The Singer name has become synonymous with the sewing machine and the Company manufactured a vast range of machines for both domestic and industrial purposes. The Company is still producing machines today - a fitting tribute to its founder Isaac Singer who started making sewing machines in Boston in 1851. In partnership with Edward Clark he formed I. M. Singer & Co. producing industrial machines, the No. 1 with a square bed and the No. 2 with a rectangular bed. It wasn't until 1857 that the first true domestic machine - the Family machine (Turtle Back) was introduced. This machine wasn't particularly successful and in 1859 the Letter A was introduced which was manufactured until 1865.
I. M. Singer & Co. was reformed as the Singer Manufacturing Company in 1863 and started production of the New Family machine which was to catapult the company to the premier position amongst sewing machine manufacturers able to dominate the market well into the Twentieth Century.
In addition to its American factories the Company eventually had production plants in Canada, Germany and Russia. However its first overseas factory was opened in Glasgow, Scotland in 1867, but in 1871 moved to a larger factory at Bridgeton which produced 54,000 machines the following year. In 1884 yet another new factory was opened at Kilbowie, Clydebank on a 46 acre site. The floor area was nearly one million square feet and seven thousand workers were employed producing on average 13,000 machines a week. Not only was the Kilbowie factory larger than any of Singer's American plants it was the largest sewing machine factory in the World, finally closing in 1980.
The Singer Company opened offices and agencies in many towns in Great Britain in 1863 the company had an office at 72 Regent Street, with it's Chief Office being at 147 Cheapside London c1867 later, although this remained the District Office for London, the Chief Office for Europe was opened (post 1870 & pre 1875) at 39 Foster Avenue, Cheapside, London where it would remain until c1900.
In 1904 the Singer Company opened a factory in Wittenberge, Prussia, Germany. All machines produced at this factory had serial numbers prefixed with a letter C unfortunately there is no accurate source for helping to date these machines
On the following pages you will find photographs of some of the many types of domestic machines the Singer Company produced.
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