1. Singer Serial Numbers Identification
2. Singer 221 Serial Number Date

The dates given below are the days on which those batches were started, together with the number of machines in each consignment. The first Featherweights batched in 1933 begin with the two-letter prefix 'AD'. By checking when the next batch was started, it's possible to get a fairly accurate date of when any particular machine might have left the assembly line. Featherweights having serial numbers that begin with the prefix letter 'A' were made in Elizabethport, New Jersey, whereas those that begin with the prefix letter 'E' were manufactured in Kilbowie, Scotland. Featherweights having serial numbers that begin with the letter 'J' were mostly made at the St. John's, Quebec Factory in Canada.

Singer Featherweights made outside of the US were also given a suffix to their actual model number. Those manufactured in Kilbowie were modeled given the model number 221 K and those manufactured in St. John's were given the model number 221 J.

In Summary: AD = prefix of serial numbers assigned to the first Featherweights manufactured, beginning in 1933 Serial Number prefixes beginning with letter 'A' = manufactured in Elizabethport, New Jersey, USA Serial Number prefixes beginning with letter 'E' = manufactured in Kilbowie, Scotland, United Kingdom Serial Number prefixes beginning with letter 'J' = manufactured in St. John's, Quebec, Canada (a few were partially manufactured in Kilbowie and then sent to Canada for finishing) Models 221 (or 221-1) = manufactured in Elizabethport, New Jersey, USA Models 221K = manufactured in Kilbowie, Scotland, United Kingdom Models 221J = manufactured in St. John's, Quebec, Canada (a few were partially manufactured in Kilbowie and then sent to Canada for finishing) With the exception of motor voltage, belt drive and some minor cosmetic differences, all 221 models remained fundamentally the same from 1933 through the 1960's. A Featherweight 221 is a 221 is a 221. You can refer to the for more details about those changes. For sake of easy reference, only the serial numbers that correlate to Singer Featherweights are included in the three charts below.

If your Featherweight number series is not listed it could mean 1 of 3 things. This batch was actually assigned to a different Singer model altogether, but there have been a few bona fide Singer Featherweights having serial numbers within this number sequence. Singer Featherweight White 221K / Tan 221J Machines (Additional Information) EV 776991 - 826990 50,000 March 3rd 1964 EV 846. 99. inconclusive ※ 1964 EW 061691 - 071690 10,000 August 6th 1968 EY 84. 99. inconclusive ※?

※ see text below ※ FA 098. 132. inconclusive ※ 1968 / 69 FA 202. 288. inconclusive ※ 1968 / 69 JE 150000 - 162000.

1934 Black Singer Featherweight 221 Sewing Machine (AD787598) This Featherweight is marked with serial number AD787598 which dates it to the model 221 production run assigned on November 27, 1934. That was only the third production run of Featherweights-barely into the second year of. ISMACS Singer Serial Number lookup. Look up your Singer Sewing Machine Serial Number to find out when your machine was made and identify what model you have.

inconclusive ※ 1961.Singer Sewing Machine models within this JE batch of serial numbers were made in 1961. A few Singer Featherweights were included in this series. ※ The dates provided cannot be guaranteed, of course, but are probably as good as we will ever find. Some of the fine details are officially inconclusive (serial numbers were either misrecorded, applied to the wrong batch or the records were lost/destroyed with the old factories). Graham Forsdyke worked with the Singer Company directly to remove some of the errors and fix the anomalies in the old chart records, but some have still been found, especially in the post ET serial number sequences. Sometimes you might find a rogue 221, for example, in a batch of 50,000 99K machines. That simply means that there were some Featherweights within that group of numbers, but it doesn't indicate with which number the group started or ended or how many 221 machines were involved.

Graham did not include data on his website for the white/green machines or the few Featherweights made in Canada because dating records were apparently too inaccurate to source. For additional reference and a few more dates for those later year machines, however, we have included some of these dating records in the charts above, sourced from JJ & Leo's Featherweight 221 Factory site as well as singersewinginfo.co.uk's site.

We would be pleased to receive any comments or corrections, just be aware that most of the seeming anomalies come from an inaccurate readings of the original documentation which were sometimes taken from poorly stamped serial numbers.

