January 2024 - What's New in The Featherweight Shop Vintage Collection

Here at the Featherweight Shop, we have quite the collection of vintage Singer items.  Due to our remote location, very few customers have had the opportunity to see the many rare Singer items we have.  This series of blog posts brings our collection out for all to see what new items we receive.  Some of these items may be famous and recognizable, but there may be other items that very few individuals have ever seen or heard of before.  For the month of January 2024, here are some of our recent finds:

We recently added this Featherweight to our collection. At first glance it looks pretty ordinary, but it's motor and case are very unique.

The 700F series motors were possible replacement motors during the late 1940s as they maintain the 700 code from the motors prior, but the letting and other specifications are more similar to the 678-3 motors. Click here to read more about all the different motors found on the Featherweights.

The handle of this machine's case is also peculiar. The rest of the case is consistent with the type IV style, but the handle is a 'D' shape instead of a 'C' shape.

The lining of the case is probably the most distinct element of this whole package. It has a more modern appearance than the floral lining of the other Featherweight cases at the time. At first glance it may seem that the case was relined, but the rivets holding the components in the tray have not been removed.

We don't have any further history on this machine, so this strange combination of parts certainly leaves us wondering for what reason Singer utlized them.

These uncommon embroidery books depict the beautiful artwork that can be done on Singer's vintage machines. They are difficult to come by in English, but Significantly rarer is this one in Italian. It is the only one we have ever had here in the shop.

This perfect condition Swiss Zigzagger arrived to us in this perfectly sized Singer box.  (The one in the original cardboard box is now sold, but there are others available in their original plastic case at the link above.) 

This small and unique Singer calendar features the latter half of 1891 and the first half of 1892. On the back is a clever marketing segment.

This is very rare Centennial money clip is from Italy!

We found this beautiful set of images from late 1800s Washington D.C. The back of each card is an advertisement from Singer.

We've seen these Singer pins commemorating as much as 50 years of service - reminding us of days not like today when even 5 years is a long time at one job and a testament of dedication and faithfulness.  This pin was made in the USA and is marked with '1/10-10K-G.F.' on the back - indicating it was made with approximately .15 grams of 10K gold. Click here to see if we have any of these original employee pins for sale.

Singer had a large presence in Germany prior to World Ward II, but the upheaval of the country from the 1940s-1980s makes finding beautiful condition advertisement cards like this quite rare.

This original Singer tape measure is in fabulous condition, and we are excited to add it to our collection. Click here to see if we have any original Singer tape measures for sale.

This Sewhandy 20-1 came from Germany and has a few unique features. A few parts are blued instead of chromed like the Sewhandys that were produced in the USA at the same time. The handwheel has a painted rim and there are painted gold arrows indicating the direction the handwheel is to be turned. There is also ne decal on the back of the machine. Below is a photo showing what a Sewhandy from the same time period in the USA looks like.

There are so many fun vintage Singer items here at the shop, and we are very excited to share our new finds with the Featherweight community.  Stay tuned for next month!