The Singer Sewing Machine Takes Snohomish by Storm
A list of prominent citizens signals the rise of mechanized labor in the home as the Singer sewing machine claims its place in Snohomish households.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
All persons desirous of purchasing a sewing machine will please note the names of prominent citizens of Snohomish City, owning and using the standard machine of the world—the Singer. Owners include Mrs. John Elwell, A. A. Blackman, W. F. Eddy, Judge Haskell, W. H. White, J. H. Hilton, H. S. Hanson, Joseph Getchell, Simon Elwell, Allen McDougal, and Captain Stretch. Machines are sold at $85, with $10 per month payments and liberal discounts made for cash, or secured notes taken on six months' time without interest. M. W. Parson, Sole Agent, Seattle, W.T. Office at Jamieson’s Jewelry Store.
“All persons desirous of purchasing a sewing machine will please note the names of prominent citizens of Snohomish City, owning and using the standard machine of the world.”
This advertisement serves as a social register of Snohomish's 19th-century elite, showing how consumer goods functioned as status symbols long before modern branding. Today’s debates over the 'gig economy' or household tech affordability mirror the 1870s push to move industrial tools into the private home via installment plans.
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