Sewing machine riot
The same year, he opened (with partners) the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company in the world. It was supposed to create army uniforms. A workshop was established in the rue de Sèvres in Paris with around 80 sewing machines in total.[5]
However in 1831, 150–200 tailors confronted them at the factory destroying dozens of machines in the process,[5] reportedly fearful of losing work and lower wages following the issuing of the patent.
According to Moniteur,[6][7]
"A group of tailors, numbering about 150, headed this afternoon to rue de Sèvres, n° 155, towards the home of Mr. Gombert, into which they violently entered with the intention of breaking the sewing machines for military clothing. Informed of their project, M. Perrasset, standard-bearer in the battalion of the 10th legion of the national guard, immediately warned the police commissioner and M. Pascal, chief of the same battalion. Immediately a detachment of the 8th light, commanded by Lieutenant Pirolle, and passing rue de Sèvres, intervened at the requisition of the head of the establishment; their appearance put some of the delinquents to flight, they confined the other in the house from which they only came out between two hedges formed by the line and the National Guards who had come running from the quarter; 75 of these workers were thus taken to the police headquarters where they are imprisoned. They were immediately interrogated and the culprits will be placed in the hands of the king's attorney."
It is unclear whether "Gombert" is mistakenly referring to Barthélemy Thimonnier or referring to one of his partners, funders or employees.
A month later the Gazette des Tribunaux (The Court Gazette) refers to it as the house of "Mr. Petit".[8] This is referring to Maison Germain Petit & Cie, the company established by Barthélemy Thimonnier & Auguste Ferrand.[9]
They also claim mechanic destruction was prevented by the National Guard and are highly critical towards the attempts.[8] The Court Gazette, a criminal justice magazine, often directly sourced from governmental accounts. Given the high level of political resistance at the time (see Canut revolts) it could be unlikely that any success of the destruction would be stated publicly by governmental sources for fear of inspiring further actions.
The statement went on to note the following,[8]
"They appeared today before the 6th correctional chamber. These seventy-five defendants cluttered the courtroom … Questioned by the President on the reasons for their irruption at Mr. Petit's, each of the seventy-five defendants rising in turn, and with a German, Provençal, Gascon, Norman accent, etc., answered: it was to see the machine, out of curiosity; always the same answer …. M. Ferdinand Barrot, in an indictment full of wisdom and of moderation … demonstrated to them, by means of statistics made available to them, that the invention of mechanics was favorable to industry, and consequently to industrialists."
According to a later source,[10]
"Five defendants were sentenced to one month's imprisonment and sixty-nine to eight days' imprisonment; the seventy-fifth, whose name was Jacob, was acquitted."
Thimonnier retired from the company the same year, shortly following the riot.[11][10] The entire company was then fully dissolved a few years later, following the death of principal investor, Mr.Beaunier of The Saint-Étienne miners' school.[11][10]
A model of the machine is exhibited at the London Science Museum. The machine is made of wood and uses a barbed needle which passes downward through the cloth to grab the thread and pull it up to form a loop to be locked by the next loop.