A Singer 1851 Singer’s original design, which was the first practical sewing machine for general domestic use, incorporated the basic eye-pointed needle and lock stitch developed by, who won a patent-infringement suit against Singer in 1854. 8294, of August 12, 1851, introduced one of the most useful machines, and one of the most remarkable men, that have figured in the development of the sewing machine. Isaac Merritt Singer, strolling player, theater manager, inventor, and millionaire, brought into the business a new machine and novel methods of exploitation, which gave a powerful impulse to the youthful industry. The Singer improvements met the demand of the tailoring, and leather industries for a heavier and more powerful machine. Singer consolidated enough patents in the field to enable him to engage in mass production, and by 1860 his company was the largest manufacturer of sewing machines in the world.

In 1885 Singer produced its first ' sewing machine, an improvement over contemporary designs; (see ). Singer began to market its machines internationally in 1855 and won first prize at the Paris World’s Fair.

The company demonstrated the first workable electric sewing machine at the Philadelphia electric exhibition in 1885 and began mass-producing domestic electric machines in 1910. Singer was also a marketing innovator and was a pioneer in promoting the use of installment payment plans.

Early sales figures Source: Year 1853 1859 1867 1871 1873 1878 Units 810 10,953 43,053 181,260 232,444 262,316 By 1876, Singer was claiming cumulative sales of 2 million machines and displaying the 2 millionth in Philadelphia. Singer in Scotland. Workers leaving Singer Sewing Machine Factory on Clydebank In 1867 the Singer Company decided that the demand for their sewing machines in the UK was sufficiently high to open a local factory in Glasgow on John Street.

Glasgow was selected for its iron making industries, cheap labour and possibly because at the time the General Manager of the US Singer Sewing Machine Company was George McKenzie, who was of Scottish descent. Demand for sewing machines outstripped production at the new plant and by 1873 a new larger factory was completed on James Street, Bridgeton. By now Singer employed over 2,000 people in Scotland but they still could not produce enough machines. In 1882 George McKenzie, now President-elect of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, undertook the ground breaking ceremony on 46 acres of farmland at Kilbowie, Clydebank. Originally two main buildings were constructed, each 800-foot (240 m) long, 50-foot (15 m) wide and 3 storeys high. These were connected by three wings. Built above the middle wing was a huge 200-foot (61 m) tall clock tower with the ‘Singer’ name clearly displayed for all to see for miles around.

2.75 miles (4.43 km) of railway lines were laid throughout the factory to connect the different departments such as the boiler room, foundry, shipping and the lines to main railway stations. Was the building contractor and the factory was designed to be fire proof with water sprinklers, making it the most modern factory in Europe at that time.

Singer Serial Numbers Identification

With nearly a million square feet of space and almost 7,000 employees it was possible to produce on average 13,000 machines a week, making it the largest sewing machine factory in the world. The Clydebank factory was so productive that in 1905 the US Singer Company set up the Singer Manufacturing Company Ltd. As a UK registered company. Demand continued to exceed production, so each building was extended upwards to 6 storeys high.

In the First World War, sewing machine production gave way to munitions. The Singer Clydebank factory received over 5000 government contracts, and made 303 million artillery shells, shell components, fuses, and aeroplane parts, as well as grenades, rifle parts, and 361,000 horseshoes. Its labour force of 14,000 was about 70% female at war's end.

From its opening in 1884 until 1943 the Kilbowie factory produced approximately 36,000,000 sewing machines. Singer was the world leader and sold more machines than all the other makers added together. In 1913 the factory shipped 1.3 million machines. The late 1950s and 1960s saw a period of significant change at the Clydebank factory. In 1958 Singer reduced production at their main American plant and transferred 40% of this production to the Clydebank factory in a bid to reduce costs. Between 1961 and 1964 the Clydebank factory underwent a £4 million modernization program which saw the Clydebank factory cease the production of cast iron machines and focus on the production of aluminium machines for western markets.

As part of this modernisation programme the famous Singer Clock was demolished in 1963. At the height of its productiveness in the mid 1960s Singer employed over 16,000 workers but by the end of that decade compulsory redundancies were taking place and 10 years later the workforce was down to 5,000. Financial problems and lack of orders forced the world’s largest sewing machine factory to close in June 1980, bringing to an end over 100 years of sewing machine production in Scotland. The complex of buildings was demolished in 1998. World War II. A Singer with electric retrofit During, the company suspended sewing machine production to take on government contracts for weapons manufacturing. Factories in the US supplied the American forces with and rifle receivers, while factories in Germany provided their armed forces with weapons.

