All that winter he worked on his model. There was
little to delay him in its construction, as the conception was perfectly
clear in his mind. He worked all day, and sometimes nearly all night,
and in April, 1845, had his machine so far advanced that he sewed a seam
with it. By the middle of May the machine was completed, and in July he
sewed with it the seams of two woolen suits, one for himself and the
other for Mr. Fisher. The sewing was so well done that it outlasted the
cloth.
It has been stated by Professor Renwick and other scientific men that
Elias Howe "carried the invention of the sewing-machine further on
toward its complete and final utility than any other inventor has ever
brought a first-rate invention at the first trial." Those who doubt this
assertion should examine the curious machine at the corner of Broadway
and Fourth Street, and their doubts will be dispelled; for they will
find in it all the essentials of the best sewing-machine of to-day.
Having patented his machine, Howe endeavored to bring it into use. He
was full of hope, and had no doubt that it would be adopted at once by
those who were so much interested in the saving of labor.
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