Vintage Sewing Machine Shop.....Come on in and sit a spell
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: sf bay area, california
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Hey anyone here know anything about the Damascus TSMs? I finally found a needle bar screw so I can actually put a needle on the machine, but what needle? ISMACS says Damascus Toy Sewing Machine's use a 16x1. I googled and found other places that say use a 24x1, which is the same needle the Singer 20 TSM uses? I tried the 24x1 needle in the Damascus and it makes bird nests? Pat, do you know?
I would have guessed 24x1 too, but would have to check. Re bird nests, these little beasts are tricky to get to sew properly, and it may well be something else that is causing them. Personally, I would just take it to Cathy! She is really good at getting ornery little machines to sew.
pat
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW
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My New Florence (remember the cabinet with the gold rose decals?) also has the rounded "butt". The Masons take the 20x1 needles, and pre-date 1916 when the AG Mason company sold out to White. The information out there is rather "muddy" with many claiming that the Masons are a badged White, but the documents that I've found indicate that AG Mason was a company on its own until 1916...
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Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW
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I knew I had something wrong! Mason didn't sell to White, they sold out to Domestic, who later merged with White. These articles are what makes me think that AG Mason manufactured its own machines.
Per "The Sewing Machine Collector" website:
The company was established in the early 1900s by A.G.Mason, a former agent for the Davis Sewing Machine Co. The concern specialized in sales through large retail stores, with many marques being used. Following the death of Mason in 1916, the company became a subsidiary of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
From The Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines, 3rd Edition:
[h=2]HISTORY OF THE COMPANY[/h]
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company manufactured sewing machines from the 1880s to about 1916. After the original Florence Sewing Machine Company went bankrupt in the late 1870s, Mr. Mason apparently acquired the company in the early to mid 1880s. This new company, doing business as the Florence Machine Company and located in Florence, Massachusetts, manufactured sewing machines based on White models.
Like many of the smaller manufacturers, A.G. Mason seems to have concentrated on making sewing machines for departments stores and other retailers. Models sold by the company included the Defender, Wilson, Crown, Queen, New Queen, and Florence. In the early 1900s, the company apparently moved its operation to Cleveland, Ohio, and was renamed the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company. In 1916, the company was purchased by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company which itself later merged with the White SM Co. in the 1920s.
Per "The Sewing Machine Collector" website:
The company was established in the early 1900s by A.G.Mason, a former agent for the Davis Sewing Machine Co. The concern specialized in sales through large retail stores, with many marques being used. Following the death of Mason in 1916, the company became a subsidiary of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
From The Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines, 3rd Edition:
[h=2]HISTORY OF THE COMPANY[/h]
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company manufactured sewing machines from the 1880s to about 1916. After the original Florence Sewing Machine Company went bankrupt in the late 1870s, Mr. Mason apparently acquired the company in the early to mid 1880s. This new company, doing business as the Florence Machine Company and located in Florence, Massachusetts, manufactured sewing machines based on White models.
Like many of the smaller manufacturers, A.G. Mason seems to have concentrated on making sewing machines for departments stores and other retailers. Models sold by the company included the Defender, Wilson, Crown, Queen, New Queen, and Florence. In the early 1900s, the company apparently moved its operation to Cleveland, Ohio, and was renamed the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company. In 1916, the company was purchased by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company which itself later merged with the White SM Co. in the 1920s.
Charlee,
I had an AG Mason Rotary at one time and wondered about this also. Here's some interesting information:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...58284316tUttVK
"Believe it or not "
Jon
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: sf bay area, california
Posts: 93
I knew I had something wrong! Mason didn't sell to White, they sold out to Domestic, who later merged with White. These articles are what makes me think that AG Mason manufactured its own machines.
Per "The Sewing Machine Collector" website:
The company was established in the early 1900s by A.G.Mason, a former agent for the Davis Sewing Machine Co. The concern specialized in sales through large retail stores, with many marques being used. Following the death of Mason in 1916, the company became a subsidiary of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
From The Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines, 3rd Edition:
HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company manufactured sewing machines from the 1880s to about 1916. After the original Florence Sewing Machine Company went bankrupt in the late 1870s, Mr. Mason apparently acquired the company in the early to mid 1880s. This new company, doing business as the Florence Machine Company and located in Florence, Massachusetts, manufactured sewing machines based on White models.
Like many of the smaller manufacturers, A.G. Mason seems to have concentrated on making sewing machines for departments stores and other retailers. Models sold by the company included the Defender, Wilson, Crown, Queen, New Queen, and Florence. In the early 1900s, the company apparently moved its operation to Cleveland, Ohio, and was renamed the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company. In 1916, the company was purchased by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company which itself later merged with the White SM Co. in the 1920s.
Per "The Sewing Machine Collector" website:
The company was established in the early 1900s by A.G.Mason, a former agent for the Davis Sewing Machine Co. The concern specialized in sales through large retail stores, with many marques being used. Following the death of Mason in 1916, the company became a subsidiary of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co.
From The Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines, 3rd Edition:
HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company manufactured sewing machines from the 1880s to about 1916. After the original Florence Sewing Machine Company went bankrupt in the late 1870s, Mr. Mason apparently acquired the company in the early to mid 1880s. This new company, doing business as the Florence Machine Company and located in Florence, Massachusetts, manufactured sewing machines based on White models.
Like many of the smaller manufacturers, A.G. Mason seems to have concentrated on making sewing machines for departments stores and other retailers. Models sold by the company included the Defender, Wilson, Crown, Queen, New Queen, and Florence. In the early 1900s, the company apparently moved its operation to Cleveland, Ohio, and was renamed the A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company. In 1916, the company was purchased by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company which itself later merged with the White SM Co. in the 1920s.
Interesting stuff! I used to have a Mason badged 'Florence' that was exactly like a White VS1, except that it had a plate tension instead of the upright disk on the arm. (Actually here it is: http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...62576881LBEJWp .) Katie Farmer looked at it and said it didn't have a White serial number, but I *think* she eventually concluded that all Masons were actually manufactured by White.
Charles Law's book is 10-15 years old, and I don't think he's fixed many of the original errors. Katie Farmer has done a lot of research on Whites. I'm not sure who I'd believe, but all the Masons I've seen sure looked like Whites.
What is "The Sewing Machine Collector" website?
pat
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: North Carolina - But otherwise, NOTW
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Hummmm....Jon, you always come up with the most obscure information! Interesting....
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Muv sent another video to me. I think you will all enjoy this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WojF1...em-uploademail
Pat, I did a search for A.G. Mason Sewing Machine and came up with this:
http://www.dincum.com/articles/usa_m...urers_res.html
http://www.dincum.com/articles/usa_m...urers_res.html
Jon...that answers the question for me then!
I know that there are a great many machines that LOOK like White machines, but aren't. That, and the little blurbs like what I posted before led me to believe that Mason was a manufacturer...
Know better now tho, eh?
I know that there are a great many machines that LOOK like White machines, but aren't. That, and the little blurbs like what I posted before led me to believe that Mason was a manufacturer...
Know better now tho, eh?
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 2,609
I have been working on the old house and we have got the painting done so catching up on the chat here and noticed the thread again on bra making. I have been married for 45 years to the same wonderful women and I have made her many formals and even bras thru the years so no problem here. All though bras can be a challenge depending on rather it will lift for formal ware are regular wear. Sometimes I even but stays in them or wires to support. They can be hard to make.
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