Cathy,
Quite an undertaking. Thanks. I had thoughts of doing something on the Yahoo group Vintage Japanese machines, but cannot contact the owner and would need to use existing photos. With new format, not easy to undertake. My thought was to identify a machine, list other brands & badges of the same model with a cross reference by name and manufacturer.
For US machines, I would recommend 2 books, but they are not easy to find now. One is Encyclopedia of Antique Sewing Machines by Charles Law. The other is The Encyclopedia of Early American Sewing Machines by Carter Bays. Both are outrageously priced as they have not been reprinted. I have the 2nd ed & I was able to get the 3rd Ed of Carter's book as a PDF download for $23. Do not get an issue where you have to go up to anyone's site to view. Go directly to the publisher, Collector Books. The owners are the ones who started AQS ( American Quilters Society and the Museum in Paducah). They stop printing, but do offer downloads.
http://www.collectorbooks.com/ and
http://www.collectorbooks.com/items/...imageField.y=0
I have been at Carter's home to see his collection. It is amazing. Note though, he specializes in very early and patent model US machines. If you would have any one book, I would recommend the Charles Law book, but they are untouchable, unless you are lucky.
At one point Charles Law reprinted himself, but I don't see anything on line right now.
On line, I would suggest
http://needlebar.org; especially
http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/machines.htm to name a couple.
If you have the opportunity to visit with people and see their collections, the experience is undeniably invaluable. For example, as part of the North Carolina Toga ( Treadleon Gathering and Academy) get together, we go on a tour of the Harry Berzak collection. Even though I have seen it before, I will never miss this field trip!
It is all about experience, and being thankful that people like Cathy are willing to do the analysis and work and share their findings.
Hope this helps,