SHARPE and MAUD MARTHA SHARPE, and in 1910 gave it to Maud Sharpe, on the occasion of her marriage. She in turn passed it on to her sister Flora, who was the better needlewoman of the two. From that date until her death in 1960 at the age of 83, the machine was in constant use by Miss Flora Sharpe, who spent much of her life in Parkstone, Dorset.’, MERL Miscellaneous note – R. M. Wanzer and Co. was a rare example of a successful early sewing machine company based outside of the USA. It was established in Hamilton, Canada in 1858 and expanded, purchasing the rival Canada Sewing Machine Company in 1878. The Little Wanzer was its most famous product, manufacturing half a million by 1876 and winning a prize medal at the Exposition Universelle de Paris in 1867. The company employed 800 workers and sold many machines internationally, particularly to England and France. It went bankrupt in 1892. [Added by Tim Jerrome for the Barnett Project, 2022]
Luogo di produzione
Great Portland Street [Westminster]
Data
1867 - 1867
Nome oggetto
Materiale
Dimensioni
- Height 270 mm
- Length 320 mm
- Depth 180 mm
Documento esterno
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_5015.tif - High resolution image