Posted 6 years ago
yeadonite
(28 items)
Can anyone tell me anything about this machine? This doesnt look as old as my moms 301A 1950ish Singer but not having a serial number has me confused.
When was this Singer sewing machine in case AL 356204 made? | ||
| Sewing797 of 2600 |  |  |
Hi, your machine was from 1953-1955. See http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_dating_by_serial_number.html
Thank you!
yeadonite, I don't know if I missed this post two years ago, but as long as I'm noticing it now, what the hey. };-)
Yes, this machine dates to the 1950s, specifically 1953, per the Singer serial number tables at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society website:
AL- 308361 358360 15 50000 April 8 1953
AL- 464771 514770 15 50000 July 10 1953
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-al-series-serial-numbers.html
What that first line of information I excerpted from the table means is that the serial number on your machine (AL356204) was one of a block of 50,000 consecutive serial numbers (308361 through 358360) allotted April 8 1953 to one of Singer's factories by the central office, and all were destined to be stamped into the beds of model 15 machines.
FYI, the reason I excerpted two lines of information is because the dates in them are not necessarily manufacture dates. They are the dates the pertinent serial number blocks were allotted by the central office.
It's probably a safe assumption (yeah, I know about assume) to make that your machine rolled off of the assembly line sometime between April 8 1953, and July 10 1953 (the latter date being the allotment date of the next block of serial numbers destined to be stamped into the beds of model 15 machines).
The factory in question is Elizabethport:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_dating_by_serial_number.html
About the Elizabethport factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/elizabethport
https://www.ericwilliamsblog.com/left-behind-in-elizabeth-the-singer-manufacturing-company-part-1/
https://www.ericwilliamsblog.com/left-behind-in-elizabeth-the-singer-manufacturing-company-part-2/
About the Singer model 15:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/15
This is really getting into the weeds, but this chart will help you identify which submodel of model 15 yours is:
http://needlebar.org/main/15chart/
If you need a manual, it's best first to figure out which submodel you have, but ISMACS and Singer both have some:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/singer-sewing-machine-manuals.html
https://www.singer.com/support
Your decal set is called Trefoil:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal17
I can't tell which cabinet you have other than that it's a drop head, but here is a gallery of Singer cabinets in which the model 15 was typically installed:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_sewing_machine_cabinets.html#15
Here is the factory where many of Singer's cabinets were made until 1955:
https://orangebeanindiana.com/2019/06/12/south-bends-singer-sewing-machine-company/
As to your mother's sewing machine, there is a website with quite a wealth of information about the Singer model 301 (including pictures of the location of the serial number):
http://singer301.com/index.html