When I stopped by my Bernina sewing machine place, the owner who does all the repairs called me back into his repair area to show me a machine he got in for cleaning, from one of his customers. It was an old singer portable, that was black and had perfect floral decals on it. It was housed in a perfect mahogany Bent-wood case. It was straight stitch only with no reverse lever. But the interesting thing about it was the way you powered it. It had a black metal knee lever that acted in the same way a foot control pedal does. You sew by moving the lever to the right and it increases the speed. This machine looked like it was kept in a time capsule and it didn't have a blemish on it. The decals were perfect, and the case was flawless. The story was that the woman, his customer, collects old singers, and she had picked this one up at a garage sale recently. I am stunned that such a beautiful machine could have survived the years in the condition that this one was in. Does anybody know what model it was? I can see why people fall in love with these older machines, if this was in any way representative of what is out there. Most of the ones I have seen are far from this condition and type. Just curious, not really interested in acquiring one, just now.
John