Figure 92.—Grover and Baker sewing machine. The Grover and Baker machine was one of the more popular machines from the 1850s until the early 1870s. The company produced iron-frame machines, fine cabinet models, and portables (figs. 35 and 36). Their machines may be dated by serial number approximately as follows:
| Serial Number | Year |
| 1-500 | 1851 |
| 501-1000 | 1852 |
| 1001-1658 | 1853 |
| 1659-3893 | 1854 |
| 3894-5038 | 1855 |
| 5039-7000 | 1856 |
| 7001-10681 | 1857 |
| 10682-15752 | 1858 |
| 15753-26033 | 1859 |
| 26034-44869 | 1860 |
| 44870-63705 | 1861 |
| 63706-82641 | 1862 |
| 82642-101477 | 1863 |
| 101478-120313 | 1864 |
| 120314-139148 | 1865 |
| 139149-157886 | 1866 |
| 157887-190886 | 1867 |
| 190887-225886 | 1868 |
| 225887-261004 | 1869 |
| 261005-338407 | 1870 |
| 338408-389246 | 1871 |
| 389247-441257 | 1872 |
| 441258-477437 | 1873 |
| 477438-497438 | 1874 |
| 497439-512439 | 1875 |
(Smithsonian photo 45513-B, an engraving of a Grover and Baker sewing machine from an advertising brochure of about 1870.)
Figure 93.—Hancock sewing machine, 1867. One of the many inventors who turned his talents to inventing and producing a mechanically simple and cheaper machine was Henry J. Hancock. His 1867 machine is only about six inches wide; it uses a tambour-type needle, pulling a loop of thread from below the stitching surface. (Smithsonian photo P63197.)
