The Sewing-Machine

Draper: "A most Wonderful Invention, indeed, Mum, and it really Executes the Work so Efficiently and Quickly, that, 'pon my Word, I think there's nothing left for Ladies to do but to Improve their Intellects!

This cartoon from Punch simultaneously manages to mock women, show the introduction of a new technology into the home, and, to the modern reader, suggest the way labor-saving technologies in fact played a factor in the changing roles and possibilities for women of all classes.

[Scanned image (from a volume in the Athenæum Club Library) and text by George P. Landow You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]


Last modified 3 September 2007