The sewing machine was one of the first standardized and mass-marketed complex consumer durables to have been diffused widely around the world before 1920. This global diffusion was almost the sole responsibility of one firm, Singer. Despite its American origins, Singer's success lay principally...

The sewing machine was the first mass produced and mass marketed complex consumer good and the first to diffuse throughout the world. This article presents the first estimates of this diffusion in eighteen nations, which collectively represent well over 90% of all global sales from invention to...