tjradj

Could all of you be on the lookout for me? This is exactly like the treadle and cabinet and machine that I picked up last week for $60. But, I'm missing the front drawer. If anyone finds that drawer or drawer front, could you let me know where, who, email, phone, etc? Thanks.
http://vintagesewingmachine.net/Pict...dle/index.html

Miz Johnny

Godzilla finish Featherweights are very rare and command a VERY high price.

Miz Johnny

You might find the drawer for your Eastlake cabinet on Ebay. Be careful, however; I found out the hard way that the front drawers for the coffin top and drop leaf treadle are not interchangeable.

vintagemotif

I thought so. Do you know if that White that I posted is the White FW. Don't see too many of those posted either. Does anyone own a White FW?

dunster

I read the article you referenced. The wording sounds like a non-English speaker, maybe an article written for a class, but not something that was well researched.

Last sentence in the article: "And if the company can survive Depression and two world wars, it's impossible that they couldn't get through intense competition now."
Huh? White was acquired by Electrolux in 1986. Bottom line is that I don't think the information is accurate. I think the "researcher" got mixed up with the White Company and white featherweights made by Singer, but I could be wrong.

dunster

I also need one of this type of drawer, but my cabinet (which hasn't been cleaned up or refinished yet) is an 1894 coffin top, and only one of the pulls is present. I've seen drawers on sale on ebay, but they cost more than I paid for the machine and the shipping is also high, so I'm hoping to find something locally. If I do I'll let you know, since I only need one drawer.

vintagemotif

I would not speculate if this person is non-English or not, or if this piece is equivalent to something that may be written for a class. This type of writing is now found in many of our periodicals today. But, I do think that the writer may have gotten confused with the machines. And that is why I'm asking for information. Did Singer take the White FW and improve it?

BoJangles

Miz Johnny, my Davis still has a pretty good finish on it -- it is just missing most of the decals. Page 474 here.

Nancy

BoJangles

Vintagemotif, I don't think the White company came up with the first featherweights, but this is a very interesting thing to research.

I have a history book on the Singer Featherweight. The first FW was introduced at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933.

Supposedly, the Standard Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio, had the first truly portable machine named the Sewhandy. It weighed 12 pounds and was gear driven, came in a leatherette case, measured only 13 inches, was well-balanced, and was advertised as not 'walking' around when using it. This was in the late 1920's. About 1929 it became widely available for the home sewer. There was a Sewhandy that GE was also involved with named the Model A, but it was a bigger heavier version than the Standard Sewhandy. Then the Standard Sewing Machine Company became a causualty of the depression, in 1929 selling out to Ossan Manufacturing Company, then selling out to Singer in 1931. The FW introduced at the World's Fair is very similar to the Sewhandy, which makes historians believe that the Sewhandy was the predecessor to the Singer FW.

I never heard of the White Featherweight, but I'd love to get one to check it out!

Nancy

BoJangles

Well, from what I have read, all the companies were in competition to make smaller light weight machines mostly because of the depression and that fact that people were migrating so much that they needed something very small that they could take along without having to take the kitchen sink sort of speak.

Nancy