wilburness

in my searching for info on a 'hamilton sewing machine'. came across this. may be a little interesting to some.
remember.. this is from 2006
karen

THURSDAY, MAY 04, 2006
Japanese Clones of the 40's, 50's, and 60's


Shortly after W.W.II, Japan, with money from the United States, manufactured a large number of sewing machines. The most common of these were based on the Singer Model 15 but there are also Singer 99 clones. Indeed many of these machines are practically indistinguishable from a Singer and use parts that are interchangeable. Often they were given American sounding names to appeal to the overseas market. Over 5000 different "brands" have been identified, manufactured by 15 or so companies. Unfortunately, records from these manufactures don't exist, so it is impossible to identify them further. Generally speaking, a machine will, somewhere, state "made in Japan" or have "JA- " stamped into the bottom of the machine. To further complicate matters, large retailers would purchase machines and have the company name on them: RH Macy, Gimbals, etc. Any retailer so inclined could have Sewing Machines made just for him or her (Sears Kenmore, Wards Signature). I've tracked Department Stores, Machines with Automobile names, female names, patriotic names etc. The post war machines are generally well made, often quieter and smoother running than the Singers they were copied from! Japan also gave us many of our colored sewing machines. Examples have been found in metallic blue, green, pink, yellow, and I have a Fire Engine Red one! In terms of collectability, don't be fooled by a claim of "an extremely rare" Mitsubishi, Ford, Saxon, Stitch Queen etc., the same machine could have dozens of different names. If it says "Singer" on the machine, it probably is. If it doesn't, it's not. The Japanese machines have not caught on with collectors (even the ones made in Occupied Japan) and as a result retain very little value. They can be found at many thrift shops for $10-$20 and at local auctions for under $5. This might be a good niche for a collector on a limited budget – they could collect all pink machines or one machine of each color.
Posted by Ed Lamoureux at 8:30 PM
211 comments:


1 – 200 of 211 Newer› Newest»
Anonymous said...
A blog about vintage sewing machines! Great idea.


5/05/2006 7:59 PM

Rodney

I'd say mostly still accurate though they have gained some in popularity with collectors.
Rodney

J Miller

And the writer of that piece actually has a red one! WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I know somebody made them in red.

Joe

amcatanzaro

I had someone tell me the other day that the patent for the 15 was taken/stolen/removed from Singer from the American gov't post war and handed out to the Japanese companies to make machines.
This was the first time I have heard it phrased like this from any source. Anyone know for sure?

Monroe

His blog is a great read.

jlhmnj

Many American companies made money selling inexpensive high quality foreign made sewing machines so it makes sense for our government to encourage this business while helping to rebuild Japan and Germany. This eventually did away with American sewing machine manufacturing. Interesting stuff.

Jon

Jingle

I have one made for a long ago gone Department store in St. Louis. It is a Vandervoort. One Grandson was helping a family move and they told him he could have it. His Mom isn't interested in the old machines. I gave him $100.00 for it. It had never been used and never was oiled. I did have to buy a new belt for it. It runs like a champ. I used it for a while but, I prefer my newer machines. It is a gorgeous black machine.
Someone on this board sent me some info on it and the department store.

QuiltMom2

Thanks for posting: I saw a Signature machine in wooden cabinet for $15 "as is" but passed on it. I think I finally have managed to put Montgomery Ward/Signature names together.

oldtnquiltinglady

I have a Vandervoort machine somewhere in my collection. One of my sisters found it and bought it for me. It made a hit with us because we remembered Vandervoort's milk from when we lived in Texas a long time ago.

foufymaus

I have a Kenmore from 'West Germany'