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| Look at this machine! It needs no electricity. |
Background
Recently, I was able to acquire a treadle sewing machine from leboncoin for a reasonable price. I found a seller in the next town over who was willing to hold it for me until I could arrange to rent a car to transport it. On seeing this machine, I was struck that it might in fact be older than I had thought, and still fully functional and full of delightful details.
Goal
Try to identify this machine and determine its year of manufacture, so that I can find the appropriate manuals for its correct use and repair.
Resources
Result
The seller, a local champagner, told me when we picked it up that she had been given this machine by an "old woman", a friend of her family. Since she had inherited another machine from her own mother, she was willing to part with this one. This woman could not have been over 65 years old, which means that I am likely only the 4th or 5th owner of this machine.
From what I have below, this machine mostly likely dates from 1887, based on its serial number and Fiddlebase's help in the estimates of production volume.
What I have is a "Victoria" sewing machine made by Mundlos.
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| The photo from leboncoin's advert. |
Why not go directly to the Mundlos company and check their records? SewMuse and Fiddlebase have documented what happened to the company over the years, which I will summarize. It turns out their factory was commissioned to make bayonets during WWII, and so it and its museum was bombed to bits. The remaining machinery were packed up and sent to Russia as reparations. Mundlos didn't get back into production until well after, and stopped production for good in 1962. So, as you can see, finding information on one of their earliest machines is a bit tricky. Luckily, a few dedicated internauts have created some resources for people like me who are trying to place their machines in the timeline.
In looking at the identification numbers and using a few well documented sources for this kind of machine, I started to narrow the manufacturing year to between 1882-1900 based on the name on the machine "Victoria" and the maker's mark.
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| "Victoria" |
I also discovered a wonderful collection of advertisements from the era which featured the same maker's mark. The collector of these, was helpful in telling me the images used were often relicensed and so pinning an exact year for their publication is a bit difficult.
Comparing my maker's mark with the one from these adverts, makes me think they are from the same era.The only other similar mark is a german version, as featured on Fiddlebase and SewMuse's websites.
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| On my machine (left), from an advert from the era (right). |
Serial number
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| My serial number (206478) and some of the delightful floral details. |
Central Decal
Bobbin & Shuttle
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| A different kind of bobbin that I need to learn to use! |
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| The shuttle where my bobbin goes. |
Table inlays
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| Look at those inlays! This table has some beautiful craftsmanship, including the centimeter measure. |
Treadle peddle
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| The treadle peddle with its ornate M. |
