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Unraveling the Threads

THE LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF THE SINGER SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, AMERICA’S FIRST MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATION

A solid history of the Singer company from the invention of the sewing machine to the days of leveraged buyouts.

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A corporate history of one of the world’s leading sewing machine manufacturers.

In this debut business book, Buckman traces more than 150 years of Singer’s history, from the first commercially successful sewing machine produced in the mid-19th century to the hazards of leveraged buyouts and takeovers in the 1980s and its more recent revival after several ownership changes. The “notoriously public private life” of Isaac Singer (father of more than two dozen acknowledged children by a variety of wives and mistresses) and his partner Edward Clark’s more patrician lifestyle serve as the backdrop for the company’s early history, and Buckman makes it clear that the philanthropic and professional pursuits of the Singer and Clark families—the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Dakota, the famous Manhattan building; the Baseball Hall of Fame—have been nearly as significant forces as the sewing machine itself. As the company moved away from family ownership, however, its management displayed a mixed track record, pursuing unwise acquisitions and moving into the aerospace field until it drew the attention of corporate raiders who came close to finishing it off. Buckman analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each period in the company’s development, pointing out the confluence of factors that led to early market dominance (an unlikely union of complementary personalities and control of necessary patents) and placing it in the context of the global business trends of the 20th century. Buckman demonstrates a solid understanding of Singer’s business and evolution, though the book stumbles somewhat over imprecise history (“Prior to the nineteenth century, mobility was relatively rare”; “The notion of ‘free time’ for their wives was an oxymoron”) and awkward phrasing (“he named it after the American Indian word for ‘home,’ the ‘Wigwam’ ”). But the book’s thorough grounding in primary sources and its adept blending of human drama with balance sheets outweigh the shortcomings, making it a valuable contribution to the field of industrial history in the United States.

A solid history of the Singer company from the invention of the sewing machine to the days of leveraged buyouts.

Pub Date: May 16, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4575-4661-7

Page Count: 308

Publisher: Dog Ear

Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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