#(which… looking at the history of needlework and sewing labor was arguably a bad thing but I digress) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sassmill · 2 months ago

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So in case anybody wanted an update on my last sewing machine post, yes I am in fact driving 4 hours round trip tomorrow to pick up a G series Singer 128 manufactured in July of 1923 with La Vencadora decals

I didn’t quite understand vacuum cleaner autism until I realized that I have sewing machine autism

#I am vibrating with excitement #was Isaac Merritt singer a scum of a human being? yeah #did he invent anything himself? no #are singer sewing machines the best? not necessarily #BUT #Isaac Merritt singer came up with flexible payment plans #that lead to just about anybody being able to purchase/lease a domestic machine #(which… looking at the history of needlework and sewing labor was arguably a bad thing but I digress)#and due to his company’s commercial success they are so well documented #and that is why they are so collectible #THOUSANDS of other companies made the exact same machines #but they didn’t offer the same accessibility #nor did they have the marketing power to completely dominate the market for over a century #and THAT is why they are of historical interest #at least to me #because that’s material culture babie #artifacts don’t have significance on their own #a sewing machine with an obscure brand and no serial number certainly has a history of its own #and we can learn a lot about it based on what is known of identical machines #but with singer machines you can find such specific information from a century ago from a company that still dominates the market #and that kind of thread between past and present gives me CHILLS #it busts my historical interpretation nut #so to speak #ahem #anyway #museum musings #the pond of sartorial anachronism #girl work

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