| Singer Surgical Stitching Instrument Just prior to the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Singer  engineers
had completed a ten-year program culminating in the development of a surgical stitching
instrument. An advertising campaign introduced the instrument
to the medical profession in the early months of 1942.
The instrument used the basic
stitch-forming principles of the sewing machine, and Singer proclaimed that it had several
advantages over hand suturing including speed and variety of stitches.
Singer demonstrated the
instrument throughout the United States and Canada at medical conventions, hospitals, and
individual doctor's offices as well as through a series of sound films. Doctors were known
to have taken the instrument with them when entering military medical services.
There appear to be two models of the instrument: for general suturing, a right-handed
(A3) and left-handed (A4) model and for delicate suturing a right-handed (A11) and
left-handed (A12) model. Additionally, models A3 and A4 were available with a steel
(#17226) or bakelite (#17246) handle.
Model A3, bakelite handle, right-handed (top)
Model A3, steel handle, right-handed (center)
Model A11, right-handed (bottom)
Model A11 right-handed Singer Surgical Stitching Instrument
Model A3 right-handed, bakelite handle, Singer Surgical
Stitching Instrument
Model A3 right-handed, steel handle, Singer Surgical Stitching
Instrument
|
Although similar in design and
appearance, the bobbins for the Singer Surgical Stitching Instrument and the Featherweight
221 are significantly different in size.
As can be seen in the image at left, the Surgical Stitching Instrument's
bobbin is smaller than the Singer Featherweight 221 bobbin.
The Singer Featherweight bobbin diameter measures .865"; the Surgical
Stitching Instrument bobbin measures .620". |
The following excerpts are
from a 28-page catalogue titled The Singer Surgical Stitching Instrument.
The
Cover:
The inside cover has the
following information:
| Form 19946 |
Copyright,
U.S.A., 1942, by The Singer Manufacturing Co. |
| (Revised 1042) |
All
Rights Reserved for all Countries |
| |
Printed
in the U.S.A. |
The foreword reads:
The
Singer Sewing Machine Company takes pride in presenting its Surgical Stitching Instrument
for the advancement of surgery.
Developed in close cooperation with the surgical profession, this
instrument is the result of extensive research and is constructed with the same
craftsmanship that has distinguished Singer Sewing Machines for almost a century. Clinical
trials have definitely proved its success and practicability under the most difficult
operating conditions.
Its flexibility and ease of manipulation simplify the formation
of many new continuous and interrupted stitches. Its usefulness is limited only by the
ingenuity of the surgeon.
Parts
Illustration:
Sources:
Singer in World War II - 1939 to 1945, Singer Manufacturing Company, USA, 1946
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