The colorful history of the invention of
the sewing machine and its
early development
and manufacture has been written many times, and
that information is available at many sites on the Internet.
Below are
a series of pictures that graphically illustrate some of the types and the vintage of antique sewing machines we
are
interested in. To see more examples of desirable and
collectible early patented sewing machines, and to get more information on
antique sewing machines, please visit our sister
website www.patented-antiques.com,
where we conduct
most of our
Internet sewing machine sales
from.
What we
aim to do on this page is to give you
some actual pictures and information about the types of rare and desirable
vintage and antique sewing machines that we are seeking.
Sewing
Machine
Consignment Sales
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We are active dealers of rare
and historically important American patented sewing machines. We are always interested in
helping you sell machines of this caliper through
the Consignment Program we offer.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The most important
thing to understand about the development of the sewing machine is that
there is a huge difference in the look and in the
rarity of machines that were manufactured before the 1870's compared to
those that were manufactured after that time.
There were
relatively few manufacturers in the earliest years, but the invention
took off to the extent that by the turn of the century there were
literally millions of sewing machines that were very similar to each
other being made by many different manufacturers and being sold to every
household in America. And although the "later" (i.e. 1880 and
beyond) machines are "antique" in the sense of their age, they do not
have the same historical significance as the earliest models. For
that reason our main focus is on selling those earliest examples.
Another important point
is that sewing machines such as Wilcox & Gibbs' and most Wheeler
& Wilson's, although they carry early patent
dates, also carry much
later patent dates and were produced well into the
19th and even 20th Century. They are bought by beginning
collectors and decorators, but their value is based more on their decorator appeal
rather than
on their historical significance.
We are primarily interested in
helping you sell pre1870 patented sewing machines, or machines that are of a style that is
distinctly different from the common look of most "antique"
sewing machines. If you have or know of an example of one of these
earlier and different looking sewing machines that is for sale,
please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
anytime.
"New England" Style Sewing
Machines
There are a seemingly endless variety of machines that fall into a style
collectively referred to as New England
sewing
machines. Manufactured by a number of different companies and all
with slightly different variations in features and decoration, the most
notable thing about these machines is that they utilized a "walking
presser foot" to move the fabric along from above rather than using the
more typical feed dogs from below. These antique sewing machines
were made in the 1860's and 1870's and in general have fancy open work
body styles and decorative brightly colored paintwork. One such
example is pictured above and another to the right. A critical
factor in determining value of these sewing machines is the condition of
the paint, with pristine examples being considerably more desirable than
ones with little or no remaining paint and distinguishing the $100
examples from the $500 or $600 examples.
"Paw Foot" Style Sewing
Machines Another type of early sewing
machine found in many varieties are the Shaw and Clark or "pawfoot"
style sewing machines. Shaw and Clark was but one
manufacturer
and some machines are unmarked while others carry names such as "Ketchem's
Patent", Monitor, Wilson, Atwater, Goodspeed & Wyman, Hodgkin's patent,
Granite State, and
others. They are all hand-crank machines with an open cast iron
frame design, and sometimes with a "fire hydrant" shaped body enclosing
the drive mechanism. This is sometimes toped with an acorn finial or other
decorative element. Rather than a fire hydrant design other Shaw
& Clark machines were designed with an open pillar, a closed pillar, a
skinny pillar or a fat pillar.
Other similar machines dating from this
era
that we sell are Watson patent sewing machines like the
example pictured here, Folsom patent sewing machines, and others that
were manufactured in or near Whichendon, Massachusetts or Biddeford,
Maine in the 1860's. Again, condition is really important on these
machines and when you see examples in pristine condition you'll agree!
Other historically important and desirable early patented antique sewing machines we would love to have the opportunity to
help you sell, to name just a few, are those bearing the names Secor, Thomson, Leavitt,
Pratt, Blodgett & Lerow, Blees, Battelle, Parker, Holly, and any others
dating prior to 1870.
Singer Sewing Machines Singer
is by far the best known name of sewing machines in the world. Though
most Singer sewing machines are very common and frequently found, Singer produced some
very rare and desirable machines in the early years (pre 1860), and the best of these is known
as the Turtleback. The other desirable model from this early era is known as the
Letter A. In the world of sewing machine collectors there is some
interest in some of the more ornate or later cabinet models, but
in general after the Turtleback and Letter A most
Singer
sewing machines examples are considered relatively common, and fall into the period of mass production.
The
major exception to this is the Singer Model 221 and 222 Featherweight sewing machines,
one of which is pictured on the right. These machines, even though relatively
common, enjoy a vast popularity as "user" machines with today's quilters,
craftspeople, and other seamstresses because they are a testament to the quality of the
product that Singer used to put out. That so many are still available and
still in
use today is amazing, but they are collectible and they have even had a
club called the Featherweight Fanatics formed for the most serious of
them. If you would like to read more about Singer Featherweights be
sure to see the special Featherweight
Sewing Machine page we have dedicated to them on this site.
Please email us for details on our consignment program at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com.
Types of Antique Sewing
Machines Wanted
*****Click the
Links Below*****
The above sewing machines are examples of the
caliber, condition, and quality of antique sewing machines that we are primarily interested in
helping you sell.
If you have quality antique sewing
machines similar to those that you see
on this page that you want to sell, please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
providing as many details as possible. Thank you!!
To see examples of antique sewing machines that
we have for sale and have sold in the past, please go to our sister site
at www.Patented-Antiques.com.and
visit the sewing machine sale pages you will find there.
What we
DO NOT
Buy & Sell
If you have a sewing machine from the
1890's or later that you wish to sell,
please read here first for Information
About the Types of Patented & Antique Sewing Machines We Buy, and
Values / Appraisals of
other Sewing
Machines.
We do not want, nor do we have any information about, typical looking large
treadle sewing machines dating from near the turn of the
century. The White, New Home, Standard, Minnesota, Sears, Domestic, Free,
Westinghouse and a host
of others fall into this category.
We do not buy or sell, and have no information
about, any
electric sewing machine other than the Singer model 221-222 mentioned above.
In order to save time and energy we do not respond to inquires about the
above types of machines. Thanks for understanding.
Important Information:
PLEASE CLICK HERE
Because we don't buy
or sell them, we don't follow
the market for those later machines and we do not research them. Please take a look at the
link above to see what machines we are
referring to before contacting
us about your
sewing machine.
