Autograph Letter Signed Concerning A Singer Sewing Machine That Survived The Great Fire Of Helena.

AUGUSTUS K. WILL

Other works by AUGUSTUS K. WILL

Publication: March 30, 1874, Helena, Montana Territory

Two-page autograph letter. Signed. 8" x 5." Augustus K. Will was a manufacturing jeweler in Helena, Montana Territory. Written less than three months after the devastating January 9, 1874 fire, Will writes to the Singer Manufacturing Company concerning his No. 3 sewing machine with folding table, which had "gone through the great Fire at Helena Montana Jan 9th 1874." Introduced by Singer in 1856, the No. 3 Standard was an industrial machine specifically designed for stitching leather used in carriage trimming and harness manufacture. Remarkably, Will reports that "the machine itself is all right even the smallest springs in the same," but requests the cost of replacing the folding table, iron stand, wheel and treadle and having the parts packed for shipment to Helena. Will also recognizes the value of the machine's survival as a testimonial to its durability, telling Singer that it would make "a good advertisement" for the company. The January 15, 1874 Helena Weekly Herald, the first issue published after the fire, listed A.K. Will among the fire sufferers, reporting that he had placed goods in Loeb Bros. and estimating his loss at $10,000. Old mailing folds, light age toning, else a very good copy.

Inventory Number: 54584