Originally Posted by
Crafty Chick
A friend of mine worked for Singer a long time ago and told me that the Featherweights were made for stewardesses so they could take them on flights-I have not looked up much background on the featherweights so all this info is interesting to me. I, too, would love to have one, but have settled for a 301a-absolutely love it (and my friend who worked for Singer said the 301 was a much better machine and that I had made a better buy with the 301).
I enjoy learning about the history of vintage machines and am interested in what motivated Singer to introduce a half size light weight model when it did. I just have a hard time thinking that there were enough stewardesses in 1933 to be considered a viable market niche by Singer. I know that during the 30's the U.S. was becoming a more mobile society, which would mean there could have been more demand for portables. I wonder how the price of a FW in the 30's compared to other Singer portable models or cabinet models for that matter. I guess I could check the Singer records to see how many were manufactured over the years to see what happened after the war. It seems like most of the ones I see now are from the late 1940's or early 1950's. It is a fascinating subject!
Dayle