Charlee

**DROOL** That's a gorgeous cabinet! Old girl actually looks pretty nice too! I don't have any suggestions for you on the base of the machine, other than to smooth it down so that fabric doesn't catch on it, use an scratch retouch paint for autos for the bare areas, and just enjoy that old girl!!
How NICE! :)

Charlee

Terryl...Sophia is SWEET!!

I'll try to get a tute done soon on attachments...they can be fun to play with! :)

You have a ruffler, a pintuck, I see a zipper foot, a quilting foot, a seam gauge....lots of goodies there! :)

Terryl

Miss Minnie also came with a lot of attachments in mint condition, I just forgot to photograph them. I'm totally estatic with Miss Minnie, I had to give her a test drive IMMEDIATELY upon seeing her :-D

Charlee

:) I saw the box in one of the photos....have fun with her!

frostiedee

I finally found a number on my Brunswick treadle sewing machine. The number 23112410 with what looks to be a y or 4 over the top the number. can you give me any more information? I read this section daily and have looked at every web site mentioned and have found nothing.

Lostn51

That was probably one of the most expensive machines sold by Sears at the time. The cabinet is absolutely gorgeous and I love all of the details that went into it. This is one of my wish list machines and cabinets! I just hate the bed has the damage on it but you can paint the bed and not the entire machine so it will not stand out like a sore thumb.

But never the less I love it and I say you did very well on your purchase!!!!

Billy

EC

Charlee, a tute on the attachments sounds like a hoot! My DH does "clean-outs" for one of the local real estate groups prior to home sales and has come home with a number of "finds". One was a Featherweight, one a treadle. He has also come across a number of boxes with attachments, and friends have given me ones that used to belong to their mothers. I've tried out a couple and they can be a lot of fun. Will be looking forward to a tutorial, as some of them I don't even recognize.

Not that you don't already have enough going on!!!!

Terryl

The copy of the catalog page I got with Miss Minnie, listed her priced at $23.20 in 1908!!!!! That was big bucks back then. Do you know anything about the Minnesota machine? I've never heard of that brand. Of course all I ever knew about treadles were the Singers my grandmother had.

Lostn51

Here is some reading material I think you will find interesting. This is a quote from the Sears archives.......

"Richard Sears had been selling sewing machines by mail as early as 1889 under the name of Henry Hoverson & Co. However, the earliest record of an organized sewing machine department, showing Sears own brand name machine, the Minnesota (named in honor of his native state), appeared in the 1894 catalog (p.172). The introductory page in the section reads “Sewing Machine Headquarters,” and includes detailed copy about the entire line.

Although Minnesota was our primary sewing machine trade name for many years, some of Sears yearly models also included the Iowa and the Burdick. The catalog offered many nationally known machines, such as Singer and Franklin. As far as we can determine, the Burdick sewing machine first appeared in the 1899 Spring catalog and their last appearance was in Spring 1903. The Edgemere sewing machine appeared in the catalog from Fall 1900 through the Spring 1903.

The brand name Kenmore appeared for the first time in the 1913 Fall catalog, on a four-drawer drop head sewing machine, but the name was dropped in the Fall of 1919, and did not appear again until 1934. At that time, it was re-introduced and sold concurrently with the Minnesota until World War II. During this period materials were scarce and sewing machines were dropped from the catalog. After the war, the Minnesota was discarded and replaced by Kenmore.

As a matter of interest, “Send No Money” reports that the first order received at the Dallas, Texas M.O. Branch in November 1906, was for the highest priced Minnesota sewing machine.

A portable hand sewing machine, the New Queen, was offered in the Fall 1899 catalog at $9.90 for the first time. This machine had a patent automatic hand gear, nickel-plating and a patent positive stitch regulator. A full set of accessories came with this machine without additional cost. In the 1903 Fall catalog, the first name brand Minnesota portable machine was shown at $5.95 without a cover, and $7.95 including a bent wood cover. This machine had a detachable hand attachment and a full set of accessories free of charge with the order. A Kenmore portable was first offered in the 1913 Fall catalog. It sold for $6.75 with complete accessories and a wood cover.

In the 1918 Spring catalog, Sears introduced its first electric portable called the Franklin Portable priced at $38.75.

The zig-zag sewing heads were used for many years in Europe and commercial types were used in the U.S. It is only since the end of World War II, that these machines had been offered for domestic use in the U.S. The zig-zag sewing machine line consists of manually operated and automatic heads.

Sewing Machines with "Sears, Roebuck and Co." on treadle grillwork

As far as we can determine, the first appearance was in Fall, 1899 on the Iowa sewing machine only. In Spring, 1906 on the Model F Minnesota sewing machine only. In Fall 1907, it appeared only on the Homan Model and did so until Spring 1913, the last appearance."


Billy

SewExtremeSeams

Wow, Terryl, that is the most beautiful parlor cabinet i have seen. How beautiful it is just closed up. Sometimes I find it hard to figure out how I want to display: machine in or up and ready to be used. With yours, the choice would be difficult. Enjoy her!

Aren't the designers clever in their arrangement of how everything fits and works. I love their ingenuity.