Posted 3 years ago
Heather89
(1 item)
I don't have much info on this if any. I have taken it to 10 antique stores and no one had information. I'm thinking it's part of white.
My treadle sewing machine. | ||
| Sewing110 of 2539 |  |  |
My treadle sewing machine. | ||
| Sewing110 of 2539 | | |
Posted 3 years ago
Heather89
(1 item)
I don't have much info on this if any. I have taken it to 10 antique stores and no one had information. I'm thinking it's part of white.
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Hi, Heather89. :-)
I see that you've already tripped on another post that has a similar-looking sewing machine head and cabinet (excellent find, BTW):
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/277600-white-mason-line-sewing-machine-and-cabi
Here's an A. G. Mason Defender:
https://vintagesewingmachinesblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/mason-front5071194850547612705-e1589806615499.jpg
*snip*
A.G. Mason’s Defender
This is the latest addition and a bit of a rarity, at least for us Europeans.
According to the “Encyclopedia of antique sewing machines” by Charles Law, A.G. Mason Sewing Machine Company was a small manufacturer from Ohio, USA. It appears that Mr. Mason bought Florence Sewing Machine Company when it went bankrupt in late 1870s, then started up his own business in 1880s and continued manufacturing machines until 1916 when A.G. Mason company was bought by Domestic Sewing Machines which in turn merged into the White company in 1920. So A.G. Mason was not a mere distributor as you might read elsewhere on the Internet, but was an actual manufacturer, albeit a small one. This explains why they mostly produced badged machines for various retailers and department stores.
However, there is some controversy about this. Apparently someone discovered that there was a law suit in late 1920s well after the deaths of both A.G. Mason and Thomas White, which accused Mr. Mason of being a fraud and only selling machines made by others while claiming that his company manufactured them. But I could not find any evidence of this law suit or of any other document proving that Mr. Mason was not a manufacturer, and neither have I found any proof to the contrary. Charles Law’s book is the only published reference that I was able to access with any information on A.G. Mason, and he didn’t provide any documents either. Choose what you prefer to believe.
*snip*
https://vintagesewingmachinesblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/31/white-mason-jones/
"Stewart" does show up as a badge name for A. G. Mason at needlebar dot org:
http://needlebar.org/main/makers/usa/agmason/index.html
Here's a similar A. G. Mason badged as a "NEW GLENWOOD":
https://www.quiltingboard.com/attachments/vintage-antique-machine-enthusiasts-f22/337566d1337812194-glenwood-1.jpg
https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage-antique-machine-enthusiasts-f22/got-g-mason-treadle-t189822.html
I see an A. G. Mason Model D manual listed on Worthpoint (no image):
*snip*
Vintage 1903 A.G. MASON SEWING MACHINE MANUAL Cleveland OH
A. G. Mason Sewing Machine Company was the successor to the Florence Sewing Machine Co. of Florence, Massachusetts. A. G. Mason was acquired ca 1916 by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company, which later became part of White Sewing Machine Co.
Offered is an original "Illlustrated Directions for Operating Our New Improved Model D Ball-Bearing Sewing Machine," a "family sewing machine" manufactured by A. G. Mason Mfg. Co., Cleveland, Ohio. This manual contains the price list of parts effective July 1, 1903.
*snip*
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1900s-1903-a-g-mason-sewing-machine
Your manual might be like hen's teeth, so if I were you, I'd get it scanned and turned into a PDF.
You might be able to do another A.G. Mason Model D owner a kindness (and they might be able to do a kindness for you).
This is about all I can find for the moment, because real life chores call. I'll revisit this when I have more time.
Hi again, Heather89. :-)
I found a discussion about that alleged lawsuit involving A. G. Mason at the victoriansweatshop forum:
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/post/a-g-mason-lawsuit-11624417
Here's the pertinent excerpt from that PDF:
*snip*
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
FEDERAL
TRADE COMMISSION
FOR THE
FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1922
Page 149
Complaint No. 620.--Federal Trade Commission v. White Sewing Machine Co. Charge : Respondent manufactures and sells sewing machines and conducts a portion of its business under the trade name of A. G. Mason Manufacturing Co., advertising and selling a line of sewing machines known as the “Mason” line. It is charged that the respondent pretends that the A. G. Mason Manufacturing Co. is a competitor and entirely independent of the respondent, thereby misleading the public, in alleged violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission act. Disposition: After hearing, the complaint was dismissed without prejudice to the right of the Commission to revive said proceeding.
*snip*
https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports_annual/annual-report-1922/ar1922_0.pdf
As to the discussion at victoriansweatshop, it's probably a fair complaint that the various vintage sewing machine websites tend to parrot each other, and nobody ever coughs up a serious source, so I'll give you what little there is in the 1976 edition of Grace Rogers Cooper's seminal work "The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Development"):
*snip*
Page 160
A. G. Mason Manufacturing Company. A. G. Mason had been a general agent in Cleveland for the Davis Sewing Machine Company until 1903 when he began to manufacture sewing machines under his own name. He concentrated on building up sewing-machine departments in large retail stores. He gave particular attention in his manufacture of sewing machines to producing medium-priced, high-quality machines sold under special names chosen by the retail dealer. A. G. Mason died in 1916, and the company became a subsidiary of the Domestic Sewing Machine Company.
*snip*
https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/hst/cooper/pdf/SIL10-08999-0174.pdf
Assuming (yeah, I know) that your machine was manufactured during A. G. Mason's tenure as the head of an eponymous company, that's actually a fairly narrow window (1903 - 1916).
About the only thing that might narrow things down further would be the presence of patent listings on the body of your machine, a date on the manual, or finding a listing of an A. G. Mason Model D sewing machine that also has a sales receipt. Then you could compare the serial number on yours (6513309) with that one (if the poster were kind enough to supply it), and judge accordingly.
I know that might sound a bit nutty, but it does happen. We just had a poster in the last couple of days who had an Adler sewing machine with the original, dated guarantee paperwork.
Ugh. I'm too scattered today. I finally gave that other post a more careful read, and I see Katie Farmer was consulted.
Katie Farmer is somebody very well-versed in vintage sewing machines. In fact, at last report, she was writing a book about White sewing machines, so if she doesn't know an answer, quite possibly nobody knows it.
I see that she dated the A. G. Mason in the other post with a serial number of 66,526,729 as 1926 vintage.
What's a bit troubling are the references to "Model C," and "Mason G."
Your manual is for the Model D. Are there any decent pictures in your manual? If so, do they look like your machine?
Katie Farmer can probably help you, but you might be able to help her as well.
You can get in touch with her through the victoriansweatshop forum:
https://www.victoriansweatshop.com/post/katie-farmer-is-writing-the-next-white-sm-book-wanna-help-9618460
It IS a bit of an old thread, but possibly Farmer is still working on her book, and would appreciate a copy of your manual.