Some Light Reading - 1951 Cabinet Catalog and 1952 301 Brochure

I mentioned previously that when I bought the 301 it came with some of the original documentation.  The user manual is available at ISMACS so I won't be posting that.  But I haven't seen the 1951 cabinet catalog anywhere.  Also I haven't seen a complete good copy of the original 301 sales pamphlet.  So here we go.

First up the cabinets:

Holy crap, I can hear her teeth cracking across the ages.  Her mouth might be twisting into a painful caricature of a smile, but here eyes scream, "Give me gin! NOW!"

The really cool thing is you will see the original owner wrote down most of the prices for the cabinets.  She bought hers in 1952 so the 301 isn't going to be listed in this 1951 catalog when we get to the machines.  

The above is the configuration she bought, a 301 in a Model 65 Standard Desk for $345.50.  In current money that would be about $3085.  Man I got a deal.

If she only would have kicked in the 1952 equivalent of $270 more dollars (yikes!) I could have had an art deco cabinet.

How about that.  Those Queen Annes that people want a mint for were a middling cabinet.

66-18 in black "crinkle" finish.  Even back then they knew they were using a euphemism for butt-ugly.

Yessiree, gotch ya a De Luxe 201 rytch hare!  Owned by a lil ol lady from Pasadena jus used 'er to sew on Sundays.

A little telling.  She didn't bother to get a price quote on this one.  Guess she didn't buy the 'lend charm' bit.

Budget, that would be about $2585 for you penny pinchers today.  Oh and note, you can't get anyhing but a class 66-16 in this guy.  Wouldn't want people to think a 201 could be had on a budget.

Bottom of the barrel here.  Comes with the Singer nobody wants. Guess it's so people who got the 56 budget with the 66-16 could say, "Well I could have done worse."

Featherblah.

Look at that expression.  You know what she's thinking.  "Dear lord, why didn't I get a real cabinet that could hold my vodka stash."

Marge - "Now, dearie, watch your pattern.  We don't want another episode like last week, do we?"
Peggy - "Oh god, please no, Ma'am.  I'm trying, I swear.  Please don't put me in the hole again!"
Trudy - (thinking) 'If she screws up, maybe Marge won't beat me today."

ONLY AT YOUR SINGER SEWING CENTER

And here's the 301 introduction flyer. Tada!

What is she doing with her hands?  If Marge sees her tugging the cloth back like that it will be a night in the sweat box for sure.

Light enough to pull out of its cabinet and bash in the head of your drunken lout husband when he comes home from a night out 'with the boys'. Slip it back into the cabinet before the police arrive and they'll never figure out how you did it.

I really don't buy that the slant needle was that big of a bonus for the user.  I can't really tell the difference in how I see the stitching area between a slant and a regular.  I read somewhere that it was actually targeted to high school home ec classes.  So the instructor could see the work being done from further away.  Either way it was pretty good marketing.  People still rave about their slant needle machines.

Now I really don't like the "fully enclosed base" thing.  Just me, but I like to be able to take a quick glance underneath the machine sometimes without having to take things apart.  Easy enough to do, I know, just one screw. But still, waaaa, 'new' machines suck.

I've always liked the 74 cabinet.  Maybe I'll make a top for one of the Davis irons with that shape.

Marge from your Singer Sewing Center designed this cabinet to specifically limit escape angles.

Look for the big red S, it's there, refreshed daily with the blood of sewers just like you.

The brochure is kind of cool because it's a accordion fold that when you open it shows a view of a 301 that's remains even as you flip the pages back and forth.  I took some pictures to show it.

Well that's it for the brochures.  I would like to thank Marge, Trudy and Peggy (god rest her tortured soul) for helping out.