Caroline S

A Singer 201 was one of the last vintage sewing machines on my want list. Take a look at Ophelia. Ophelia is a very common name in my maternal ancestry.

I saw her on Craigslist and she was a good price, $80 and in a cabinet. Met up with the seller this morning in a vacant store parking lot. Of course I had DD, AKA chief enabler with me. I did not think twice about the 80 bucks after taking a good look at her. She is so clean top and bottom and came with a Singer button holer.

My recent sewing machine purchases seem to have a good story. The seller is an OJCSG. What is an OJCSG? Well that is an Old Junk Collector Seller Guy. He arrived in a vintage chevy van that was stuffed to the gills with junk treasures, tools and reeked of cigar smoke. He opened the back of the van and there was Ophelia. He had told me that the top of the cabinet has some veneer damage so I had a mental image of peeling and lifting veneer. Nope, actually all there is just some surface damage the finish that is easily fixed. I turned the hand wheel and everything worked smoothly. He then said "do you want to hear it run." I said "How?" and he said he had a generator in the van and he would start it up and plug the sewing machine in so I could test it. Incredible. Never in a thousand years would I have thought that the OJCSG would have a working generator in his van. I was willing to buy the machine without even testing the electrical function.

Serial number AL341041, allotment date 11 August 1952

Oh, I bought another sewing machine today also, A Morse that I will be posting on another new thread. JOE, you are going to drool over the Morse.

Charlee

NICE!!! Love the story!

I found a cabinet and stool for my 201 today! $20 on my local Craig's list... have been watching for a cabinet for her, as I hated the one I painted....get to go pick it up tonight!

Caroline S

Awesome Charlee. Don't you just those good deals when you find what you want at a good price? Guess what? OJCSG just called DD and say he just found another 201. Might be a 201 for DD. Now this is really bad (GOOD?)

Charlee

These 201s just totally rock! I love mine...so yep! I think EVERYONE should have one!!

J Miller

Caroline,

That's a nice machine, though not a 201. More like a 15-91. 201's have the tensioner in the front like a 66 and the round disk around the stitch length lever.
Just checked my chart and sure enough it says Mdl 15, Allotted No. 50,000, Allotted date April-8-53.

Nice machine though.

Joe

Caroline S

Yes, Joe. You are correct. I just rechecked the serial number on ISMACS. Darn. I must have read the serial number incorrectly. Darn. Ophelia is a keeper anyway. The Singer sewing machine I will be looking at tomorrow has a serial number of AL341041. Double check for me to make sure that one is a 201. She is according to ISMACS. Gotta get some new glasses and take a picture of 201 with me when I do the inspection.

Wait till you see the Morse.

Nanamoms

Caroline, you will LOVE that 15-91! I was given one for FREE (no cabinet though) and she sews wonderfully!!

Caroline S

Thanks Nanamoms. Joe burst my bubble a little bit, just a little though. Part of the learning process. LOL

J Miller

Carloine,

The number you gave me above is the same number for the 15 in the pic above.

Sorry about bursting your bubble, I was really hoping to get a look see at another 201. I'm getting kind of fond of mine. But ...... I don't have a 15 and you do.

Joe

Charlee

I didn't even notice the tension!! Nor did I notice that it was missing the white switch... That's what I get for logging on and trying to post from work when we have customers!

15-91..also a VERY good machine!