Originally Posted by Caroline S

There is really no difference in the performance. To the best of my knowledge the only difference between the early and later Featherweights is the faceplate design. There were other model differences but if you really want to find out about them I suggest you purchase the book "Featherweight 221, The Perfect Portable" by Nancy Johnson-Srebro. I refer to my copy all of the time. At the back of the book it the full 221 manual. If I was going to purchase another
Featherweight, I would go for the pristine 1956 model.