sdc
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Thanks - Was my lucky day. Only two bidders on it. I paid $70 for it & took it back to a good home - the town museum. When I called the volunteer museum folks & told them I was bringing them a sewing machine for harnesses, they said there were already 2 or 3 sewing machines in the museum. I said, "No, you don't understand. This is not your usual Great-Granny's treadle sewing machine. This one is special & it's gonna take 3 guys to unload it." When it was unloaded & all could see the size of it and the castle & lions, everybody went "ohhh".... I still can't believe how lucky we are to have it here & cringe at the thought of how close it came to being scrapped. Kind of crazy - it sat in an old summer kitchen (on the farm down the road from me) for probably over 100 years, went for a 100 mile trip to an auction & came back home. It's a huge piece of local history & I love it!! -
I posted a bunch of photos of the mystery boot patcher to the gallery today. From what I can find on the internet, I think it was made by Hengstenberg in Bielefeld, Germany. What I don't know is the date of manufacture or which partner he was working with at the time. The family on whose farm the machine was located immigrated from Pisek, Eastern Bohemia in 1884. I have found record of their relatives beginning to immigrate in the 1860's up until the 1890's. So, most likely, the manufacture date of the machine is around 1880 to 1900. Would appreciate any input others may have as to the date. I donated the machine to our local museum & we need to clean it up properly. Appreciate any advice in that regard also. Thanks - Shirley
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Hengsteberg machine made in Bielefeld
sdc added images to a gallery album in Our Leatherwork Galleries
Photos of a Germany Politype machine that was purchased on an estate auction. The machine belonged to a local farm family that immigrated to America from Pilsek, Bohemia. Some came in 1867 and some in 1884. They were farmers and the machine was probably used for harnesses. Bielefeld could have been a stop made on the family's way to Hamburg, if they didn't already own the machine. The machine would have enabled the family to have a source of income until they could get started farming. -
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Have you had any luck identifying your machine yet? I purchased what sounds like the very same machine at a household auction last week. It came from an old shed on a farm about a mile from my home in Iowa. This area is predominately of Czech heritage. The family who owned the machine said no one had seen it moved in over 65 years and knew nothing about who may have used it, other than the same family has owned the farm since sometime in the 1800's. I have looked at machines on the internet and found several similar (with 2 lions & a crown), but none with the castle between the two lions. It took 3 strong men to lift it into the back of my minivan and it barely fit. I am wondering if the original family may have brought it with them when they immigrated from Bohemia in the mid-to-late1800's? They were farmers so they would have used it for harness making. I donated the machine to our local heritage museum and it was unloaded there directly from my vehicle due to its size.. I will try to get some photos this weekend when the museum is open. I know I have seen this emblem before on other Czech items & wonder if it was a castle in Prague? Would appreciate any assistance in identifying this treasure.
