Hengstenberg Hand Crank
 

Advertised on CL for $20 - pic of case only. Bought it sight unseen. It was the husband's grandmother's. When she died, he took it for his wife to sew on. Didn't have a key and couldn't open it, so it sat in the basement for years. Had no idea what was in it. My hubby took the key from our grandfather clock and it opened. Look at what was inside. It was an OMG moment. It's a Hengstenberg #550907. Even got an oil can. Can anyone help me w/info? TIA.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]570896[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]570897[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]570898[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]570899[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]570900[/ATTACH]

Here's what I found out about it. Scroll down & you will find a brief history of the machine & the company. There is very little on the internet about these machines. Other sites are below the brief history site. I didn't see your serial # in any of these sites but it looks like you struck gold!

http://www.sewalot.com/hengstenberg_machine_history.htm


http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/Hengstenberg%20&%20Co.htm


http://needlebar.org/cm/thumbnails.php?album=199

It's beautiful. I don't know much anything about machines of that era, but it is in great shape. I real score!
bkay

Those are the sites that I checked, too. I saw 1 machine that had the same decals (barely visible), but with a later crank assembly and no badge. It was the 2nd one on the sewmuse site. One of the gentlemen on FB said according to the serial #, it was 1899.

Lucky you! She is lovely. You may have better luck asking on the Victorian Sweatshop Forum. There are a few members that have some knowledge on German machines. I would be doing a happy dance if she were mine.

wow...lucky you. She is a beauty.

What a beautiful machine!

Wow!! I would have been speechless (unusual for me!) if I had opened a case and found that.

That's awesome. What a beautiful case and machine! What a great find!

Fabulous find. You probably already know this , but it is a transverse shuttle. If it is like my German HC, pulling on the front slide may trip a device to lift the shuttle for you. Be gentle with it.