A young girl stands beside a Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine in this albumen CDV produced by W. J. Newell, Photographer, of Dover, New Hampshire, likely dating to the late 1860s or 1870s. The Wheeler & Wilson company was one of the dominant American sewing machine manufacturers of the period, and the machine here is presented on its characteristic treadle stand with a large flywheel, the brand label clearly legible on the front panel. The inclusion of the machine as the central prop suggests the image may have been made as an advertisement or promotional piece for a local dealer.

The girl wears a tiered plaid skirt, a light-colored apron overdress with a plaid sash, and lace-up ankle boots, her curly hair loosely pinned at the crown. Her right hand rests on the machine's working surface while her left hand holds what appears to be a small book or pamphlet. Two small china or bisque doll heads rest on the floor beneath the treadle stand.

Wheeler & Wilson, founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut, introduced the rotating hook mechanism that made their machines particularly smooth in operation, and their No. 8 model, introduced in the 1870s, became a best seller across New England. The reverse bears a penciled inscription reading "Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine" along with catalog notation "0cdv152" and the price notation "200."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer