In nearly every month of the 2017-18 year, Guild President Rosemary Carr shared the history of the Singer sewing machine through an on-going “Show & Tell” of “members of her Choir of Singers”, hence, “The President’s Choir.”
What follows are enhanced excerpts from the monthly minutes as written by Pat Gentner, TBQ Secretary.
August 14 – Rosemary entertained us with a short history of and introduced us to her 1951 Singer state-of-the-art 401a Slant-O-Matic 
sewing machine she obtained in 1977, the first acquisition to her vintage machine collection. Also featured was the Singer 403a, the lower priced model of the 401a.
September 11 – Rosemary introduced four members of her
choir, the model 301, Singer slant arm machines included a black with gold decal machine, as well as one two-tone light beige and oyster white machine, and two solid beige machines, one with a long-bed extension. The Slant Arm 301 was noted to be cast aluminum machine easy view slant needle, operable in a cabinet with a knee bar or foot peddle, with a built-in portable handle. You’ll typically see Rosemary at workshops with her 301 “To Go” machine.
These machines were produced between 1951 and 1958. These ladies are certainly looking fine considering they are well into their 60’s.
October 9 – Rosemary entertained us with her collection of Singer Hand Crank – Model 128-machines. Her three machines are ¾ size, but still weigh about 25# each. They were made 1919 and 1924 and came with bentwood (hump shaped wooden) cases and lovely wooden attachment boxes.
November 13 – Rosemary shared three more members of her “Choir”-
Three examples of the model 66 were shared: A 1910 Red Eye treadle machine, a crinkle finish from 1941 (also a treadle), and a 1952 black machine with filigree decals.
December 11 – An interesting article depicting the relationship between the White Sewing Machine Company and the Sears Roebuck Company was shared over lunch during our holiday party. When Sears dropped White as the 
manufacturer of their machines, White Sewing Machine company could no longer compete with the Japanese clones that flooded the market. They soon met their demise.
January 8 – Rosemary shared the Singer Model 221 – The Featherweight. Singer introduced the first Featherweight in 1933 at the Chicago World’s Fair, and continued to manufacture them through 1965.
Those machines bearing the Chicago World’s Fair badge are quite valuable, as are those bearing a 1954 State Fair of Texas badge. Those with the Singer Centennial badge are also collectable, but much more common. Though there have been minor changes to the appearance of the machine throughout the years, the model has remained pretty much the same. The original faceplate had a stamped scrollwork design, which was stamped individually. It was replaced with a striated pattern which was on the sheet metal prior to cutting the faceplate, which reduced manufacturing costs. By a show of hands, more than 50% of the guild members own a Featherweight machine. Rosemary encouraged members to maintain their own machines, and conducted a maintenance workshop that afternoon.
February 12 – Rosemary then entertained us with “The President’s Choir” as she presented the Singer Model 99 sewing machines-Singer’s not so portable 3/4 sized heavyweight. These machines were manufactured from the mid-30s into the mid-60s, then replaced with the green, “Young Budget” Singer model 185.
The internal parts were the same as the 99, but the outward appearance was more appealing to a younger clientele. These all were straight stitch only machines, with reverse stitch capabilities not being introduced until the mid-50s.
March 12 – Rosemary then entertained us with “The President’s Choir” as she shared three Singer Treadle Machines. All three of these ladies are equipped with different versions of a vibrating shuttle.
Rosemary introduced the Sphinx machine made in 1907 and named Catherine. She then introduced our one time member; Gloria Bess’s machine decorated with pheasant decals. This machine was made in 1908 and is named Aunt Nellie. The last machine to be introduced was Crackling Rosie, a beautiful 1889 machine with a fiddle shaped base and a fun story.
April 9 – Rosemary then introduced three members of the President’s Choir… The Rocketeers. These were Singer models 500 and 503 from the early 1960’s, with a futuristic look. Some of them had built-in cams for decorative stitches and in others the cams could be loaded individually.
It was Singer’s attempt to modernize their model 401 Style-O-Matic machine introduced in the 50’s (which Rosemary also had on display as a comparison).
June 11 – As members lined up for Show and Tell, Rosemary entertained members with the last of her Singer Choir, her “Black Beauties” Singer Work Horses, the model 101, Singer’s first “electric only” machine, meaning it could never be a hand-crank or treadle machine; the model 201 – known as the Cadillac of pre-1950s machines; and the model 15-91 manufactured from 1920 to 1953 – the gateway to Japan’s sewing machine manufacturing.
Specifications for the model 15 machine were released to Japan following WWII in a effort to aid in the rebuilding efforts, which resulted in a saturation of “Japanese 15 Clones” to the sewing machine market. The thread tension dial on the front faceplate is the “signature” of this model. These lesser quality machines took the market by storm and we’re “badged” under literally hundreds of names.
