Here’s a little follow-up on the White sewing machine. That I acquired yesterday…after doing a little research, I determined that it was a “Library Cabinet” model that was made in 1928. Here’s a little detail on the White Company itself:

Like many other sewing-machine manufacturers, White manufactured and labeled many sewing machines for retailers. After acquiring the Domestic Sewing Machine Company of Buffalo, New York, in 1924, White continued manufacturing the Domestic-made Franklin sewing machines for Sears Roebuck & Co. Domestic became a fully-owned subsidiary of White. In 1926, under the leadership of company president A S Rodgers, the company was reorganised as the White Sewing Machine Corporation. From the mid-1920s through 1950s, White was the main supplier (and by the early 1930s, was the sole supplier) of sewing machines to Sears Roebuck & Co. Models sold through Sears included the Minnesota, Franklin and Kenmore. They were basically White models labelled with the Sears company’s brand names. In the late 1920s, the company introduced the first-ever sewing machine with a flat crinkle finish. The mark-resistant paint was supposed to be easier on the operator’s eyes because it did not give off glare and was also more resilient to wear than the traditional japanned finish. In place of decalcomania decorations, fancy scrollwork was cast into the head of the machine. This kind of “modern” finish became popular in the late 1920s and 1930s, and other manufacturers, including Singer and National, followed with their own crinkled-finished machines but without the cast decorations.

That was taken from this article.

Murphy’s Oil Soap for the cabinet…

And clean out a few things from inside…

And voilà! Now it works:

Yesterday I decided to take a break and head out to Acton to check out a Craigslist Ad for a vintage sewing machine…and I came home with a 1930s era black embossed White sewing machine. 🙂

Obviously a “before” picture but the table is sound and the machine is frozen up but a little elbow grease is ok by me. 🙂 I love these old embossed iron machines, they look like old gravestone markers.

She was filled to the brim with old advertising, tools, and bobbins from both the Singer and White brands. So I have my work cut out for me restoring this to operational condition. 🙂