In 1939, the company was given a production study by the government to draw plans and develop standard raw material sizes for building. The following April 17, Singer was given an educational order of 500 units with serial numbers S800001 – S800500. The educational order was a program set up by the US Ordnance Board to teach companies without gun-making experience to manufacture weapons. After the 500 units were delivered to the government, the management decided to produce artillery and bomb sights. The pistol tooling and manufacturing machines were transferred to whilst some went to the. Approximately 1.75 million 1911A1's were produced during World War II, making original Singer pistols rare and collectable.

In excellent condition, they can sell for $25,000 to $60,000 with the highest paid $166,750 at auction in 2010, conducted by Rock Island Auction Company. Marketing The Singer sewing machine was the first complex standardized technology to be mass marketed. It was not the first sewing machine, and its patent in 1851 led to a patent battle with Elias Howe, inventor of the machine. This eventually resulted in a patent sharing accord among the major firms. Marketing strategies included focusing on the manufacturing industry, gender identity, credit plans, and “hire purchases.” Singer's marketing emphasized the role of women and their relationship to the home, evoking ideals of virtue, modesty, and diligence. Though the sewing machine represented liberation from arduous hand sewing, it chiefly benefited those sewing for their families and themselves. Tradespeople relying on sewing as a livelihood still suffered from poor wages, which dropped further in response to the time savings gained by machine sewing.

Singer offered credit purchases and rent-to-own arrangements, allowing people to rent a machine with the rental payments applied to the eventual purchase of the machine, and sold globally through the use of direct-sales door-to-door canvassers to demonstrate and sell the machines. Diversification. Singer in In the 1960s the company diversified, acquiring the company in 1965, Electronics in 1966 and in 1968. GPE included, and. In the 1968 also Singer bought out and added it to the.

This unit produced nuclear power plant control center simulators in Silver Spring, MD and Columbia, MD, while flight simulators were produced in. In 1987, corporate raider made a ' run at Singer, and ended up owning the company when no ' rescuer appeared. To recover his money, Bilzerian sold off parts of the company. Kearfott was split, the was sold to the in 1988 and the Electronic Systems Division was purchased by in 1990, renamed GEC- (and later incorporated into ). The four Link divisions developing and supporting industrial and flight simulation were sold to Canadian Avionics Engineering and became CAE-Link. The nuclear power simulator division became S3 Technologies, and later GSE Systems, and relocated to Eldersburg, MD. The Sewing Machine Division was sold in 1989 to, a publicly traded Toronto-based company.

For several years in the 1970s, Singer set up a national sales force for (of fame) made by another Massachusetts company, Graphic Systems Inc. This division was purchased by in 1978. 21st century. Woman with Singer sewing machine in (2017) The Singer Corporation produces a range of consumer products, including sewing machines. It is now part of, which also owns the and brands, which is in turn owned by, which bought Singer in 2004. Its main competitors are, —a company that manufactures Toyota, Necchi and E&R Classic Sewing Machines and. Singer Buildings Singer was heavily involved in Manhattan real estate in the 1800s through, a founder of the company.

Clark had built apartments and other Manhattan buildings in the 1880s. In 1900, the Singer company retained to build a 12-story loft building at Broadway and Prince Street in Lower Manhattan. The building is now considered architecturally notable, and has been restored. The 47-story, completed in 1908, was also designed by Flagg, who designed two landmark residences for Bourne. Constructed during Bourne's tenure, the Singer Building (demolished in 1968) was then the and was the tallest building to be intentionally demolished until the Twin Towers of the were destroyed in the. At their Clydebank Scotland factory Singer built a 200 ft clock tower which stood over the central wing and had the reputation of being the largest four-faced clock in the world. Each face weighed five tons and it took four men fifteen minutes twice a week to keep it wound., built to serve the factory, is still in existence to this day.

The famous, designed by architect, was built in 1902–1904 at in for headquarters of the branch of the company. This building (situated just opposite to the ) is officially recognized as an object of Russian historical-cultural heritage. List of company presidents. (1851–1863). Inslee Hopper (1863–1875). (1875–1882).

