Dawn the Davis Sewing Machine
I won’t pretend to be an expert on sewing machines. I’m not a member of any exclusive clubs… yet, I don’t have terribly unusual ones, and I haven’t spent a huge fortune on my collection. So far I have 16 sewing machines and an overlocker (serger to US readers). They are my friends and family, they have names and characters, and I have been known to chat to them during long days in the studio! I love heavy old metal sewing machines, not only do they look beautiful, they also work perfectly when serviced and oiled. Modern machines might wiz out a perfect shell stitch or buttonhole, but I wouldn’t give them any prizes in a beauty competition.
Let me introduce you to one of my oldest machines, this is Dawn, a Vertical Feed sewing machine made by The Davis Sewing Machine Company.
I inherited her from my Grandmother, along with this small note,
which reads: ‘This machine belonged to my Grandmother, Lucy Ann Rossiter (died 1941). If no one wants to keep it you could offer it to the London Sewing Machine Museum c/o The Wimbledon Sewing Machine Company ltd. Telephone 01817674724 (letter in WMM June 1999).’
She was covered in dust and rust, I must admit, I didn’t give her much attention when she arrived. She sat on top of my wardrobe, looked interesting and gathered a bit more dust. Today I decided to give her some TLC and find out a little more about her, this is what I have discovered so far:
She has a black painted body under the dust, with a hint of beautiful decoration in gold, red and green.
The words ‘vertical feed’ are just about readable on her arm.
The wheel drives her with big metal cogs, instead of a belt.
There are no feed dogs, instead her foot has a ‘walking’ action to take the fabric through.
She has a torpedo bobbin.
In her day (1886) she must have been a very elegant lady.
When I am next in my studio this week I’ll pick up an assortment of fabrics to try her out, watch this space for stitch samples!
I looked her up in this little book…
‘The Davis Sewing Machine Company Watertown, New York, built the Davis Vertical Feed machine from 1869 until after 1886. At about this time the company moved to Dayton, Ohio and produced the Davis Vertical Feed and the Davis Rotary Shuttle machines. The Defiance was also made at the Dayton works. The company ceased production in 1924. The inventor is though to have been J. A. Davis of New York who began making machines ci860.’ –Veteran Sewing Machines A Collector’s Guide. F. Brian Jewell.
More about the history of The Davis Sewing Machine Company can be found here.