Posted 1 year ago
DQBCollect…
(1 item)
Hi! This sewing machine belonged to my mom. I don't know the age, I believe it says Singer but not sure what else. Any help with any info would be much appreciated. Thank you
*I have updated the pics to include serial numbers and better angles.
HI, DQBCollection. Very cool. :-)
It look like a Singer model 12. Try as I might, I can't make out the serial number(s) on the stitch length surround (in front of the pillar). See this post for reference:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/308616-help-for-vintage-singer-sewing-machines
That would allow us to date it to within about a year.
About the Singer model 12:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/12
http://needlebar.org/main/early12s/index.html
If you can read the serial number(s), please add it/them (there might be one or two serial numbers) to your post.
Whoops, I forgot to give you a link to a soft copy of the user manual:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/singer-12k-manual.pdf
Hi again, DQBCollection. :-)
I spent some time looking for another Singer model 12 installed in that same style of cabinet as seen in the ad at needlebar dot org, and I haven't found very many:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/decals/domestics/domesticpics/mop12/12mop3pkn.jpg
*snip*
12K in folding, 'combination' case; unfolded to provide treadle table.
*snip*
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/decals/domestics/mop12Kb3.html
https://www.treadleon.net/useit.html
That makes me think it might be like hen's teeth.
Hi! I found the serial number and took a pic and added it to the post Thank you to everyone for the info you have provided.
DQBCollection, Oh, excellent! :-)
I can't quite read what looks like it might the first digit of the serial number on the left hand side, because it's partially occluded by the thumbscrew for the stitch length mechanism. What I see:
?66615 710615
Normally, the higher of the two would prevail:
https://sewalot.com/dating_singer_sewing_machine_by_serial_number.htm
If there's a digit under the thumbscew, it has a rounded bottom, so I figure it could be a "3,", "5," "6," "8,' or a "9."
I'll give you a link to the no prefix serial number table at ISMACS so you can investigate yourself:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-no-prefix-serial-numbers.html
I'll also give you links for the two big factories, as well as for the big cabinet factory in South Bend, IN:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/elizabethport
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/kilbowie
https://orangebeanindiana.com/2019/06/12/south-bends-singer-sewing-machine-company/
I suspect your machine is a fairly rare animal. Singer model 12 sewing machine heads aren't all that plentiful, but that case that converts from a cover to a table top is the real prize.
Hi again, DQBCollection. :-)
I did a bit more poking around, and found a few more of those folding cases.
Here's one that came with a beautiful drawing room cabinet:
https://vickisewingmachines.weebly.com/singer-model-12.html
A couple of the VSM enthusiasts at the victoriansweatshop forum have it:
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/post/singer-new-family-model-12-12k-and-their-clones-8408314
Thank you for sharing the links, I've enjoyed learning and seeing the pics. I had no idea that so many people collect and enjoy these machines.
I re-did the pics, to add more and included what's inside the drawer in the cabinet. Besides a bunch of wooden needle holders and empty wooden thread holders, there is this card. I see a date of Oct 2 1913 but other than that I don't understand much about the card, other than it's really cool!!
I think the serial number is visible now and I'll go investigate with the links provided, thank you.
Looks like this will make someone happy, I'm not keeping it.
DQBCollection, Thank you so much for taking unobstructed pictures of the serial numbers. It satisfies my information tooth. }:-)
FYI, I don't think that small "7" way off to the left is part of a serial number. I've seen extraneous numbers adjacent to serial numbers on other VSMs.
I'm not sure what they mean, but they might have been for internal factory use to marry up individual parts during assembly.
It wasn't until the 1880s when Philip Diehl took matters in hand, and Singer sewing machine parts became interchangeable:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/great-diehl-of-invention.html
So, the serial numbers are: 856615 710615
Both of those fall into the same group:
*snip*
611,000 913,999 1871
*snip*
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-no-prefix-serial-numbers.html
That's a pretty early one. :-)
It looks like you have some needle containers in the drawer, and with any luck, you might even have some spare needles for the model 12.
That receipt is pretty cool. I don't understand all of it, either, but it looks like it was a receipt for a coat with a shawl collar (cut from the same material as the rest of the coat), and no button hole.
The image below would be a modern example of a men's coat with a shawl collar, and no (exposed) buttonholes (although I myself was thinking more along the lines of a woolen top coat):
https://www.muellerundsohn.com/app/uploads/2018/08/Sakko-mit-Schalkragen.png
https://www.muellerundsohn.com/en/allgemein/lapel-variations-for-double-breasted-jackets/
There are many VSM enthusiasts out there, but the victoriansweatshop group is one of the most knowledgeable I've seen, and some of them will travel many miles to acquire a VSM.
Thank you for bringing your beautiful VSM here for us to enjoy. Good luck. :-)