http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_..._treasure.html
The 221 was introduced for the World's Fair, and the striped faceplate comes about in 1947 (according to the serial information at the bottom of the article). There were no World's Fairs in the 1940's due to the war (
http://ib.frath.net/w/World%27s_Fairs), so I'd say no to the second question.
