Vintage Thingies Thursday: a Minnesota Model A Sewing Machine

It has been a week for sewing machines around here!  For today's Vintage Thingies Thursday I'm excited to share with you a beautiful Minnesota Model A sewing machine and cabinet / treadle stand owned by Jo, one of Serendipity Handmade's readers!

This lovely "Minnesota A" treadle machine was first owned by Jo's great grandmother, Etta Propst Barger, who was born in Hickory, North Carolina. Mrs. Barger was married in 1898, and probably purchased this machine around 1910. Research tells me that this machine was made in the early 1900s, and dates prior to 1912. It probably sold for between $16.00 and $20.00.

It looks like a Singer, doesn't it?  According to the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS),  where I obtained most of the information for this post, this Model A machine was made by the Davis Sewing Machine Company for Sears and Roebuck. I adore the Davis Sewing Company trading card that I found on the ISMACS website.

ISMAC also states that the Minnesota Model A is a "near exact copy of the Singer Model 27/127, the most popular Singer model at the time."  It is the Davis "Model E" machine, but was known by the name "Model A" for Sears.  It was sold by Sears and Roebuck as a lower-priced but equivalent alternative to the more expensive Singer brand, and was the "top-of-the-line machine manufactured by Davis."   This practice was not uncommon, as the National Sewing Machine Company also supplied Montgomery Ward with Singer copies. You can read more about the machines from this time period on this page, including the reasons they are so challenging to date, and about valuing machines from this time period here.

Jo told me that she had the cabinet refinished about 30 years ago. It was definitely money well-spent:

Of course Mrs. Barger put her machine to good use, making all of her clothes and also sewing for her children. Jo wrote:  "I have aprons, gowns, lingerie, napkins, quilts and one baby gown that she made. She gave it [the machine] to me and my father when I was five. Daddy and I made doll clothes and hemmed my brother's pants. I have sewed most of my life."  It's exciting to know that this machine has had a long and full life!