[Illustration: Figure 89.--WILSON SEWING MACHINE, late 1860s to early 1870s. In addition to the Buckeye (see fig. 77), W. G. Wilson manufactured several other styles of sewing machines. This one, a combination of the varying styles of the earlier pillar machine has even duplicated the general style of the spool holder patented by Folsom. The pillar is not striated, but the machine does repeat the claw feet of the Atwater and Monitor machines. Wilson machines are usually marked "Wilson Sewing Mach. Manuf'g Co. Cleveland, Ohio, Ketchum's Patent April 28, 1863." The latter name and/or patent date are found on many of the machines of this general construction. The patent is that issued to Stephen C. Ketchum for his method of converting rotary motion into reciprocal motion. (_Photo courtesy of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan._)]
[Illustration: Figure 90.--GRANT BROTHERS SEWING MACHINE, 1867. This machine was one of several styles that utilized Raymond's 1861 patented chainstitch method. This machine, however, used an under feed rather than a top feed.
Neither a name nor a date appears on the machine. In the June 25, 1907, issue of the _Sewing Machine Times_ it was called the Common Sense machine, but detailed research has turned up no evidence to substantiate this name. However, a dated brochure advertising the Grant Brothers machine and showing a model identical to that illustrated in the _Sewing Machine Times_ has been found. The brochure states that the machine made an elastic lockstitch; this was not a true lockstitch, however, but was in fact a simple chainstitch.
Grant Brothers sold their machine, which had silver-plated mountings, for $18; the price included hemmer, Barnum's self-sewer, oilcan, screwdriver, clamp, gauge, and four silver needles. An additional charge of $12 was made for a table and treadle. Compared to other chainstitch machines the price was high, and the company was short-lived. (Smithsonian photo 60794-E.)]
[Illustration: Figure 91.--GREENMAN AND TRUE SEWING MACHINE. This lockstitch machine based on S. H. Roper's patent of 1857 was manufactured at Norwich, Connecticut, from 1859 to 1861 by Cyrus B. True, the inventor, and Jared F. Greenman, True's financial partner. Licensed by the "Combination" and carrying the Howe patent date, the machine had obvious merit: it was strong, well made--a good family machine. Exhibited at the Ninth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association in September 1860, it received a bronze medal. (At this time the company was listed as Morse and True--the inventor had obviously taken on a second financial backer.) Unfortunately, the best market for the machine lay in the South, and the outbreak of the Civil War made collections impossible. This greatly retarded business and finally drove the firm into bankruptcy. In all, it is doubtful that more than one thousand machines were produced in the three years of manufacture.