Barthélémy Thimonnier, Amplepuis (69), Rhône (69)

Barthélemy Thimonnier (1793-1857) was born in L'Arbresle (Rhône) and died in Amplepuis (Rhône), a village to which his parents moved when he was very young. When he left his parents he first moved to Panissières as a tailor, and then to a suburb in Saint-Étienne. It was in working for his customers that he dreamed of mechanising the sewing process, and in fulfilling his dream he became the first creator of the working sewing machine. He signed the patent in partnership with Auguste Ferrand, a mining engineer, in 1830 with a view to making uniforms for the army. However, his workshop was destroyed by workers fearing that they would lose their livelihood due to mechanisation. Thimmonnier returned to Amplepuis to re-take up work as a tailor, although he came up with three more patents, each improving on his original design. But in spite of winning prizes at exhibitions and receiving praise from the press, sales were not forthcoming. His life ended in poverty and he was initially buried in a paupers' grave.

However, the name Thimonnier on sewing machines contiinued one way or another until as late as 1983. Le Musée Barthélémy Thimonnier in Amplepuis remembers the man which with a large number of sewing machines from all over the world.

The first sewing machine, by Thimonnier, 1829 (?).

The Thimonnier & Cie machine Pic-Up, undated.

Neither Étienne Thimonnier, Barthélémy's son, not any successors, produced sewing machines. Those under the tradename Thimonnier were mainly imported from Germany, or Japan, as this Janôme Thimonnier model of about 1972.

I remember very well the Bernina model my mother had, although this, at about 1944, is much earlier.