Pfaff

George Michael Pfaff
1823-1893

Pfaff sewing machines are brilliant and have been built on years of specialist skills. Although today Pfaff sewing machines are made all over the world the business started in Germany way back in 1862.

The original company was formed by Georg Michael Pfaff. G M Pfaff was a skilled engineer making and repairing all sorts of fine mechanical instruments before turning his skills to the manufacture of sewing machines.

The legend tells that he was an award winning instrument maker, starting his apprenticeship in Mannheim in 1835. By 1840 he had learnt enough to start making his own instruments but as a young man he had itchy feet and went walkabout around Europe. He seems to have paid for his travels partly with family money and partly using his skills along the way from Germany to Italy and everywhere in-between even stopping in London to win an award or two for his fine pieces.

However back home in Kaiserslautern in 1848 he opened his own workshops. It was while he was working on instruments that he bought a sewing machine to make leather cases for his instruments. After it failed he repaired it and then decided to build something bigger, stronger and better. Using his skills and copying many of the best selling machines of the period such as Howe and Singer, he built his own sewing machine.

There is no doubt that Georg was looking at the ever expanding explosion of sewing machines and thought he would have a bit of that pie. Using much of the Howe system, under licence from the American company, he started to construct his first sewing machine and the foundry around it for mass production.

By 1862 he had formed G M Pfaff and in 1863, with a great publicity fanfare, he sold his first sewing machine to a local boot maker, Jacob Peter. Sewing machine manufacturing had arrived in Kaiserslautern.

Guaranteed for life!

Pfaff, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Pfaff toy sewing machine modelled on the Singer 20 toy sewing machine.

Over the next few years he slowly expanded his factory and by 1867, with over 20 employees, he could hand build over 100 sewing machines every year at his Mozart Street foundry. The rest as they say is history. By 1875 they were manufacturing over 1,200 machines a year and by 1882 they had built over 50,000 machines and by 1910 over 1,000,000 machines. Actually they say that the millionth machine was partly decorated in pure gold and donated to a museum.

The Pfaff Model R Sewing Machine 1902-1908. This model, from 1905, is courtesy of Rob Andre Stevens.

Pfaff sewing machines went on to conquer the world and employ countless thousands of workers, retailers and agents.

Today there is still a wonderful assortment of Pfaff badged sewing machines from the simple starter machine to the most complex industrial and embroidery machines.

Credits : http://www.sewalot.com

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