I was browsing a few of our local antique shops today and spotted this little gem. Its an unusual little wooden box that appears to be made to fit in a treadle cabinet drawer.

Wow! I have never seen anything like it.
Thanks for posting these pictures.
I love vintage sewing machines and attachments.

I have no idea what it is

check ebay - I've seen these on sale off and on. Can't remember what they go for. Not sure which machines they usually fit- likely just any Singer short shank.

we usually call them puzzle boxes tho that is a more modern name. From your picture they look like early back clamping attachments.

The second from the right might be a tucker and the last on the right might be an early all metal buttonholer. I think the scooped things might be hemmers.
All guesses tho!

If those flatend oval parts have a way to put fabric into them (slott)...they look to be binders...different size binding attachments. I have a box of them that go on my industrial machine. They screw onto the bed of the machine (usually a commercial/dressmaking/upholstery machine). The next to the last on the right looks to be part of a button hole guide, and the last on the right looks to be a ruffler. Why not check with the guy on here (Billy?) who does the vintage machine repair.

neat find!!

Isn't that a Singer box?

It is a Singer Puzzle Box with sewing attachments.

I had one of those...sold the puzzle box on Ebay a few years back for around $30.

I own one too. Just the box though. Bought it in Memphis for $40! You got a deal with all the attachments. I have a date on mine too but had no idea what it was. Good to know! Love the box when I took it up to pay the lady opened it and it fell open and she thought she had broken it! It was funny. I started to say I'll take it anyway at a better price? But I fessed up and told her what it did. She had never seen it either.

These boxes were offered with the VS machines and were al sid clamp low shank attachments. If you look on the far upper right hand corner you will see a spider looking thing that is to hold the bobbins. I have a few of them and empty they go for around $30, but yours was a heck of a deal because you have some of the attachments and the instructions!

Billy

Thanks for all the responses. It is a neat piece. Upon closer inspection, I think the patent year is 1889 not 1899. A puzzle box seems like an appropriate name. The purple velvet inside is a nice touch too. The half moon pieces do have slots. And I see where bobbins should go.

I too own one of these boxes full of attachments. It came with my great grandmother's Singer treadle machine. She and her twin sister were milliners. Guess I need to do some investigating about my treadle.

Kat

You might find this to be of interest:

http://www.tias.com/173/PictPage/3923856728.html

Very neat - thanks!

1899 Singer Attachment Puzzle Box
 

I , too, believe that this beautiful little box reads 1889 instead of 1899. I was told that it's called a Singer Puzzle Box, Designed to hold all the attachments needed to compliment the Singer Sewing Machine. My sister gave one to me yesterday and I had to see if I could find out what it is.....the burn stamp in the wood is extremely faint but the entire box is in excellent condition considering the age of it. If anyone out there has a name to go with this intriguing piece, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. Much appreciated, Jason J

Interesting.

Oh my goodness, my mom used to have the exact same box for her Singer attachments. I was fascinated with it as a kid because of the unusual design. Really brought back some memories, I can close my eyes and see it! Thanks for posting. Barb

I'm glad you got it at such a great price. I'd like to see one in person.

The only thing about the puzzle boxes that Singer made they will not fit into none of the drawers on any of my treadles. Go figure.......


Billy

the far right side is a ruffler with grooves for flat fabric on bottom, grooves for fabric to be gathered in the middle and even different sizes holes on top for ribbon to be added at the same time the gathering and the attaching is done...some of the levers are to adjust the fullness of the gathers... you can purchase them for many machines today, my pfaff 1475 came with a simplified version (because the machine itself does so much more, the attachment doesn't have to.... the second from the right is a pleater and has many of the same functions just described for the ruffler along with pleating adjustments... the binders have already been identified, but there is a small rolled hemmer in front of them. see the rectangular plate in the back...it is a darning attachment...there was no way to lower the feed dogs so they covered them while leaving the slot for the needle to sew thru as you moved the fabric by hand, in any direction you need. the second from the left is a shirttail hemmer (tiny double folded, 1/4" wide) and there should be a seam width attachment but i can't see for sure... and of course, one of the wonderful original singer screwdrivers... there would have originally been another, approx 2" long as well, but shaped exactly the same. i have 2 of these as well as other treadle attachments that came with other machines... they are so fun to play with... if they seem complicated, remember that during this time women's dresses were gathered, pleated, ruched, and trimmed with all kinds of additional sewn-on trims. i used the ruffler to create the priscilla curtains in my first solo bedroom when i was a teenager. it came with my mom's Alden portable (old Montgomery Ward brand) machine and looked very little different than this treadle example. it allowed me to make a ruffle with 1/2" on one side and 2 1/2" on the other side after rolling hems on both sides of a 3" strip of organdy. then we slipped it inside and it gathered and sewed it onto the curtain at the same time. i thought it was magic, of course, but my mom had used it lots when she was growing up... and she had used it to make my nylon net crinolines in the late 50s--early 60s...

Your box is so cool, enjoy using it.

I was surprised to see my old thread come up again. Glad you folks found it interesting. Billy - I dont have a singer treadle so I haven't tried it in the drawer. I have 3 treadles: a Franklin, a Foley & Williams and a Davis Minnessota Model D. I'll see if it fits any of them. Deemail - thanks for the attachment info.