Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance

by Ruth Brandon

Book by Brandon, Ruth

Genres: Biography, History, Costume History, Nonfiction, Fashion

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Leigh Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone needs to make a miniseries about this guys life......

[Aiman Adlawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this book has to be written elaborately. Every chapter of his life has so many interesting stories. Specially the part when he was developing his 'patented' mechanical sewing machine.
He was truly a very competitive person but in a disrespectful way. He pushes off someone who blocked his way from reaching his goal of acquiring massive wealth even if it was his friend and business partners. Most of his business associates hated him for his unruly manner.
His name could have been remembered in the history of america as one of the kindest and industrious businessman.

[Tobinsfavorite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free off the library discard shelf. Not necessarily a book for me, but definitely in the realm of books I want to read.

It took me a very long time to read this because I kept putting it down and forgetting to come back to it. I didn't try very hard to keep track of all the people intertwined in the business of producing and selling sewing machines, but I did enjoy the overview I gleaned.

Some social history, lots of manufacturing history, a fair dose of scandal and gossip. Overall, worth reading.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A third of the book is about the invention of the sewing machine, and another third about building a business empire. The third portion is about Singer's scandalous life, having multiple wives and mistresses and more than two dozen (I lost count) children, assaulting people, suing people, and generally being a less than admirable person.

[CAROLE Linneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of detail on Singer and all the people he came in contact with including his 24 children.

[Velma Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting story, if I had read this book years ago, I may never have bought a Singer sewing machine.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stuffy like a history book. Took a while to get into the rhythm of the writing.

Singer was an ego maniac, had many wives, sired a colony of kids. He was a marketing genius. The industrial revolution was bubbling and he was able to make a luxury item like a sewing machine a staple of many homes. People were afraid the sewing machine would take away jobs but the carnival barker in him was able convince the masses it would speed up production.

His life style confused his peers he couldn't buy his way into the upper class so he builds a compound for all his families. Strange man

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mom's best friend thought this was surprisingly good. Not really a full history of the development of the sewing machine, but a great story about a very unusual person and his complicated relationships.

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and times of I.M. Singer who invented the sewing machine as we know them today.....he had the morals of a cat, wives, women and children scattered about like a captains paradise. Very selfish man who would and did cut his partners out of his sewing machine business for the money.

[Opa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched history of the man as well as snippets of the transfer into mass production