Singer Sewing Machine

1851

Isaac Merritt Singer patented a practical foot-treadle sewing machine and, crucially, an installment-plan scheme to sell it to American households. Domestic needlework - which had consumed women's hours for centuries - became faster and lonelier. Within thirty years the Singer was among the most recognizable machines on earth. The installment plan was as revolutionary as the machine itself, pioneering the consumer credit that would reshape American buying habits.