I remember the clips..

It's an inkwell.
Old timers know this. We had them in schools and in desk....

First thing that came to my mind was an inkwell, with the pencils/pens storage in the drawer as well. Was the cabinet possibly built for home ec classes in school? What a bit of history you have there. Enjoy your new machine!

I have the same cabinet with a Singer 201 head. Got it about 45 years ago and I still have no idea what that jar is for.

Yep, I was in Parochial school in the mid-50's and there was the hole for the ink bottle. We kept ours in a cabinet in the back of the classroom (I think this prevented the pigtails in the inkwell syndrome :) During Penmanship time we'd go back and fill the reservoir fountain pens with ink. It's a wonder there wasn't a whole lot more ink mess at that time.

no these cabinets were made by Singer so you could have them in the living area,,they looked like a piece of furniture..could be used as a desk ..and also held your sewing machine..I done all of my 4H sewing projects on one just like it..in fact it is at the lake and gets used all summer..a great machine..

it is to put use neadles in

What a terrific find!

Mom's has this mystery item inside as well. We didn't use it for anything - happy to hear of its possible use as an ink well or needle spot.
Her Singer was the model 201, & I believe that cabinet was sold just for a couple Singers - 201 & 15-90. The cabinet now resides in my basement, but the gem of a machine was replaced by Mom many years ago when she thought she needed something with a zigzag option. Wish I could find a 201 to put back into it.
I plan to restore the cabinet this summer; seems my brother used it for a table in his laundry room - bleach, detergent, etc & returned it to me recently in terrible condition.
I hope elbow grease will make it the beauty I remember as a child.

I think that the drawer was once a school desk top. -- How thick is the wood?? I went to school in a very rural area and the younger grades used old desks with the inkwell and groove for pens and pencils

Mim

My uneducated guess is that the desk was used for a sewing machine and writing desk and that is an ink bottle, don't laugh i said uneducated guess :lol: