Do you know who invented the sewing machine? I bet you don't, which is perfectly normal. Many things don't come about overnight.
The invention of the sewing machine was a winding process.
First, in 1790, the English carpenter Sir John Sient invented a shoe-sewing machine that could automatically punch holes and thread threads. Although not very practical, it can be seen as the beginning of the sewing machine.
Second, in 1830, the French tailor Jean-Jacques Thimonnier invented and patented a hand-cranked sewing machine. One machine could sew as fast as ten tailors, making it arguably the world's first true sewing machine.
However, not all inventors have good outcomes. Many tailors felt that Thimonnier's invention would cost them their livelihoods, so they smashed his machine and drove him out of Paris.
It must be said that these Parisian tailors were very forward-thinking, able to understand the logic of machines consuming people. But how could the tide of history be stopped by their obstruction? Then, in 1834, American inventor Hunter invented a simple sewing machine, but he neither patented it nor put it into production.
Finally, in 1845, Americans Howe and Singer invented the sewing machine.
Fortune initially favored Howe, granting him a patent, but it was Singer who first put the sewing machine into production.
Singer paid Howe $200,000 annually in patent fees, but this was nothing to him.
Through effective promotion in America and worldwide, he quickly became the "King of Sewing Machines." His sewing machines were the famous Singer sewing machines.
Before 1850, clothes worn by people all over the world were hand-sewn; the difference was that the wealthy hired tailors, while most ordinary people made their own clothes. After 1850, Americans were the first to wear machine-sewn clothing.
Before the Age of Discovery, civilizations were largely isolated, and differences could be significant. After the rise of colonialism, international exchange became increasingly widespread, and human history entered an era of globalization and convergence. American sewing machines quickly spread to Britain, Germany, and Japan, and almost simultaneously arrived in China, specifically in Shanghai.
At that time, Shanghai was at the forefront of China's opening up, a goldmine for adventurers from around the world. Many foreign missionaries and merchants brought their families to Shanghai, along with the sewing machines that had just become popular in Europe and America.
Related data shows that sewing machines appeared in Shanghai as early as the 1850s. However, it wasn't until 20 years later that one could actually buy one in Shanghai.
In the 1870s, sewing machines became available in Shanghai, but they were all imported as complete sets, costing about 50 silver dollars each.
This price was extremely high, so only a few hundred were sold each year.
Before 1900, my country only imported and sold sewing machines in Shanghai; they remained a niche commodity for the aristocracy.
