RobynGM98

Hi! I bought this sewing machine today at an antiques shop. I'm unsure who manufactured it or when it was made as the only indication is the initials G.N. I found similar machines made by Grimme Natalis & Co but not this exact one. There is a serial number of 232897. Can anybody help me to identify the age/manufacturer of this machine? Thank you!
http://imgur.com/a/43kzhqe

leonf

A quick glance shows GNC using that name till about 1927. I've seen pics of transvere shuttles and vibrating shuttle. alas, you image didn't come through.

bkay

Leon, you have to copy and paste that link into the address in your browser. It's a pretty rough machine.
bkay

leonf

That's weird. This morning's machine did not find it. Surely not operator error. yep, transverse. with mother of pearl.hand crank. German.

. like this I think.
Welcome aboard.

bkay

That one looks kind of like the one I sent you. It's been so long, I've forgotten. Is that it?
bkay

OurWorkbench

Welcome, RobynGM98. That is a rather rough looking machine. How is your German? Not sure how much it will help, but maybe. I saw that the badge for the Grimme Natalis machine was different from yours. After hours of searching, I finally found a badge like yours and it is for Gebr. Nothmann, I found http://needlebar.org/main/makers/germany/ and http://needlebar.org/main/logos/nothmann/index.html I also found http://schlingenfaenger.de/m-z-k-z.html that indicates Gebr. Nothmann, Berlin, 1872 - 1912 that has the badge more like yours. I'm not sure but I'm thinking the rectangle bed transverse shuttle machines would have been close to the turn of the century.

I read https://sewalot.com/wertheim%20superba.htm where he said there were possibly over 300 German sewing machine makers in 1890. I also know that sometimes distributors of sewing machines would put their on badge on machines that they sold, so I was glad I finally found the badge.

I hope you have lots of sewing machine oil Do you know if it has the shuttle & bobbin? Good luck Hand cranks are neat. Does it have a ceramic handle?

Have fun with your new antique!

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

RobynGM98

Thank you! I did actually did a lot of German at school! It definitely appears to be a Gebr. Nothmann, I had looked at Grimme Natalis machines but the badge was different as you say and the serial number didnt match with up with their machinemacI'll definitely have to look some some into the Gebr Nothmann machines!
it did actually have both the shuttle and the bobbin. It did come with a cover which didnt fit the base but after looking into it I think it may be the original wooden cover but the machine has been put onto a different base at some point. It also has the ceramic handle and although it is very very stiff, everything moves as it should when you crank it! I know that it looks very rough but I got it as a pair with the singer that you can see in the background, which is 1902 and included a Hillman motor and foot pedal, £40 for them both was a deal I couldn't pass on!

OurWorkbench

I agree - couldn't pass that up. The 27 behind is beautiful. Quite the contrast between the two of them.

That would be neat if you could get it back up and sewing. It does look like the screw for regulating the stitch length is missing. Also, I think that it takes an odd needle system. I don't see a presser foot, but it looks like it might be a low shank!?

I was hoping there might be something about your machine on https://www.naehmaschinenverzeichnis...naehmaschinen/ but couldn't find anything.

Some images for Nothmann machines, both fiddle base and rectangular found at
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...wing-139366131
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...ank-1916835704
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...rank-269382789
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...ing-1721741341

A couple of other links that you might be interested in,
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_mach...12k-manual.pdf
http://ismacs.net/needle_and_shank/p...eedle-list.pdf

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

leonf

Not the same as the one that bkay gave me. ( Thanks again, it was such a thrill to get it)

but my Frister and Rossman is very similar.

RobynGM98

Thank you for all of your help I really appreciate it! I tried doing a bit of googling but this brand seems to be rather elusive and the ones I can find are all fiddle base! It does have the presser foot and stitch length screw, I had just removed them when I gave it a wipe down because it was completley covered in grime! It is a low shank and the needle appears to sit with the eye facing towards you as opposed to sideways like the singer. There is still a needle in place but I havent been able to get it out yet with the screw, will definetly need oiling. But it Is nice to know the manufacturer and a rough estimate of its age!
The 27 is my 3rd singer machine but my first one with a motor, which I've not tested the motor yet. Going to check through all of the electrics before risking electricity But the mechanism does work by manually turning the wheel!