I think those machines went out of service in the late 1950's to early 1960's. They were not being used when I worked part-time at sewing/fabric shops while I was in college from 1967 forward. That's when the perma press fabrics of cotton and polyester came in like gangbusters. Oh my, sometimes the bolts of new fabric smelled like formeldehyde (?) and the odor could not be removed by laundering. The only thing I can equate it to now would be poly/cotton perma press sheet sets with an unpleasant odor from chemical processing.