Canada between 1860 and 1900 had a significant sewing machine manufacturing industry producing a wide variety of machines specifically for the Canadian market. There were two notable exceptions Charles Raymond and R. M Wanzer & Co. both of which exported considerable numbers of sewing machines.	Return to The Gallery
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Wilson Bowman & Co, Hamilton.

Wilson, Bowman & Co. was formed in 1868 by A. Wilson, J. Bowman and C. Lockman in Hamilton, Onterio.  This partnership although successful only lasted until 1872 when J. Bowman left the Company which then became Wilson, Lockman & Co. there were further name changes as partners left, and eventually it became the Wilson Sewing Machine Co. a year later in 1884 it closed down.

    The Lockman: Serial No. 27736.
This is our earliest machine dating to c1871 it has the Company name and location on the slide plate and on the face plate: 'The Lockman' and underneath 'Patented April 9 1869'.  The tension discs are mounted on the back of the serpentine arm and the stitch length lever is located beneath the machine.



The boat shuttle (Shown Left) travels in a straight race, note the brass fillet in the 'bow' and how tiny the bobbin is.
Also shown are the two brass attachments which came with the machine.

Close up showing the attractive flower which forms the centre decal.

This machine came in a large front opening wooden carry case with brass handle.  It has a small but deep drawer at the top. We believe the case maybe original but at some point the lock has been forced and a hook and eye added.

Charles Raymond, Guelph.

Charles Raymond started manufacturing sewing machines in partnership with William Nettleton in 1857. In 1861 Raymond established a factory at Guelph, Ontario. The firm quickly expanded initially concentrating production on it's Family chain-stitch machine. In the early 1870's the Household lock-stitch sewing machine was introduced and later the Family No's 1, 2 and 3 shuttle machines were produced.
The firm exported considerable numbers of it's machines to Europe which were sold through various Agents including William B. Moore in Ireland, P. Frank in Liverpool and James G. Weir in London.
In 1897 Charles Raymond sold the firm and it continued as the Raymond Sewing Machine Company before being taken over by the White Sewing Machine Co in 1916.

    The Weir:
This was Raymond's Family chain-stitch machine but was sold by the firms London Agent James G. Weir under the name "Weir's 55s sewing machine". Raymond supplied machines to Weir from c1869 to c1877 and we believe the machine dates to the mid 1870's. It has J. G. Weir stamped on the needle-plate together with Weir's shop address 2 Carlisle Street London.

R. M. Wanzer & Co. Hamilton.

Richard M. Wanzer started manufacturing sewing machines in Canada in 1858 in a workshop on James Street, Hamilton.  In the early 1860's the factory was moved to King Street and by 1875 over 500,000 machines had been produced.  In 1878 the Wanzer Company purchased the Canada Sewing Machine Company, Barton Street, Hamilton developing the site for its purpose built factory which was completed c1880 and which was capable of producing over 100,000 machines a year.
The firm seems to have traded as The Wanzer Sewing Machine Co Ltd in Great Britain and France where there were offices in London at 4 Great Portland Street (1863) and 131 Boulevard Sebastopol, Paris (1867).
The Company's machines won a number of prize medals at International Exhibitions including the 1867 Exposition Universelle de Paris, The World Exposition 1873 and the Gold Medal, Centennial Medal and Diploma at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. The Company ceased production in 1892.

Machines Produced:

1858 The Company initially produced machines based on Singer and Wheeler & Wilson principles.

Family Shuttle Introduced in 1862 this was the first machine to bear the Company name, it was unique in that the Company successfully put a shuttle moving in a vertical arc in a Wheeler & Wilson machine.

'Little Wanzer'. Introduced in 1867 with 4000 machines being sold in the first year of production.  By 1876 half a million had been manufactured.  The machine underwent various cosmetic improvements, very early versions have no needle bar cover, later a brass cover was produced but by the 30,000th machine this had been replaced by one which was nickel plated and which included the Patent dates May 16 & June 17 1867.

'New Little Wanzer' c1877 - c1880.  This was a significantly improved version of the Little Wanzer featuring a fully enclosed needle bar area incorporating a Patented take up lever. Patent dates of May 29th 1877 and December 11th 1877 appear on some versions.

NOTE: In all these versions of the Little Wanzer the shuttle moves in a vertical arc and the shuttle has to be accessed from beneath the machine.

'Little Wanzer S.R.' In the early 1880's the final version of the Little Wanzer was introduced.  It had a straight shuttle race and a slide plate to access the shuttle in the cloth plate.  The tension discs were mounted on top of the arm, but these late versions do not feature the Patented take up lever.  It is believed production of this machine ceased in 1883.

Little Wanzer S.R. Serial No. 667015.
Although almost all the decals have gone 'Little Wanzer S.R.' can faintly be made out on the arm of this early 1880's machine.  We presume S.R. stands for Straight Race, it also has the tension discs mounted on top of the arm, slide plate to the front of the cloth plate and an improved bobbin winder.  The brass plate at the base of the machine has 'Time Utilizer' with an Hour Glass Trade Mark, machine Serial Number and the London address of the Company.  A table clamp came with this machine.

Wanzer 'A' Produced from c1876 it was advertised as 'The Great Mechanical Success of the Age' --'The most powerful yet light running Hand Machine' it featured a straight shuttle race which was patented in 1875 and 'Shell Shuttle', it was still being produced in 1883.

Left: Wanzer 'A' Serial No. Unknown.
This is an early version of the Wanzer 'A', later versions having an improved bobbin winder.  The Company name & London address - Gt Portland Street London are stamped on the slide plate.  WANZER, A is cast on the underneath of the cloth-plate, and the machine sits in an ornamental cast iron base.

Wanzer 'F' A family machine with reversible feed was being produced between 1875 and 1880.

Wanzer 'D' A Heavy Machine suitable for Manufacturers of Heavy Goods, Tailors and Outfitters although in production in 1876 it seems to have ceased before 1880.

The Wanzer 'E' A wheel feed machine which was suitable for tailoring as well as boot closing and heavy leatherwork.  It is known to have been in production between 1876 and 1880.

Wanzer 'C' The Company introduced the Wanzer 'C' 'Light Foot Family Machine' in 1880 advertising it as having 'every improvement up to 1879'.

Wanzer 'B' Patented and available in 1883.

Right: Wanzer 'B' Serial No. 26595.
"The Wanzer" can just be made out on the arm of this machine and the centre decal is largely intact.  On the front slide plate it has "Wanzer" but almost all the rest of the engraving is worn off, only London and a patent date of 1883 remain.  It has an interesting tension arrangement and unusual bobbin winder.
This example has an ornamental cast iron base but it was available with a standard wooden one.

Left: Wanzer 'B' Case.
This machine came in a wooden carry case with brass handle and lock.  The door is on the front but has, at some point, been hung on the opposite side, inside there was a shelf at one time.  It has been repeatedly stained and was originally a light pine/oak colour.

Thanks to Nick Jonkman & David Stirling for information.

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