Originally Posted by
Sandra in Minnesota
Bent seam ripper?? Someone must have really gotten mad!! lol
Cari, I found one listed on ISMACS comprehensive model list, but it does not mention cams and gave the color as tan. Today I did a little more searching, and an image search on Google turned up a machine that looks somewhat similar and uses flat cams, though it's 19 years older and a different model. It's a 316G made in Germany in 1954. The person selling it on Etsy believes it has somewhat surprising value, but they have completely reconditioned it, and I have to admit it's a beaut:
https://www.etsy.com/search?q=Singer%20316G Anyone who happens to live in Greece can save a bundle on the shipping.
I'm beginning to understand why one of my German cousins was argumentative when I told her Singer was an American company. She just
knew they were made in Germany and the name "Singer" is of German origin. It's a tale of the blind men and the elephant.
ISMAC lists the 316G, and the fact that it had flat cams, but they have no date or picture. The 319's are somewhat similar in overall shape to my machine, too. I'm struck by the fact that by 1973 someone decided they'd better build a housing for the cam area. I wonder if that was mostly a matter of style or if they had reports of people getting their hair caught in the cams, or possibly having curious kiddo's fingers caught.