THE NO. 8 MACHINE OF FULTON STREET (1876)
The No. 8 Machine. Such a romantic honorific. The name literally rolled off the tongue and dazzled the listener with the rhythm of its mellifluousness and style… OK. I won’t lie. It really wasn’t the sexiest of names. It sounds like a government-designed and -built outhouse. And it smells just as bad. Buyers of sewing machine back in the late 1800s, though, were really not shopping for a sexy name. They were looking for dependability and speed. Stylish sewing machines, then, were like the hotrods of the day for garment producers. Just as for the marketers of the 20th century’s Mark VI or Chrysler 300, or even the Mercedes 190-E, present-day automobile manufacturers always knew that that they “had” their buyers with their brand. They didn’t need a sexy name for their cars. They simply had to tack on the latest model number to their speed machines to let their faithful customers know that it was a new year and that they were once again out of style and out of step with the times. One of the producers of the 19th century speedster sewing machines was the Wheeler & Wilson Company. Their hotrod was the No. 8. SELLING THE NO. 8 And so with the graceful design and the smooth functioning of their No. 8 Machine, Wheeler and Wilson’s creation was on the tongues of many a manufacturer. Garment designers and clothing manufacturers literally felt something move within their hearts when they heard the No. 8 name. Wheeler and […]
A HOOSIER DADDY IN YOUR HOUSE
Whenever Brownstone Detectives begin researching a client’s house history, the heady rush of discovering the people who are a part of that home’s past begins to set in. Sometimes these people are formerly famous – or infamous – individuals. Or, in some instances, they had at one time been distinguished members of our society. And then, there are those who were pedestrian citizens who at one time produced families, went every morning to their jobs, and lived ordinary lives. In a recent case, after some extensive newspaper archival research and combing through documents at Indiana University, we discovered an interesting connection – a former resident, Rev. Anderson McElroy Wylie, who was a prominent Brooklyn Episcopal clergyman, in his own right, had been the son of the founding president of Indiana University, Andrew Wylie. Now, we’re not 100% certain, but wouldn’t that be the “2 Degrees of Hoosier Daddy”? ———————————————————————————————————————– The Brownstone Detectives This story was composed from research performed by The Brownstone Detectives. Let us do an in-depth investigation of your house and its former owners and produce your very own House History Book. Your hardbound coffee table book will include an illustrated and colorful narrative timeline that will bring the history of your house to life. Contact us today.
