For sale is an antique child’s miniature SINGER SEWING MACHINE Model 20. This very early child’s hand crank sewing machine is great condition but needs a cleaning and oiling. All parts move as intended. The machine’s fly wheel is the nickel-plated, spiral type, with 7 spokes, which helps date the machine. A wood handle is attached to the fly wheel to use the machine as a hand crank. This Singer model 20 toy sewing machine was probably produced in the 1920s. The machine measures about 7 inches tall, 6 1/2 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. A first rate sewing or toy collectible.
The miniature Singer 20 was primarily intended to teach little girls how to sew. However, it was also popular with many college and business girls as a small practical tool for the occasional mending and altering. Most Singer 20 machines were hand cranked. However, Singer also made several different electric versions, for those children who really did want a machine “just like Mom’s”.
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 “vibrating shuttle” sewing machine, an improvement over contemporary transverse shuttle designs; (see bobbin drivers). Singer began to market it’s 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.
