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Title
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Series: Legal RecordsFiled here are correspondence, legal documents, and patent files, with the correspondence further subdivided into bound and unbound categories. The difference between the bound and unbound legal correspondence is unclear, however. The general domestic correspondence within the INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE contains some references to legal and patent matters which should also be consulted by researchers interested in Singer's legal history. The material originally in the bound volumes is available only on microfilm. The filmed outgoing correspondence covers the periods 1866 to 1879 and 1885 to 1892. Filed here are letters from John Crow, S.A. Bennett, and Mark Dunnell to other attorneys, Singer factories (especially the Elizabethport patent department), and agents. These volumes are described below by period. John Crow, 1866-1868 : This section consists of letters to Singer's U.S. agents, customers, insurance companies, and other individuals, regarding overdue accounts, rent for Singer properties, location of deeds, errors in weekly reports of agents (usually missing funds, etc.), local laws, powers of attorney, and prosecution of law suits. It is possible these are not records of Singer's Law Department, as there is little evidence of patent litigation in them, and patent litigation is the main concern of later volumes which are clearly marked “Law Dept.” S.A. Bennett and Mark Dunnell, 1885-1892 : This section consists of letters to Singer agents, factories (especially Elizabethport), law firms, lawyers, inventors, insurance companies, the commissioner of patents, and others regarding registration of new patents, patent infringement suits, solicitation of new inventions, management of Singer properties (leases, mortgages, rent, etc.), and powers of attorney. By 1890, Dunnell had taken responsibility for these matters with the help of Edgar Davidson, both of whom sign for S.A. Bennett throughout the series. Construction letters, 1898-1906 : This section consists of outgoing correspondence of Dunnell and Charles Miller (company secretary) to building contractors, suppliers of building materials, building inspectors, renters, and suppliers of coal, regarding construction, and lease of Singer properties in New York.
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Subseries: Correspondence
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Unbound : The unfilmed, unbound legal correspondence consists of foreign and domestic letters dating from the 1890s, with the foreign correspondence being made up primarily of letters from the London solicitor Gilbert Wansbrough.
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Domestic
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Box
163
Folder
1-8
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1867-1896, I
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Box
164
Folder
1-7
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1896, II-1899
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Box
165
Folder
1-5
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1900-1904, undated
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Foreign
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Box
165
Folder
6-8
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1891-1897, I
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Box
166
Folder
1-4
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1897, II-1901
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Letterbooks
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Micro 2014
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Incoming : The microfilmed incoming legal letterbooks consists of ten volumes covering the period from 1866 to 1880. They include letters from domestic and foreign agents, offices, factories, customers, competitors, and attorneys concerning legal matters. Typical topics include outstanding debts, correspondence with debtors, errors in business reports, damage claims, patent infringements, and Singer property and leases. The majority of these letters are addressed to the corporate office in New York City, although a few items are personally addressed to John Crow and S.A. Bennett.
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Reel
274
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Vol. [1]: , 1866 May 26-1868 April 29
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Reel
275
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Vol. 2: , 1868 April 9-1870 February 28
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Reel
276
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Vol. [3]: , 1870 January 24-July 20
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Reel
277
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Vol. 4: , 1870 July 20-May 15
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Reel
278
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Vol. 5: , 1871 May 13-July 10
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Reel
279
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Vol. [6]: , 1872 July 13-1873 December 31
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Reel
280
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Vol. [7]: , 1874 January 2-1875 August 18
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Reel
281
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Vol. 8: , 1875 August 19-1877 July 3
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Reel
282
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Vol. [9]: , 1877 July 3-1879 August 29
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Reel
283
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Vol. 10: , 1879 January 25-1880 July 29
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Micro 2013
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Outgoing
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Reel
219
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Vol. 1: , 1866 May-1868 December
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Reel
220
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Vol. 2: , 1868 December-1870 May
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Reel
221
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Vol. 3: , 1870 June-1871 April
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Reel
222
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Vol. 4: , 1871 April-1872 June
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Reel
223
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Vol. 5: , 1872 June-1873 October
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Reel
224
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Vol. 6: , 1873 October-1874 November
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Reel
225
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Vol. 7: , 1874 November-1876 September
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Reel
226
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Vol. [8]: , 1876 September-1877 November
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Vol. [9]: , 1877 November-1879 October (missing)
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Reel
227
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Vol. 16: , 1884 February-1885 July
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Reel
228
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Vol. 17: , 1885 July-1886 April
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Reel
229
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Vol. 18: , 1886 April-1887 May
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Reel
230
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Vol. [19]: , 1887 May-1888 April
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Reel
231
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Vol. [20]: , 1888 April-1889 May
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Reel
232
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Vol. [21]: , 1889 May-1890 September
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Reel
233
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Vol. 22: , 1890 September-1891 December
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Reel
234
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Vol. [23]: , 1891 December-1892 November
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Reel
235
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, 1896 March-1906 (Dunnell construction correspondence)
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U.S. Mss AI
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Subseries: Legal Documents : The legal documents file is a chronological arrangement of agreements, contracts, indentures, mortgages, some financial papers, and other legal material. Also included within the file are several handwritten transcripts of court proceedings related to patent litigation. The most extensive of these are transcripts of the 1896 Wamsley suit.
