A "New" Hand Crank Sewing Machine

I would like to introduce you to Sweet Nell.

She is a Frister & Rossmann hand crank sewing machine 

manufactured in Germany in 1905.

There is quite the history lesson behind her.

You will find no badge or makers symbol.

She has beautiful Egyptian decals

even though some of them have seen better days.

She stitches like a dream.

So the story goes,

as stated above she was manufactured in Germany in 1905.

She then took a little trip to a distributor in London, England.

At some point between when she was manufactured

and the time she was sold in England,

there began a war (WWI)

at which time her badge was removed.

No decent Englishman was going to buy a product

that was made in Germany.

This made tracking down her history a little more challenging.

Once I figured out what brand she was,

it all kinda fell together.
A backwards F and forward R within the scroll-work.

I got her last weekend at an estate sale.

I now wish I could ask the owner (now deceased)

where she got it.

Was it from her family?

Did she pick it up at a tag sale or second hand shop?

She had 8? machines there.

This machine was made in Germany,

sold in England,

and somehow through travels that span 109 years and

will forever more remain a secret,

now resides at her new home in Oregon, USA.

This is just one of the reasons I love old relics.

I can hardly wait to stitch something other than scraps with her.

Until Next Time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches