Snap Fasteners ect.

[Trap]

 Awhile back someone ask about snaps, and I knew I had seen an early reference. Last night I came across the info along with a few other dates that may be useful.
This info is from "Dates of Selected Inventions and Occurrences During the Latter Part of the Eighteenth Century and During the Nineteenth Century" by Virginia Mescher

  Snap fasteners Patented 1855. 
  sewing machine Sewing a continuous locked seam (Singer)  1851
      home sewing machine 1856, by1860 production was 100,000/year.
  condensed milk (Borden)1856.
  harmonica (Honer)1857
  hand held can opener 1858
  pork & beans in cans (Van Camp)1861
  celluloid as ivovy replacement 1865
  roasted whole bean coffee in 1 lb packages (Arbuckle)
  key open can 1866
  Tabasco sauce 1868
  canvas & rubber shoes 1868, by 1873 called sneakers
  horseradish in jars (Heinz)
  brown paper bag 1870
  ketchup (Heinz)1876
  ground coffee in tin can  (Chase & Sandborn)
  toilet paper on a roll 1879

  There are many other things listed, these are just a few that might be in camp.

[Books OToole]

Strike-anywhere matches, kerosine and butt wipe.  This is a whole lot more fun that doing pre-Civil War living hisory.

Books

[gw]

Strike-anywhere matches, kerosine and butt wipe. 
Books

                                                                   

Sounds like a very dangerous combination. Please don't try this at home!

                                                                        GW

                                                                             

[Terry Lane]

Trap and all,
Snap fasteners and hookless fasteners (zippers) were certainly patented early. Problem was metal finishing which didn't make them practical for every day use till after 1900. Take care

[Kayleen]

  If my memory serves me correctly, zippers & elastic were also pre 1900. Except, I said except, you could hurt yourself with those zippers and the elastic wasn't real quality stuff, so it's life was short.
Sewing machines began showing up, but due to the cost, few could afford them. I would like to see an early model still in working condition. Just to see how it worked.
  I find the money factor to be just as much of a problem now as it was then.
Kayleen

[Black River Smith]

Thanks for the information Trap.  These dates are useful.

[Bristow Kid]

Kayleen my grandma used to have(still might have) an old trundle sewing machine that was in working condition the last time I saw it.  It was pretty neat when she would demostrate it to us kids.

[Fox Creek Kid]

More than you ever wanted to know 'bout zippers!

http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/Teasers/Teasers/ZipperHistory.htm

P.S. Remember, almost all button holes were usually HORIZONTAL & not vertical until the 1920's -30's and button holes were whipstiched even on factory shirts until approx. circa. 1880. 

[Dr. Bob]

Fox Creek Kid,

Good points.  Few shirts were made with verticle button holes prior to 1950.  I wear vintage clothing all the time, and through the 1940's the button holes are nearly all verticle. In the 1950's the percentage of vertical increases as the years pass and by the early 1960's there are almost no horizontal ones except the collar button.  The late 1940's dark green gaberdine shirt that AM wearing tonight has horizontal button holes.  BTW,  happy St. Patrick's day to one and all!!   Complimented by a green 1940's tie with shamrocks & harps.  Green cord slacks and green sox too!  Nice green wool tam-o-shanter on top [keeps the glare down on the top]!  Would ya guess that I'm part Irish?

REMEMBER to go to celebrate with a designated driver.

[Books OToole]

The cheapest sewing machine in the 1897 Sears catalog is about $ 8.00.  Thats not too high.  Based on the drop in prices of Single action Colts from 1874 to 1897 (about 35%);  the 1870s price of a sewing machine would be about $ 12.50. (Keep in mind that a good meal was a quarter.)

One interesting Item (actually three) in the U.S. Military Academy Museum, is the white buckskin jacket (trousers & riding coat) of Capt. William Ludlow.  It was made for him in 1874 by Arikara Indians and it is machine sewn. [These items are pictured in The Frontier Scout and Buffalo Hunter's Sketch Book by James A. Hanson.]

Books