It looks a lot like a New Home I have - very nice well made machine - I would give it a top rating. When I first got mine I thought it was a clone of a Singer 15 - it is not a clone. It does have the bobbin on the side like a clone. I do not know where you find a manual. I think it threads like a clone and the bobbin works like a clone. Some of the New Home machines have a greyhound on them - Free Westinghouse/New Home seem to be some how related. I do not know the history - Charlee is a good one to look stuff like that up. I do not know what needles it uses - mine still had a pack with it. I should pull it out and shoot some pics - maybe look at the needles a bit.