Dollyo

I won this off eBay for $99. It is a chain stitch hand crank. Ain't she cute!!!! The seller was just 66 miles away from me, so I drove up today to pick it up. They were manufactured in London from 1921-late 1922. Sold only at Harrods or Selfridges. Not a lot is known about them.
Here is a link to Alex Askaroff's web page with info on the Ideal Sewing Machine. He says that it's 25 years of snippets to get this much info.

http://www.sewalot.com/ideal_%20sewing_machines.htm

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KLO

Wow, that's really different. I would have thought that someone stripped the paint off it but guess not. Really interesting. Have you sewn with it yet? What a lucky find!

Dollyo

They're nickle plated. Very Art Deco. I have to clean it first. And figure out how to thread it. Should be interesting.

Caroline S

That is a rare find. Enjoyed reading about it's history.

JudyTheSewer

Oh, Dolly! Lucky you!

SteveH

That is too cool! It looks like a super-efficient design... I's love to see how it sews.

Dollyo

Here is a video on youtube that shows it sewing (they have everything on youtube).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se5y-fR4N4s

Sideways

Awesome!!! So happy for you!

love the German ideal also, very pretty machine!

amyjo

how cool is that!!!! Neat. never saw one like that.

mighty

Very cool!!!!