sneak peak
 

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Look what I found!

Very cool!

I figured if anyone could guess what this was from that picture - it'd be jlhmnj - a true Davis fan.

DH came in with me to work this afternoon (84 miles away) so he could get two rather large, heavy boxes banded for shipment (this is the base, the machine head will be packed this weekend). After work, we headed to the other side of the MO river to check out an antique shop over there. We were walking around - and spied this little jem. I've got a soft spot for smaller machines (DH thinks that soft spot is in my head).

And then after looking it over more, I just HAD to bring her home. I broke a bunch of my self set limits with this one, but for $80 I could not leave her there.

Here she is -with her larger but much younger sibling.

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A very early Davis Vertical Feed treadle machine

With boat shuttle and one bobbin

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And the bobbin winder - located on the treadle base

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It flips down and would run on the metal wheel along side the belt grove.

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This is such a neat machine!

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Congrats on your new machine! Certainly different from it's more modern cousins. I like the open casting on the back. Given it's age it appears to be in good shape.
Rodney

Very neat! I like the 3/4 machines too, although I only have a Singer 99 (had a 127 hand crank but sold it). I did see an Eldridge 3/4 machine today that I really wanted but was out of my budget ($90).

Jp

A bargain at twice the price.

The size difference is more Low Arm vs. High Arm rather than full sized vs 3/4 size. A similar comparison could be made between a Singer New Family and Singer VS2 (27).

Jon

Oh my!! She looks like the one I have that I'm still working on. (Well, I haven't worked on mine for awhile.) And you got the irons!! Fantastic. I'd love to find a set of irons for mine. Without irons, I don't know exactly how I'm going to wind the bobbin. Is it in working condition? It looks pretty good. .... makes me want to get back at mine. Congrats.

This cabinet would have had a drawer stack on the side with the flip part of the table - anyone have a good picture of what the drawers would have looked like? I've seen some but they are distant enough that I can't get a good look at them.

I know the owner of this antique shop quite well, and he told me that someone had really wanted to buy just the foot pedal off this machine - because it says "Davis" on it. They wanted to hang it on their wall.

I know this machine isn't a "3/4" size as that is the "full size" of the machines made at the time, they just started making them bigger after this - the "high arm" style, which isn't high arm compared to what we'd call "high arm" today. So I have the first version of the Davis walking foot, and the last version of the Davis walking foot.

I broke several "rules"
1. No Boat Shuttle machines
2. Different enough than what I already have (I had a Davis Walking foot machine already)
3. Model was offered for sale during the 1900-1930 period, or it's an earlier model that is substantially the same.
4. NO MORE TREADLE CABINETS

Though #4 is simply because I'm out of room, but I need to do a better job of sticking to the other three. I'm not tempted by the earlier machines that don't have the "look" of the later machines. I didn't really want a Wilcox and Gibbs, except that they were one of the major payers in the market during the time I'm collecting, so I needed one of them too. I'll leave the funky looking machines to SteveH.

Very nice! I love the bobbin winder on the irons. Now....where did you say you're going to put that machine? LOL. Just kidding, of course. I know you'll find a nook, or cranny somewhere.

I'm so glad the dealer didn't sell just the foot pedal. Marauders and cannibals...every one!

~Cindy

well, if it becomes an issue, you know where to ship it... same place as the banded boxes!!!!

That Davis is on my short list.... Very nice!

Macybaby: Rules were meant to be broken.
I understand no more treadles. Any cabinet machine eats space and you're already pretty much out of room. If you absolutely MUST get rid of a machine, I'd make it the newer Davis vertical feed or a more common machine first.

Why no boat shuttles? I know you have to draw the line somewhere or it can get overwhelming but I'm sure there's a practical reason for this rule. Now you have 1 example of a boat shuttle machine in a very cool package.

1900-1930 or any time period is a great way to limit yourself to but you don't have to stay inside the lines every time.

It's not for everyone but one of the things that fascinates me about sewing machines is how many ways people came up with a way to sew. I like the oddballs and deadends from when the manufacturers were still working everything out.
Rodney

Cathy,

Pics from Davis- Phila. Centennial Exhibition of 1876 catalog. Prices seem to be quite a bit on the high side. I have a No. 4 low arm cabinet with "Davis" only on the treadle pedal c. 1880. I also have quite a few invoices from Davis to a Davis dealer- Baker and Eberly of Mt Olive Virginia with dated serial numbers if your curious as to when your Low arm was made.

Jon

totally envious I am! Sweet deal?

What are those prices back then? A month's salary, maybe more? Beautiful catalog prints and you could get MOP inlays for only $5 more.
From the looks of it, if it had the drawer stack it was one of the top end models.
Rodney

Thanks - mine would be like one of the last two, with a row of drawers along the drop leave.

Wow - it sold for about the same as I paid for it in today's $$ - some of these old machines were very spendy for the time!

That is so cool!!

There's a treadle butcher not far from here, he sells it all piecemeal. If you want a machine, you have to buy the shuttle/bobbin case and bobbins separately. Same for cabinet pieces and irons. Just makes me want to scream!
Sharon