Brass Head

I have neglected to thank you specifically for this very helpful post. Mine is in the crinkly green finish, has the older non-numbered tension mechanism, and has the earlier version of the feed dog shaft. All of this leads me think it is an earlier, though not earliest version. The motor, in its matching green case, is a 1.1-amp Westinghouse unit, 110v. The light is brown bakelite with a matching green crinkle bracket, the plugs are classic thirties acorn style. I suppose that Sweden may have continued making the cb-n for military home work through the war, then found themselves with a surplus of machines and a need for foreign currency, and that they may have electrified some of these for export to America. The head-for-America tag stuck above the original Husqvarna tag has an afterthought look to it. This is all speculation, of course: I'm calling it 40's for now, but thinking the actual machine may have been made earlier. In any case, it works beautifully and has the used-but-well-cared-for look I like.

Mickey2

When I was a child an elderly lady (then closer to 60) was very into patchwork and quilting. She was absorbed by it, took classes, and eventually ended up teaching classes her self (by then I think she already did). They had a cottage close to our family cottage, and she had a green Husqvarna like this stationed there; but with an Electrolux motor (made in Sweden at the time for Husqvarna) and the Husqvarna name in gold in stead of Viking. She still might have it, but her daughters have largely taken over the cottage. It had a pale wood base and extention table. I guess the Westinghouse motor was easier to fit on more locally, with 110V and suitable plugs. In the 1930s almost all sewing machines were black, but Husqvarna had a couple of models in green. It was made in the green color until 1955 (according to a Swedish web site), and it was far from the last straight stitcher in production. By then zigzaggers had largely taken over and model 19 and 21 had been introduced. Singer still made model 201, 185, 128 and 15 until the early 60s. I think a lot of the old modes were discontinued in 1962. I have seen the green Husqvarnas in two different pale wood cabinets, one with a sliding door and one in a fold away table.

Brass Head

Thanks for the insights and recollections. It's a wonderful little unassuming machine with a lovely, quiet sound. We have two working 21's - one the American unit, the other a Swedish unit which we run through a 110/220 converter. I have a few quibbles with the design of these later machines, but my wife loves them. The 12 is our favorite, though: it's prettier. There's a locked-solid 19 on my storage shelf which will eventually have its day in the sun.

Mickey2

I like the 19 and 21, they are speedy and strong, even when they are in "top gear" (the side pulley thing with two grooves). They are not the easiest when they need a full service, and for the machines stuck in revers they often require more cleaning and oiling than you ever think were necessary. I hope you have found the Yahoo group for the vintage Viking / Husqvarna, it's the only place where I have found any good info on these. By the 50s almost all European machines have a few plastic parts, it was sort of mandatory to keep up with the times (very annoying for us 70 years later). The well made models still hold up well though.

I'm with you on the Husqvarna 12, the cast iron straight stitchers are in a league of their own. They are domestic machines, but are very capable and stand up to wear and tear like nothing else. Very little is needed to get them going again. The green paint has an advantage, when I use black thread on black material and the machine is in a lovely black shellac finish; accumulating all that black requires a lot of lumens to compensate for the absorption of light. I found a LED bulb for my 201, it works well, but I still keep an additional reading lamp next to my sewing machine cabinet.