Queen of Inventions: How the Sewing Machine Changed the World

Looks at the history of sewing and how it was transformed in the 1850s when an American inventor, Isaac Singer, not only invented a practical sewing machine, but also a way for everyone to afford one.

Grade 3-6-Carlson presents the story of Isaac Singer's "stitching machine" and describes its impact on the quality of life in the mid 19th century. It was called the "Queen of Inventions" because it relieved the time-consuming hand sewing and expedited the mass production of garments, shoes, gloves, hats, military uniforms, and even hot-air balloons. Archival black-and-white photos and engravings with sepia accents bring this interesting and informative slice of Americana to life.
Marion F. Gallivan, Gannon University, Erie, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. The author of Boss of the Plains (1998) takes a look at the history of sewing and Isaac Singer's invention of the sewing machine. Carlson describes the tedium of hand stitching, early French and American machines from the 1840s, and Singer's 1850 invention that solved the problem of loose lower stitches. She emphasizes that Singer's marketing strategy--selling machines for a small deposit and collecting the balance over time--helped to create a large demand for his product while making the invention affordable to the masses. Period drawings and photographs on every page show nineteenth-century fashions, scenes of home sewing, and garment factories. Unfortunately, these pictures are not captioned, and children may not always understand what they are seeing. There is no index, but Carlson has supplied a list of further readings and a bibliography. Of use to report writers and for classes studying inventions. Kay Weisman
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