Posted 4 years ago
Onoyoko
(1 item)
Could anyone give me info on this please? I’m guessing late 1940’s? It’s still in lovely working order. I think the manual and the cover are the original ones for the machine but I’m not 100%
Vintage Singer help | ||
| Sewing321 of 2597 |  |  |
Hi, Onoyoko. :-)
Cool. Yes, it certainly looks like everything is in excellent shape.
Per the Singer serial number tables at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society, serial number EE109193 was one of a block of 25,000 consecutive serial numbers (100001 through 125000) allotted to a particular Siner factory (in this case, Kilbowie/Clydebank) April 24th, 1947, and all were destined to be stamped into the beds of model 201K machines " (the "K:" in the model number stands for Kilbowie):
*snip*
EE- 100001 125000 201K 25000 April 24 1947
*snip*
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-ee-series-serial-numbers.html
*snip*
CLYDEBANK
Letter EE series 1947 1949
*snip*
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer_dating_by_serial_number.html
Sandman Collectibles Singer ID tool concurs that your machine is a model 201:
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm
https://www.sandman-collectibles.com/id-singer-machines.htm#23
BTW, that allotment date isn't the actual manufacture date of your machine. It's more like marching orders for the factory.
A vintage sewing machine enthusiast and expert came up with a spreadsheet tool that estimate the date of manufacture for a given machine based on its serial number, its place in its block of serial numbers, plus the allotment date of the next pertinent block of serial numbers:
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/post/excel-2010-sewing-machine-production-date-calculator-8214151
However, you need an account to download the tool.
Also, its results are speculative (as its creator freely admits), and it makes assumptions (yes), such as the number of days a week that the factory employees worked.
You can get similar results using free tools like this, plus some elbow grease:
https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html
Or, you can just look at the next block of serial numbers that was scheduled to be stamped into the beds of model 201 machines, and 'assume' that yours was made by then:
*snip*
EE- 273731 298730 201K 25000 October 14 1947
*snip*
Anyway, about the model 201:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/201
You'll be glad to know that you're in good company with your ownership of a Singer model 201, because Queen Elizabeth II was given one:
https://sewalot.com/singer_201k_sewalot.htm
Your decal set is called Paperclip:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/decals/decal07
I can't quite tell from your pictures, but I suspect that your face plate is one of the Egyptian Scroll motifs:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/gallery_faceplates
A simple Internet search will turn up numerous samples of your bentwood case.
You don't really need a copy of a manual, because you do have the original, but a soft copy can come in handy:
http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/manuals/singer-model-201-sewing-machine-manual.pdf
About the Kilbowie/Clydebank factory:
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/kilbowie
A circa 1934 documetary made at the Clydebank factory:
https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1592
In case I'm forgetting anything, here is my collection of vintage sewing machine links:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/285089-vintage-sewing-machine-help
But it can be a lot to sift through, so if you have any further questions, just ask them here in a comment.