1858 was donated to us by Brown & Sharpe’s successor Hexagon Metrology in 2006.

Brown & Sharpe manufactured them in Providence, Rhode Island until 1948. In 1858 Wilcox & Gibbs engaged Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing to manufacture their sewing machines. Gibbs partnered with James Wilcox and his son Charles, forming Wilcox & Gibbs, a highly successful sewing machine company based in Virginia and England. This particular machine was invented by James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829-1902), a farmer in Virginia, in the mid 1850’s and finally patented by him in 1857. As a machine, it was to effect sweeping changes to the daily lives of many worldwide.īack of Sewing Machine by Gibbs & Wilcox Sewing Machine Company, manufactured by Brown & Sharpe, Providence, RI. Compared to the plastic sewing machines of today, it is rather sexy. As an object its elegant, arched lines, gilt embellishment and black lacquer finish seem almost modern, each element minimally designed for function with a grace of form.

This small, precisely engineered, beautiful example of Victorian engineering is a Wilcox & Gibbs sewing machine.

Wilcox amp gibbs sewing machines