The Davis Sewing Machine Company began in 1868 in Watertown, New York, and moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, around 1890.

History

Early Davis

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

s, known as their "Vertical Feed" machines, did not use the conventional four motion feed, as invented by Allen B. Wilson and used in most other machines. These machines have no feed dogs at all. Instead, they have two presser feet, one of which, along with the needle bar, moves the cloth while the needle is still through the cloth. The other, larger, presser foot is used to hold the cloth stationary while the needle lifts out of the cloth and moves forward to get ready for the next stitch. While Davis called this mechanism their "Vertical Feed", sewing machines with similar mechanisms are now known as "walking foot" machines. Later Davis machines used a more conventional feed mechanism, with a stationary presser foot and feed dogs. Davis called them "underfeed" machines. On Oct 18, 1881, Davis Sewing Machine Co., was awarded US Pat. 248,449 for improvements over existing shuttle designs. US248449-1

Around 1892, Davis started manufacturing bicycles. The '' Dayton Daily News'' indicated that the bicycle business was so successful that Davis gradually phased out production of sewing machines. The Huffman Manufacturing Company was formed as a sales outlet for Davis parts. In 1924, the Davis Company's assets were

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

. At that time, the company employed 1,800 workers.

References

File:Davis1.jpg, A rare Davis vertical feed machine from around 1890. {{sewing Sewing machine brands 1868 establishments in New York (state) Watertown, New York Defunct companies based in Dayton, Ohio Companies based in Jefferson County, New York

History

See also

References