Posted 1 year ago
Aopinene
(1 item)
A Singer sewing machine in a maple wood cabinet.
The hinged top revealing a rise up sewing machine, the lower pair of doors revealing the cast iron treadle, the other cupboards revealing small drawers.
A lovely cabinet, this must have been one of the more expensive models of sewing machine.
We are just trying to figure out how much it worth it was bought in 1915 and made Jan 1, 1910.+
Hi, Aopinene. :-)
Beautiful.
Yes, the cabinet is what Singer called a parlor or drawing room cabinet, and they made a number of different models:
http://needlebar.org/main/singercabs/treadles.html#parlour
The closest to yours would be the plain drawing room cabinet (and yes, it did come in maple):
http://needlebar.org/main/singercabs/treadles/set31/index.html
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/tables
I see that you have a sales receipt from 1915, so that much is clear, but the manufacture date of the sewing machine head is not so clear.
You say that it was made sometime around January 1910, but one of those patent dates on the slide date is later than that (JUN 14 1910):
It's not impossible for that slide plate to be a replacement. That's something that happens not infrequently.
A better way to date your vintage Singer is to use the serial number stamped into the little bronze-colored cartouche on the bed place in front of the pillar, e.g.:
https://www.singermachines.co.uk/pub/media/upload/image/model_5.jpg
Unfortunately, I can't read that number in your existing photo.
If you could take a clear close-up picture of it, edit your post, delete the existing one of the top of the sewing machine head, and then add the one of the serial number, I would appreciate it.
In fact, it might be best to delete both the picture of the top of the sewing machine head, as well as the one of the slide plate, and replace them with one of the whole front of the sewing machine head, as well as a close-up of the serial number.
I'll transcribe the patent numbers engraved on the slide plate here for posterity:
DEC 11-1900
MAR 5-1901
JUL 23-1901
DEC 31-1901
JUL 21-1903
JUN 14-1910
Here are what I think are the oldest and newest patents:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US663808
https://patents.google.com/patent/US961135
What I can tell you about your machine right now, is that it has what is known as the Red Eye decal set:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal10
That's a famous decal set that was only ever applied to model 66 sewing machine heads, and only at the Elizabethport factory.
Indeed, from your existing pictures, I can see that the sewing machine head has a forward-facing disc tension assembly, and that's consistent with the model 66.
About the model 66:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/66
For now, here is a manual for the model 66-1 (if I get a picture of the whole front of the sewing machine head, I might be able to determine the submodel and give you a more pertinent manual):
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/singer-model-66-1-sewing-machine-manual.pdf
About the Elizabethport factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/elizabethport
About Singer's South Bend, IN cabinet factory:
https://orangebeanindiana.com/2019/06/12/south-bends-singer-sewing-machine-company/
Since you have the 1915 receipt, you know that the buyer paid USD$54. Considering the high-end cabinet, that wouldn't be out of line with the information here:
*snip*
AVERAGE COST (cash paid) FOR MACHINE
1913 - 1917 $39.60 to 44.40
*snip*
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_manufacture_dates_by_serial_number.html
If you're asking what it's worth today, valuation isn't done here in the Collectors Weekly Show & Tell forum.
You can get an appraisal from another company underneath the Barnebys corporate umbrella; however, it isn't free:
https://www.valuemystuff.com/us/appraisal
Failing that, here is some free advice from one of the experts at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society:
https://ismacs.net/sewing_machine_articles/how_much_is_my_sewing_machine_worth.html
Whoops, here is the exact model number of the cabinet (the number 21):
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/drawing_room_cabinet_no_21-22.html