I bought this machine some time in the mid 1980s. For a while it was my only sewing machine. It is a Singer 28K manufactured in 1896. In 1987 I used it to make my wedding dress, and in 1989 the christening robe for a very sweet baby boy.
I particularly wanted this model because I had grown up using my mum's machine, also a 28K.
This machine is interesting because it shows how machines used to be overhauled for resale. This front slide plate is an obvious mismatch with the back plate. The front slide plate is a replacement - the original slide plate would have had a stamp on it showing the patent date of 1886.
When you open the front plate you see that the decals carry on under the plate. At the side, to the left where you would have the plate on a round bobbin machine, there is a gap. These decals were designed for use on a round bobbin machine. This machine was given a new coat of black japanning and a fresh set of decals - a bit like giving an old car a respray and a set of speed stripes.
The face plate has the ornate grapevine design, totally out of keeping with the rather minimalist design of the decals. The original faceplate on this machine would have been plain.
At the back, the screw that holds in the inspection plate has been given the blacking treatment - it really didn't need it!
When I bought it, the machine came in a dark wood base and bentwood case. When I inherited my mum's machine I swapped the machines around, putting my mum's machine in the dark wood base and case, and putting this machine in the 1950s light wood base and old suitcase-style case that my mum's machine had come in. Somehow the light wood base suits this machine better.
This machine went to a charity shop a couple of weeks ago. I hope the new owner gets years of good use from it - it certainly served me well. Now it is somebody else's turn to enjoy this machine.
Hello to Armand, the latest follower. Thank you for joining!
This intriguing figure is on the bed of the Serata Treadle.
He also appears on the front and back of the machine.
When I posted pictures of this machine on the Quilting Board forum I asked for suggestions as to who it might be. The best answer was Hammurabi. After that I spent ages looking through pictures on the internet of Assyrian kings. I ended up deciding that it was Sargon II. It's as good a guess as any. Whoever he is he must be very wise, sitting on that owl.
I emailed the Stoewer Museum to see if they knew. Unfortunately they didn't, but I did find out that this decal doesn't crop up much in Germany, so it seems that they may have put this design on machines intended for export.
The Egyptian sphinxes were a very popular design, appearing on Singer and Frister and Rossmann machines, and are very sought after today, but I prefer the Assyrian style on this machine.
Update 30th April 2013 - I was delighted today to receive a comment from Assyria, who has identified the king as Ashurnasirpal II . Although both relief portraits are highly stylised, the king on the machine bears more similarities to Ashurnasirpal II than he does to Sargon II. I knew that someone, somewhere, would recognise the king, but it came as a great surprise to receive the message today. Thank you Assyria!
I took a few pictures of the Willcox and Gibbs Automatic this morning so I have a record of how it looks before the clean up. For the true authentic touch, I haven't even wiped off the dust. Here is a close up of the decals on the base, which are just so pretty and in such good condition.
Hidden below the needleplate is the serial number. I submitted a photo of this machine to the Needlebar website a while ago, and was delighted to be told that this serial number dates the machine back to 1888.
I am being very strict with myself and not touching it until I have finished The Quilt, which I hope will be next week...
This is my 1934 Singer 128K with the Indian Star decal in the centre of the bed of the machine.
The Needlebar website gives information about the different decals found on Singer machines, and it was there that I found out that in each point of the star is written the word Singer in a different Indian language.
This machine was bought from a couple in Shropshire - it had belonged to the wife's mother. They had no family connections with India and had no idea how they came to have a machine that had been manufactured for export there. My guess is that it was originally sold in India and was brought back to this country many years ago.
This is a Singer 48K that I found in a second hand shop in South Wales a few weeks ago. It is in a bit of a state - the metal will never shine again, it is too far gone - but the decals are incredibly pretty and I have a serious soft spot for transverse shuttle machines, so it came home with me. The design of the decals is known as Ottoman Carnation.
This machine has joined the queue for a clean up, but it might have a long wait. I have a quilt to finish and I need to keep my hands clean.
Taking off the bobbin winder meant I could clean the front of the pillar easily, and gave me the opportunity to admire the decals in their full glory.
The decals on the back of the pillar are equally impressive.
A gentle rubbing with sewing machine oil on a dab of cotton wool is all it takes to bring up the shine. Any excess oil can be wiped off with a soft cotton cloth afterwards.
Never use any strong or abrasive substances on the decals - they can be damaged beyond repair by over-enthusiastic cleaning.
Hello Mommysue7! Thank you for following.
Just one last picture, and you can play spot the oil hole. No prizes on offer, but you can claim the glory by posting a comment to say where it is.
Being a true couch potato I sat through last night's Olympic Opening Ceremony and had the incomparable pleasure of seeing the Queen and Daniel Craig taking the art of understatement to its pinnacle. The video also features a sewing machine. Here is the link, so you can play at freeze frame in the first few seconds and then dash off furious letters to the props department at the Beeb asking why the handle of the sewing machine was not clicked into position. And why wasn't it in a base either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5abat5NEU
If you have trouble with the link, search Youtube for "Mr. Bond escorts the Queen."
Hello Gin! (That's a greeting to the latest follower, not a private conversation into my glass)
And hello Laura Jean who has appeared just this minute!
This picture of the Vesta shows a very helpful feature that Vesta included on their machines. The holes for lubricating the machine were outlined in red, so there was no chance of wasting oil by ramming it down the wrong hole.
Welcome back to Kmalmquist, and hello Lala!
First of all, thank you and welcome back to Artymess, Fabriquefantastique and Scott Egerton, who have now reappeared through the cybermaze!
Now feast your eyes on the beautiful designs. Can't you just imagine them stitched in tiny satin stitch, or woven into brocade, or printed on silk? Where have you seen similar designs? This could be a special assignment for Fabriquefantastique.
Somewhere in this house I have an old(ish) little book in German of children in peasant costume, which I should examine with a magnifying glass. I must dig the book out some time. I just wish I knew where to start digging.
