Posted 5 years ago
kopregepru…
(1 item)
Today, I found this old Singer sewing machine and I would like to know how old this beautiful piece of history is.
The serial number is 366961.
I couldn't find any good source where I could discover how old this fabulous thing is.
Can some of you guys help me, please? :)
Thank you!!!
Another post showing the whole machine and case/table would be nice. Also the treadle.
Backfilling again.
I don't think that I can make a complete identification, because the OP never provided more pictures as fortapache requested, but I can at least identify the maker, and the type of shuttle:
That medallion badge is Rast & Gasser:
http://www.antiktechnika.com/uploads/1/9/7/2/19725959/3609988_orig.jpg
http://www.antiktechnika.com/rast--gasser.html
Some background on the founders, courtesy of the late great Enrico's fiddlebase site (translated using Google Translate):
*snip*
August Rast, was born in Vienna, December 2, 1846, († Vienna, June 23, 1922) .
Came from a poor background; learned the locksmith's trade (acquitted in 1863) and finally worked for L. Bollmann, who was trained in America and was the first sewing machine manufacturer in Vienna, who produced sewing machines according to the Grover & Baker system in the 1960s.
In 1868 Rast set up his own business and began to manufacture sewing machines in his parents' home using the same system.
1873 The Austrian sewing machines manufacturers, especially the Viennese, were represented quite rich at the Vienna exhibition; they partly , exhibited Grover & Baker machines as August Rast, and Popp & Sosna, which of their Wheeler & Wilson machine had added a device for generating Grover & Baker-stiches . Steiner in Graz presented Wheeler & Wilson machines, also had J. Anger, L. Bollmann & Co. and Reichel & Co., all in Vienna, issued shuttle machines without particularly worthy of remark.
In 1877 M. Gasser, the brother of the arms manufacturer L. († 1871) and J. Gasser (s.d.), who produced the model 1870 army revolver, became his partner. The company moved to the former sewing machine factory V. Reichelr & Co. in Vienna-Fünfhaus and also started the production of boat shuttle and round shuttle machines based on the Singer system.
1884 Rast & Gasser was recorded as a company.
In 1887, a modern factory based on the modern principles of replacement construction was built in Vienna-Hernals, which employed around 400 workers around 1890.
From 1898 the central bobbin sewing machine was also manufactured here. This then largest sewing machine factory in Austria. Monarchy was then expanded to an arms factory, which i.a. also supplied the Balkan countries with handguns. The k. u.k. Army as a Model 1898. It was carefully constructed and had great shooting accuracy.
In 1898 the company delivered 20,000 revolvers, and in 1908 they exported 3,000 revolvers.
In 1903 the arms factory L. Gasser was purchased.
In 1908, 30,000 sewing machines were produced and about 10,000 of them were exported.
After R.'s death, his sons, August (* 1885) and Josef R. (* 1892), continued to run the company. A friend of Lueger (s.d.) and honored and awarded many times, R. u.a. President of the Association of Austrian Sewing Machine Dealers and Mechanics and co-owner of the Pfann'sches Bade in Vienna-Meidling. He earned great merit for the Austrian sewing machine industry.
*snip*
https://www.fiddlebase.com/biographical-sketches/rast-august/
Judging from pictures of various R&G machines I found in the wilds of the Internet, they seem to have made transverse shuttles, vibrating shuttles, and oscillating shuttles:
https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/28934371-rast-gassert-verbesserte-singer-maschine-r-g-a-rare-austrian-sewing-machine-with-wooden-case-ca-1890-iron-cast-wrought
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-rast-gasser-hand-crank-sewing-903739786
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Rast_%26_Gasser_sewing_machines#/media/File:TEZ-N%C3%A4hmaschinen_7339.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Rast_%26_Gasser_sewing_machines
Judging from the shape of the needle plate on the one in this post, it's probably an oscillating shuttle.
A couple more tidbits:
A vintage sewing machine enthusiast in Vienna thanked a blogger who had provided a scanned version of a Singer 15K80, because it was similar enough to their grandmother's Vast &Gasser sewing machine for him to make the latter operational again:
https://www.24washington.com/2020/07/singer-15k-80-treadle-sewing-machine-manual/
In case anybody was wondering how Vast & Gasser got away with name-checking Singer on their machines' medallion badges:
*snip*
The gold emblem on the arm says, "Verbesserte - Singer Mashine, R.G. Schutzmarke", meaning "Improved Singer Machine, R. G. Trademark". According to Austrian-Hungarian Law of that time, it was declared an improved copy of the world famous Singers. There is a very fancy "R" written over a fancy "G" in the center of the gold emblem.
*snip*
https://www.angelfire.com/pe/grannyjew/austriancopy.html
It was easy enough for me to translate "Verbesserte Singer Maschine," but it wasn't until I did so that I tripped on the bit about the old Austrian-Hungarian law.
I haven't run across any old lawsuits involving Singer and Vast & Gasser, and maybe that old law is the reason. };-)
D'oh! Things are sufficiently complicated without me introduing errors like "Vast."
Anyway, even when I spelled names right, I couldn't find any legal action from Singer against Rast & Gasser concerning what seems like fairly obvious copies of Singer models 12, 27, and 15.
That may be either because I'm not holding my mouth right, or some other reason.
For instance, the information might be buried in some European archive.
Most of the really old Rast & Gasser sewing machines I've found online have been in Eastern Europe or Great Britain.
Rast & Gasser did export, but it might have been only in Europe , and in relatively small numbers, even in later years:
In 1965:
(From Austrian Information, Volumes 18-21 1965 - Austria)
*snip*
In 1868 the first sewing machine Rast and Gasser was founded company soon expanded from a workshop to a thriving business. Today, having survived two world wars and their after effects the factory produces 40,000 units a year. Of these about 75 per cent are exported.
*snip*
https://books.google.com/books?id=9FU7AQAAIAAJ
The Austro-Hungarian patent system seems to have been pretty complicated:
http://econterms.net/aero/Austria-Hungary
https://www.sztnh.gov.hu/en/patent-number-5792
I did find one actual Rast & Gasser patent number (171290), but it was for their revolver:
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;jo;74;en
I think I might give up on this now. };-)