Inventarnummer
97/106/1-2
Hersteller
Beschreibung
An electric Singer sewing machine, model 201K with serial number EK404046. The machine sits in a wooden case with a detachable front. In the box is also a wooden plate, rubber mat and electric cable foot pedal. It was used by the donor, but is part of the Barnett Collection illustrating the history of the sewing machine. Nothing else is known about this machine's specific history.
Invented in the early 19th century, the sewing machine sped up the process of making clothes both domestically and commercially. Within the home, it reduced the amount of time women spent tailoring clothes for their families, enabling them to craft more garments for sale. Due to the sewing machine, the clothing industry flourished, with different fashions becoming available for the middle classes. However, workers did not see an increase in wages and they suffered in dreadful working conditions. The demand for better wages formed an important arm of the suffragette movement.
Physische Beschaffenheit
1 electric sewing machine: metal, wood, plastic; good condition
Bestandsgeschichte
MERL ‘Handwritten accession form’ (Institute of Agricultural History) – ‘Standard museum name: SEWING MACHINE // Accession number: 97/106 // … // Recorder: JMB // Date: 20.7.99 // Description: An electric Singer Sewing Machine in a box. There is a wooden plate and rubber mat associated with it. Also an electric cable. // Inscription: Singer Manufacturing Co. // Sew-Tric Motor London // Number: EK404046 // Dimensions: Box: length: 54.0 cm // Width 23.0 cm// Height: 36.0 cm // Associated information: [The donor] used this machine but it is part of the Barnett Collection’, MERL Miscellaneous note - According to the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society website Singer's Clydebank factory issued EK serial numbers from 1954-1956, and the number EK404046 from 26 April 1955 to 201K machines. [http://ismacs.net accessed 2018-01-16]., MERL Miscellaneous note - The sewing machine was arguably the first internationally mass marketed consumer good, and the Singer Manufacturing Company was predominantly responsible for this. Founded by travelling showman Isaac Singer in 1851, the American company flourished not because of its technical expertise but due to its innovative advertising and purchasing options. Notably, it invented hire purchase and part exchange. Its factory in Clydebank, Scotland, was one of the largest in the world, and produced machines not only for the UK but also globally. By 1912, 90% of sewing machines purchased outside the USA were Singer machines. Singer was the seventh largest company in the world at this time. [Added by Tim Jerrome for the Barnett project, 2022], Research visitor Mark Boswood, November 2022 - This machine is in good condition and could be made to work if the motor were replaced.
Entstehungsort
Clydebank
Datum
1955 - 1955
Objektbezeichnung
Material
Format
- Height 400 mm
- Length 540 mm
- Depth 230 mm