James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829–1902) was a farmer, inventor, and businessman from

Rockbridge County Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the ...

in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. On June 2, 1857, he was awarded a patent for the first twisted chain-stitch single-thread

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

using a rotating hook. In partnership with James Willcox, Gibbs became a principal in the Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company. Willcox & Gibbs commercial sewing machines are still made and used in the 21st century. Willcox and Gibbs

The Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company started in 1857 by James E. A. Gibbs and James Willcox opened its London Office in 1859 at 135 Regent Street. By around 1871 the European offices were at 150 Cheapside, London and later 20 Fore Street, London. The company hired

John Emory Powers John E. Powers (1837–1919) was a highly influential American copywriting, copywriter. The world's first Full-time job, full-time copywriter, he worked for the department stores Lord & Taylor and Wanamaker's before becoming a freelancer in 1886. R ...

for marketing its product. Powers pioneered the use of many new marketing techniques, including full-page ads in the form of a story or play, free trial uses of a product and installment purchasing plan. The marketing campaign created a demand for sewing machines in the Great Britain that Willcox and Gibbs could not meet. The machine's circular design was so popular that it was produced well into the early 20th century, long after most machines were of the more conventional design. The machines shown employ the Gibbs rotary twisted chain stitch mechanism which was less prone to coming undone. Following his successful invention, he named his family's farm "Raphine." The name originated from an old Greek word "raphis" which means "to sew." The community of

Raphine, Virginia Raphine is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S. state of Virginia. History The name "Raphine" was chosen in honor of James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829-1902), a local farmer who patented a novel single ...

, was named in his honor.

Gallery

File:wilcox&gibbswithtreadle.jpg, A Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine on its ornate treadle. File:wghat1.jpg, A German straw hat machine from Heinrich Grossmann built around a Willcox and Gibbs.

References

External links

A typical Willcox and Gibbs machine from about 1930
1829 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American engineers 19th-century American inventors Businesspeople from Virginia Engineers from Virginia People from Rockbridge County, Virginia Sewing machines {{US-inventor-stub