Giving the 110+ year old sewing machine a makeover!
In 1993 I brought home a sewing machine that had been sitting in my grandparents musty basement. As a kid it’s one of those things that you always remember seeing on your visits but really don’t pay much attention to it. For almost 25 years I relocated it from room to room. With children grown, I finally made a permanent home for it in what was now the “guest room”.
In the summer of 2016 I thought it might be nice to try and restore it to some of it’s former beauty (whatever that was as it was suffering from rust, cracks and breaks in the wooden cabinet and just 75 years of neglect. At the time I didn’t know much about it. I always thought the iron work was customized for my grandmother Marguerite. After some research I learned that it was manufactured by the Providence Tool Company under the “Household Sewing Machine Company” brand.
The Providence Tool Company was known for its ammunition production. However, in its early years, it primarily made hammers, pick axes, marlinspikes, nuts, and bolts. In 1856 it merged with the Providence Forge and Nut Company. The Providence Tool Company was successful in supplying machine parts and tools across the nation.
The Civil War created a demand for companies to make munitions for the Union army. The Providence Tool Company took up the call and began weapons manufacturing in 1861. During the 1860 and 1870s the company continued to produce hardware and machinery. The business expanded so much that in 1867 it opened an office in New York and London. In 1869 the London office closed and when the company encountered difficulty in 1875, the New York office closed as well. In 1873, it received a contract from Singer Sewing Machines to make sewing machines and made machines under other brand names.
The Household Sewing Machine Company was in business from 1872 to 1905. Marguerite happens to be the model name for this machine. I repaired and refinished the cabinet. Gilded the name as many of the Household models had the name in gold. I managed to take the machine apart and polish the metal and replaced the dried up gunky oil with some new. Runs really smooth now.
Finished “Marguerite” Household Sewing Machine Company – circa 1905
Cabinet pieces
Top of sewing machine cabinet – several splits in wood along with a chunk that had broken off.
Machine was covered in grime and caked with oil soaked dust from so many years of sitting idle in the basement.
Under portion of sewing machine.
I was given this little sewing table by a very kind gentleman who found it when cleaning out an old house. With a little elbow grease and some polish I think it’s a great addition to my collection.