Very Early Sewing Bird

This is a very sturdy, functional antique sewing tool.  He is largely unadorned; I believe he is one of the earliest made, probably around the 1840's.  He is made of a heavy gauge metal, the spring to open his beak works well, to completely close the beak you do have to manually finish closing it.  The screw to attach him to a table works fine.  He does have some pitting and darkening of the metal.  I have cleaned him up a bit but will leave further restoration (if desired) to the buyer.  There is no patent date on him as I have seen with other birds.  Charles Waterman acquired the patented February 15, 1853, although he had been selling the sewing clamps or “grippers” for a while. As the sewing bird became more and more popular, the designs became more varied and elaborate. Wealthy woman had highly decorated sewing birds with intricate carving or embossed details to indicate their social status.  Clamped to the edge of a table, it acted as a "3rd hand" keeping the fabric taut as one sewed. By pressing the top and bottom tail together it opens the beak, which allows the sewer to place the fabric in the beak holding it securely while stitching a hem or seam. A very handy tool to have before the invention of the sewing machine.