Often times, there are patent dates on machines and these may provide a potential time frame for manufacture that spans several years.
Patents are valid for 20 years, so a manufacturer would list those on machines until either the patent expired, they stopped using the patented mechanism or they used up all the parts with the patent date stamped on them.
A Singer with patent dates 1878, 1880, 1885 and 1887 on the slide plate would likely have been made in 1887 or later, but probably not later than 1898
because the 1878 patent would have expired and it wouldn't be necessary to include it anymore on the machine. So an estimated date of manufacture would
be 1887-1898. That specific machine has serial number 10985683, which returns a manufacture date of 1892, which is based on production estimates.
Photos of warranty certificates found online for machines with serial numbers close to that one also corroborate the 1892 date. So that machine does fall within the range of 1887-1898 derived from the patent estimate.
One thing to keep in mind about dates on removable parts, like slide plates, is that the part may not be original to the machine.
The part may have been replaced at a later date and may have come from an older machine or a much newer one. However, finding the same serial number on several parts of a machine, such as on early Raymond Sewing Machines can be an indication that is the actual serial number for the machine. For many early machines, the parts had to be individually fitted to each machine and stamping each part with the serial number, or last few digits of the serial number, assisted getting the right parts on the right machine
For Emdeko sewing machines, information from the Federal Trade Commission and Patent and Trademark Office helped determine approximate
dates based on the logos and trademarks used by the company.
This is a work in progress and any information you can give regarding Vintage Sewing Machine manufacture, warranty and purchase dates can be helpful to others
and will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Click above for Emdeko, Singer, or White Sewing Machines or here for
Singer Class 20 toy Sewing Machines.
One of the first questions that comes up regarding a vintage sewing machine is "How old is it?"
There really isn't any data showing the actual date of manufacture for vintage sewing machines, but there is information out there that can help point to a particular time period, which might be a few months or a few years.
Singer kept detailed records of serial number batch allocations, called Register Number Lists, so dating a Singer is pretty easy and gives a date that is probably within a few months of the actual date of manufacture. Singer machines can also be roughly dated using the motor model or motor serial number.
White Sewing Machine Company had some production data, and it's probably accurate to the year.
Other sewing machine manufacturers may not have surviving records at all.
In those cases, a search for images of warranty certificates or original purchase receipts can give a pretty good indication of the age, assuming that most sewing machines were pretty new when these documents were completed.
One of the first questions that comes up regarding a vintage sewing machine is "How old is it?"
There really isn't any data showing the actual date of manufacture for vintage sewing machines, but there is information out there that can help point to a particular time period, which might be a few months or a few years.
Singer kept detailed records of serial number batch allocations, called Register Number Lists, so dating a Singer is pretty easy and gives a date that is probably within a few months of the actual date of manufacture. Singer machines can also be roughly dated using the motor model or motor serial number.
White Sewing Machine Company had some production data, and it's probably accurate to the year.
Other sewing machine manufacturers may not have surviving records at all.
In those cases, a search for images of warranty certificates or original purchase receipts can give a pretty good indication of the age, assuming that most sewing machines were pretty new when these documents were completed.
