If you've ever wondered where your vintage machine has been in it's life........
 

then these photos may explain a lot!

Click the links below and the click on the pictures and scroll around the picture:

Chain stitching: http://www.shorpy.com/node/2504

Dress shop 1919: http://www.shorpy.com/node/12634


Singer's "On the Dock" 1903 (check the right side of the photo): http://www.shorpy.com/node/12046


Singer machine in a migrant camp 1936: http://www.shorpy.com/node/13436


Flood refugees & their Singer 1937: http://www.shorpy.com/node/14174


Sewing class 1925: http://www.shorpy.com/node/5773


Sewing Sailors 1896: http://www.shorpy.com/node/8152

Cool pictures! Thanks for posting them.

The Red Eye in that first picture was probably the most expensive and valuable possession that lady had.

Joe

I enjoyed looking at these pictures. It did take me a while to spot the Singers on photo number 3.

I used the link to view full size to find the crates of Singers.

The comments below the one of the kids makeing the Cambell clothes challenged the text with the picture about the place being dirty. It was not a dirty apartment. Also the photo was posed, they were all dressed up, one boy was even in a suit.

When you click on the links I provided you see a small sized version of the photo. Once on the linked page then click on the photo to enlarge it and then scroll around the photo. There are awesome details to be seen in the larger photos.

Also, on the linked page there are comments below the photos that may give more info on the photo (scroll down).

In photo #3, the Singer machines are crated up for shipment.

In the picture of the sewing class, there are some machines without a belt, right? How does that work? I really enjoyed looking at these pictures. Thanks for posting.

Great pictures!

Not only did some of them not have belts, another one just had the belt off the hand wheel. Makes you go ... Hmmmmmmmm, don't it.

Joe

Thanks for posting those!!! Loved looking at the pics.

remember the amount of time it took to take a photo during most of the times represented.

People had to sit still and "look natural" for a while, therefore a lot of these pictures are "posed" especially the ones that are really sharp and crisp. My friend is really into old photography and he likes to look through these old photos and look for "blurs" where someone moved...

thanks, loved seeing the pictures.

Thanks for posting this, I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures. They would be fun to hang in a sewing room.

That was wonderful!! Thank you!!

I really enjoyed seeing the old photos. The sailor in the last one with the Singer hand crank was neat!!

Thanks for passing along these pics. I just had to pin some of them. Wow!

That was so interesting. I'm going to look for a picture I have of my dad. He was using a treadle machine while in the army in about 1952. This thread has inspired me to get a bigger print made to hang in my sewing room.

We'd like to see it too.

Joe

I've decided to try and make a box like that for my 99K HC machine. A little sewing kit in a box with all the attachments. Like a FW but non electrical.

Joe

Fascinating photos! Thanks for sharing them!

These are great. Thank you!

My mom just turned 87 on March 2. She told me recently that she learned to sew in school on treadles. Or as she calls them, pedal machines. It makes you wonder what happened to all those old machines. Hopefully, some of them are still loved and in use today.

pretty cool, thanks for posting.

Singer's "On the Dock" 1903 (check the right side of the photo): http://www.shorpy.com/node/12046



Some things never change... I can't help but notice that all the Singer labels on the crates are upside down, implying the crates are upside down!

If you look close the machines ARE stored upside down. (Irons up) If you have ever transported a fully assembled treadle(pedal) machine, you will know why. 80% of the mass is in the top 10-12" of the unit. They are MUCH more stable that way, and since they are going on an ocean going vessel, that matters.

What amazed me was the "openness" of the packaging.

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In the sewing class pic, looks like the girl in the back row fell asleep!

By the looks of the torn knee on that lad’s overalls, as soon as his lessons are over, somebody needs to put that treadle Singer to good use.

I had seen some of these photos before, and always enjoy them. Thanks for posting some that I hadn’t found before.

CD in Oklahoma