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Raymond Sewing Machines -
The History
Raymond Sewing was
started by Charles Raymond in 1862.
Raymond was an enterprising American who had started his own
business in Vermont but moved to Canada in order to avoid lawsuit entanglements
with Singer, whose machines he had 'copied'.
Raymond
originally established in Montreal, but his operations were unsuccessful
and he moved his factory to Guelph. His
Guelph operations proved a more successful venture. Growth of the
company was assisted by the American Civil War when competition was all
but obliterated. The original
factory was established on Yarmouth Street, but further premises were
acquired on the corner of Suffolk and Yarmouth and on Baker Street as
production increased.
After selling
the business in 1896 to J.G. Sully, his former foreman, and Christian
Kloepfer, Raymond retired in 1897. Business continued as the Raymond
Manufacturing Company, but with more diversified products. In 1916,
Raymond manufacturing was sold to the White Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland,
who packed the factory up and moved it to Cleveland.
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