During my recent trip to Michigan, I was fortunate enough to acquire three sewing machines and in this post I want to introduce you to another one of them. This beautiful Wheeler & Wilson No. 1 is housed in a beautiful full cabinet, and its serial number (716,781) dates it precisely to 1872. As you can see, the machine itself and its original decorations are in remarkably good condition. True to the No. 1 model design, the arms are silver-plated, which beautifully distinguishes it from the No. 3 models that feature decorations uniform with the rest of the machine.
While the sewing machine itself only needs a thorough cleaning, the cabinet will require a significant amount of restoration. It looks wonderful from the outside, but it needs deep cleaning and structural work. Currently, the treadle mechanisms are completely disassembled. The original brackets for the pedal and treadle wheel were missing, but the previous owner kindly had new parts cast from originals. These replacement parts are still in their raw casting state, meaning I will need to drill, fit, and finish them before they can be installed. Additionally, the interior wood supports for the treadle wheel are missing, so I will need to fabricate and finish new pieces to seamlessly match the original woodwork.
Though it will be a bit challenging and time-consuming, it sounds like the perfect winter project! I absolutely love the aesthetic of this cabinet and cannot wait to get started. Stay tuned for updates on my progress. In the meantime, here is a gallery showing exactly how the machine and cabinet looked when they arrived home from my trip.
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