Invention of the 19th Century

This is my modern sewing machine with an electronic computerised  operating system.   Strip away all of the modern developments and it is very close to the machine invented by Isaac Merritt Singer in 1851. This used a single eyed needle which took the upper thread , the lower thread being carried in a moving shuttle underneath.  The up and down action of the needle catching the lower thread thereby locking the stich.
Singer's machine was operated by the sewer's feet on a treadle.  When I was a child I learned to sew using my mother's Singer sewing machine. Although much improved from singer's original was still operated by a treadle.
Thank you Laurie for an interesting choice of subjects for this month's challenges.