- The expansion of the embroidery industry began with the invention of the (hand-) embroidery machine by Joshua Heilmann of Mulhouse in 1828.
- 1864 The Inventor of the Combing Machine, full report, p 54, The Engineer 1864/01/22
- Joshua Heilmann from Mulhouse worked on the design of a hand embroidery machine. Though he did not sell many, it revolutionized the embroidery industry. Heilmann's invention was quickly followed by the "shuttle embroidery" and the "chain stitch embroidery" methods.