BADGED SEWING MACHINES
If you love vintage sewing machines, particularly if you like to sew heavy fabrics, or tough fabrics, some of the older machines have more strength, & handle it better, than new sewing machines. This is an American Home sewing machine, manufactured in Japan, with "American Home" being the badge name that the retail seller chose to sell them under. Abraham & Straus is another badge I've seen on this model.
Japan manufacturing companies, after World War II, to help rebuild the Japanese manufacturing economy, after the bombings, which decimated their manufacturing industry, Singer allowed their model 15 (became Singer 15 clones, later HA1 models) to be used without patents, which eventually led to the demise of Singer manufacturing in America, because the Japanese factories were able to sell their machines at lower prices, and targeted the low & middle income markets, and did it so well, that as "built in obsolescence" became the business model of most manufacturers, the Japanese factories continued to crank out sturdy machines, with the basic features, & a just enough special stitches & accessories, to gain the lion's share of the sewing machine market. These companies often contracted with various stores,both large and small, to manufacture sewing machines to be badged for each buyer's store.
A "badged" sewing machine, means that there really isn't a company named (insert here, the name brand on your sewing machine, i.e. American Home, Modern Home, J.C. Penney, Sears Kenmore, Montgomery Ward, Gimbels, Simplicity, etc...), that owned their own factory, and manufactured these sewing machines.
Instead, the seller whose brand name is on the machine, actually made a contract with a manufacturing company, to build a specific number of sewing machines, that the seller could then slap their brand name, via a "badge", on the machine, and stamp it in the manual, and sell it as if they had a specialty sewing machine shop of their own, just like Singer, Bernina, or Necchi, Elna, or Pfaff.
Japan manufacturing companies, after World War II, to help rebuild the Japanese manufacturing economy, after the bombings, which decimated their manufacturing industry, Singer allowed their model 15 (became Singer 15 clones, later HA1 models) to be used without patents, which eventually led to the demise of Singer manufacturing in America, because the Japanese factories were able to sell their machines at lower prices, and targeted the low & middle income markets, and did it so well, that as "built in obsolescence" became the business model of most manufacturers, the Japanese factories continued to crank out sturdy machines, with the basic features, & a just enough special stitches & accessories, to gain the lion's share of the sewing machine market. These companies often contracted with various stores,both large and small, to manufacture sewing machines to be badged for each buyer's store.
Some American manufacturers during the Industrial Revolution had also sold machines by contract, to be badged by the Buyers. There are "badged" machines from Taiwan, China, India, and other countries, today.
Some high quality manufacturers over the years include White, Happy, and Koyo, Maruzen, Jaguar (these last 2 merged), Janome continues this tradition, with Brother, they have made Kenmores, and many other badged machines.
Any store, could make a contract with these factories, to manufacture specific models of sewing machines, so the company could use their own special name badges, so it looked like you were buying your machine, from a much larger corporation, so customers felt comfortable buying machines at the super low prices, so you will find the most common of these badges, include
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| Signature badged Montgomery Ward machines manufactured by Happy, a Japanese company |
Any store, could make a contract with these factories, to manufacture specific models of sewing machines, so the company could use their own special name badges, so it looked like you were buying your machine, from a much larger corporation, so customers felt comfortable buying machines at the super low prices, so you will find the most common of these badges, include
America Beauty
American Home
Sears badged Kenmore
Montgomery Ward badged Signature
JC Penney
Good Housekeeping
Gimbels
Abraham & Straus
Modern Home
Stradivaro
and a variety of other names!
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| JC Penney 6915 badged machine |
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| Kenmore 1750 by Maruzen for Sears |
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| Queen manufactured by White |
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| Queen badged treadle manufactured by White |
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| Modern Home |
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| Modern Home badged machine |
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| Dressmaker badged machine |
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| Kenmore 1914 another (158) Maruzen manufactured model |
