Posted 7 years ago
DivingDoug
(13 items)
A local restaurant that used old cast iron sewing machine bases for some of their tables (solid copper tops) recently closed and I acquired three of the tables. This particular one is pretty neat and I am pretty sure it is a Singer base looking at the art of the legs.
The logo seems overly complex with an outer horse shoe design with the swept "S" in the center and then what appears to be an anchor shape with a couple hooved legs coming out of the bottom. And if that's not enough, there is an ampersand symbol in the middle of it all as well.
Questions is, can anyone tell me what particular era this style base was made during? This one has a relatively small primary pulley compared to others I have seen and even the treadle seems a bit small. It has a wood connecting rod which makes me think it's on the older side. The text in the base indicates that it was patented or the patent was applied for July 18, 80 (I am quite certain that is 1880)
Any input of what year(s) this design was produced would be much appreciated.
Doug
That's from an old Singer, you're right!
have you looked here?
http://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Antique_Singer_Sewing_Machines
Thanks for the reference. Wasn't able to find anything there though. Most identifying sites look at the machine vs. just the base. Will keep looking though.
Thanks... Doug
My guess is it had a brass-plated finish originally, at least on the horse shoe.
They used the same base style for many years on several models, so dating it to even within 5 years would be difficult.
I'm not familiar with wooden rods on them, though.
From what I have seen, the bases that didn't have the "SINGER" logo in the center cross-brace were generally used in the earliest years pre-1900. I have yet to find any other reference showing or describing this particular design so I am just going to call it a late 1800's piece and be done with it.
This is NOT a Singer base. The maker is Samuel C Tatum. http://needlebar.org/cm/displayimage.php?album=908&pid=5637#top_display_media
Interesting. I was surprised when I did my initial research there wasn't more information on some of the various old treadle bases and machines. Still, curious that some aspects of this logo are very similar to the early Singer logos.
Thanks for the info! Doug