Originally Posted by whenpigsfly
The book: "The Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines" by Carter Bays .... do you collectors consider this a book worth having?
And, if so, is the latest (2006) edition necessarily the best edition?
It's a great book, but concentrates on the older, more rare machines. The latest edition, obviously, contains more information on more machines.
The two books (both out of print) that I find most useful are MR. NEEDLEBAR'S NEEDLE BOOK, privately published by The NeedleBar and mostly written by Chrys Gunther. There are a few errors in the book, which they say is keeping them from publishing it again. I wish they would go ahead--it is a fabulous resource, and almost anything of this nature would have an error here and there--no one is perfect!!
The other book is THE ARCHIVE OF ANTIQUE SEWING MACHINES by Charles Basebase Law. I read on another list that they saw a copy go on Ebay for $400 (!), but also read that Charles Law occasionally puts a few up on Ebay for a reasonable price.
If you run across either of these two books, grab them; you won't be sorry. I believe Katie ?? (I can't remember her last name, but Sharon might!) is writing a book on White sewing machines, but not sure if anyone else is planning a book or not.