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Box
167
Folder
1-10
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1846-1855
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Box
168
Folder
1-9
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1856-1959
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1860, Singer and Clarke vs. Walmsley
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Box
169
Folder
1-4
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Volumes 279-282
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Box
170
Folder
1-3
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Volumes 283-285
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Box
171
Folder
1-3
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Volumes 286-288
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Box
172
Folder
1-3
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Volumes 289-291
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Box
173
Folder
1-3
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Volumes 292-294
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Box
174
Folder
1-7
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1860-1866, I
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Box
175
Folder
1-7
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1866, II-1869
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Box
176
Folder
1-8
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1869, II-1879
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Box
177
Folder
1-7
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1880-1896, 1908, 1912
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Subseries: Patent Files : The patent files, which are probably only a small portion of the reference materials of this type which once existed in company hands, consist of information on sewing machine patents held by Singer and its competitors. These records are arranged by patent number. Oversize materials such as patent drawings are filed in a parallel sequence. One additional box that has been arranged here contains letters of agreement, correspondence, and reports of returned machines prepared by George Gifford, receiver for the sewing machine patent combination. The agreements identify companies licensed to manufacture sewing machines under patents held by Singer, Wheeler & Wilcox, Grover & Baker, and John Bachelder, and the return forms detail all machines returned at the expiration of the license.
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Miscellaneous patent finding aids
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Box
178
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Patent index (Guarantees & defenses, 1-115), 1871-1909
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Box
179
Folder
1
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Alphabetical index to patents, suits, laws, and other patent material, undated
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Box
179
Folder
2
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List of expired patents, 1872
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Published legal decisions and rulings regarding patents
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Box
179
Folder
3-8
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1841-1860, I
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Box
180
Folder
1-4
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1860, II-1861
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Box
181
Folder
1-9
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1862-1869
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Box
182
Folder
1-9
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1870-1880
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Box
183
Folder
1-2
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1940, undated
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Box
183
Folder
3
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Notes regarding patents
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Published patents for sewing machines
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Box
183
Folder
4-6
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United States
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Box
183
Folder
7
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England
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Box
183
Folder
8
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Miscellany
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Oversize letters patent and drawings
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Box
199
Folder
1
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Oversize U.S. patents, by patent number
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Box
199
Folder
2
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Oversize French patents
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Box
199
Folder
3
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Miscellaneous oversize material regarding patents
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Box
184
Folder
1-15
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Subseries: Gifford receivership, 1867-1877
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Subseries: Property Files
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Box
185
Folder
1
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Abstract of Liberty Street property, 1897
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Box
185
Folder
2
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Abstract of Liberty Street property, 1906X
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Box
186
Folder
1
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Deeds for property transferred from SMF Company, New York to SMF Company, New Jersey, 1863-1910
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Box
186
Folder
2
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Rental account book, 1877-1887
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Box
186
Folder
3
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Rentals and litigation account books, 1876-1889
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Box
186
Folder
4-5
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Rental vouchers, 1895-1901
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Box
186
Folder
6
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Rentals in Singer Building, 1914
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Box
187
Folder
1
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History of the Singer Building Construction, 1908
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Box
187
Folder
2
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Singer addition/Bourne addition account book, 1906-1907
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Box
187
Folder
3
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Singer addition account book, 1908-1909
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Box
187
Folder
4-6
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Typed summaries of construction accounts, undated
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