Posted 3 years ago
RitaChavez
(1 item)
I don’t know how old these machines are or where I find information on any of them. Can you point me in the right direction
Sewmatic Machine | ||
| Non-Singer Sewing Machines49 of 454 |  |  |
Sewmatic Machine | ||
| Non-Singer Sewing Machines49 of 454 | | |
Posted 3 years ago
RitaChavez
(1 item)
I don’t know how old these machines are or where I find information on any of them. Can you point me in the right direction
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Hi, RitaChavez. :-)
My first instinct upon seeing these machines was that they're probably post-WWII Japanese-made machines (because of that De Luxe Automatic Zig Zag verbiage, which was quite common on Japanese sewing machines of that era).
Indeed, the machine in your second picture has "Japan" on it, so that much is a sure bet.
Here is a Worthpoint listing for a very similar machine:
*snip*
Vintage late 1950's Classic Deluxe Automatic ZigZag Model MSAZ Sewing Machine w/Case and Attachments. Similar to the Universal machines made in Japan and the "Toyota" Machines of the same period.
*snip*
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-classic-deluxe-automatic-1858498231
As to the machine in your first picture, the "Sewmatic" name was trademarked in 1952 by W.T. Gensheimer, Inc.:
https://trademark.trademarkia.com/sewmatic-71629670.html
More about W.T. Gensheimer, Inc.:
*snip*
W. T. GENSHEIMER, INC. is an entity registered at NEW YORK county with company number 80952. W. T. GENSHEIMER, INC. located at the address 100 W. 25Th St. New York, New York, 10001. Company is incorporated on . Current status of the company is inactive - dissolution (sep 12, 1991).
*snip*
https://www.company-detail.com/company-w-t-gensheimer-inc-80952
W. T. had at least one patent (this one dated 1970):
https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=03525310&IDKey=01937C7C162B%0D%0A&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fpatimg.htm
You might be able to get more information about these machines from the Facebook group for vintage sewing machine enthusiasts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VintageSewingMachines/
Good luck. :-)
Another source for more information would be the quilting board forum:
https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/
There are a lot of very knowledgeable vintage sewing machine enthusiasts there, and they even have an interface for asking questions:
https://www.quiltingboard.com/sendmessage.php
Hi again, RitaChavez. :-)
I've done some more looking around with regard to that machine in your first picture, and I think that "Sewmatic" name plate might be a bit of a red herring.
I've found a sibling:
https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/91431446
The left hand side is squared instead of rounded, and the supposed manufacturer is different, but everything else seems very much the same (except that yours seems to be missing the tension assembly).
Who actually made them? I don't know, but very likely a Japanese firm that badged them for various U.S. vendors:
*snip*
Who made my sewing machine?
I heard about machines being "badged", what does this mean?
In the 1890 to 1940 period there was a fad with large retailers and mail order houses to sell "own brand" sewing machines.
To do this they entered into contracts with established sewing machine manufacturers who would supply standard models but with the name of choice substituted for the normal brand name.
ISMACS has records of nearly 5000 such "exclusive" names produced by half a dozen makers during this period.
The situation is further confused in that retailers might switch makers at the end of a contract period and the same name would then appear on a completely different machine by another manufacturer.
Shortly after WW2 the new Japanese sewing machine industry, funded by US aid, flooded machines into America and Europe.
Distributors in those countries gave them various western-sounding names to help sales.
*snip*
http://ismacs.net/faq.html#badged
You might be able to find more clues as to the ultimate maker of your machine by examining the underside and various individual parts of it.
Good luck. :-)