George Ross McKenzie (1882–1889). (1889–1905). (1905–1949). Milton C. Lightner (1949–1958). Donald P. Kircher (1958–1975).

Joseph Bernard Flavin (1975–1987). (1987–1989). Iftikhar Ahmed (1989–1997). Stephen H. Goodman (1998–2004) Four best selling domestic Singer sewing machines.

Cunningham, John T. Arcadia Publishing. Archived from on 2010-03-28. Archived from on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2012-09-03. Charleston: Walker, Evans & Cogswell.

Retrieved 22 September 2014. Sir Robert McAlpine.

Archived from (PDF) on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016. Robert Bruce Davies, Peacefully working to conquer the world (Arno Press, 1976) p 170. Sanders, Richard, Press for Conversion! Magazine, Issue # 53, 'Facing the Corporate Roots of American Fascism,' March 2004. Published by the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade. 1941 1911A1, From the Karl Karash collection/Images Copyright Karl Karash 2002.

^ Joan Perkin, “Sewing Machines: Liberation or Drudgery for Women?” History Today 52 (Dec. Andrew Godley “Selling the Sewing Machine Around the World: Singers International Marketing Strategies, 1850-1920.” Enterprise and Society (June 2007) 7 281. Coffin, “Credit, Consumption, and Images of Women’s Desires: Selling the Sewing Machine in Late Nineteenth-Century France.” Historical Studies (Spring, 1994) 18 746-750. Coffin, “Credit, Consumption, and Images of Women’s Desires: Selling the Sewing Machine in Late Nineteenth-Century France.” Historical Studies (Spring, 1994) 18 752. Judith G. Coffin, “Credit, Consumption, and Images of Women’s Desires: Selling the Sewing Machine in Late Nineteenth-Century France.” Historical Studies (Spring, 1994) 18 746-752.

Andrew Godley “Selling the Sewing Machine Around the World: Singers International Marketing Strategies, 1850-1920.” Enterprise and Society (June 2007) 7 269-281. Miller, Matthew; Clifford, Mark L.; Zegel, Susan (5 August 2002). Retrieved 2007-03-25.

Gray, Christopher (29 June 1997). The New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2010.

Singer 221 Serial Number Date

Time Magazine. 10 July 1989. Retrieved 2007-05-01. Daniel Hilken & Albert Wong (July 1, 2005).

The Standard (Hong Kong). Retrieved 2010-08-15. Further reading. Brandon, Ruth. A capitalist romance: Singer and the sewing machine (Lippincott, 1977). Coffin, Judith G.

'Credit, consumption, and images of women's desires: selling the sewing machine in late nineteenth-century France.' French Historical Studies (1994): 749-783. Davies, Robert Bruce. Peacefully working to conquer the world: Singer sewing machines in foreign markets, 1854-1920 (Arno Press, 1976). Godley, Andrew. 'The Global Diffusion of the Sewing Machine, 1850-1914.'

Research in Economic history 20#1 (2001): 1-46. Godley, Andrew. 'Selling the Sewing Machine Around the World: Singer's International Marketing Strategies, 1850—1920,' Enterprise & Society (2006) 7#2 pp. 266–314.

Godley, Andrew. 'Singer in Britain: the diffusion of sewing machine technology and its impact on the in the United Kingdom, 1860–1905.' Textile history 27.1 (1996): 59-76. Jack, Andrew B. 'The channels of distribution for an innovation: The sewing-machine industry in America, 1860-1865.' Explorations in Economic History 9.3 (1957): 113.

Weber, Nicholas Fox. The Clarks of Cooperstown: Their Singer Sewing Machine Fortune, Their Great and Influential Art Collections, Their Forty-year Feud (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007). Wickramasinghe, Nira. 'Following the Singer Sewing Machine: Fashioning a Market in a British Crown Colony' in Metallic Modern: Everyday Machines in Colonial Sri Lanka. (Berghahn Books, 2014) pp. 16–40.

External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. Singer Corporation. Singer Corporation Worldwide. Singer Memories:.

Singer Direct. Singer in WWII. Singer sewing machine. Toyota Sewing Machines Japan. Toyota Sewing Machines Europe. Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Singer Sewing company South Africa.

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(HAER) No. NJ-51, '.