Plan of Thimmonier's Sewing Machine, c 1850.

This is the original plan submitted to the United States Patent Office in 1850, by Bartholemey Thimmonier. Thimmonier was a French tailor who first built a sewing machine in 1829. In 1850 he was granted a patent by the US patent office for a second model. However, by then the machine was almost obselete, as the unique form of chain stitch it used was not practical for regular sewing. Thimmonier made no money from his machines, and they were largely forgotten.