It seems we've mastered every part of the car-building process. When our engines wore out, we bought a book and rebuilt them. When the body shop gave us our first estimate, we learned how to paint. We ...

1846: Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine and threads his way into the fabric of history. French tailor Barthelemy Thimonnier patented a device in 1830 that mechanized the typical ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...