I've got several, from treadles to a hand crank portable to the early electric. Some in cabinets, some portable. I used to collect machines until I ran out of room. The antiques are just fun---a trip back in time. They have a different sound and feel to them. As I'm sewing on my hand crank from Germany I imagine the trip it made to get here:
She wasn't shipped with crates of others, she was hand carried and placed in the cabin so that the woman that owned her could pass the time away by sewing. The young woman had been orphaned when her parents died. After everything except her clothing and her mother's sewing machine had been sold and all the bills were paid, she took the small amount left and purchased a ticket to America. When others on the ship found out that she had a machine she was begged to do mending, commissioned to make ensembles, etc. With the money she earned on her trip to her new home in America she was able to purchase a beautiful little cottage and start her own business.
Now, to be honest I have no idea how my little machine got here but isn't that a wonderful story? That's what I imagine when I sew with my hand crank. Other machines have other "histories."