Raymond Sewing Machine Age.
Raymond Sewing Machine Age; Dating a Raymond Sewing Machine
What is the age of my Raymond Sewing Machine? How can I date a Raymond sewing machine? Those are the two most common questions I receive and I’m excited to help you find out too. My page offers assistance to find the age of your machine but any and all Raymond sewing machines. Easy photograph instructions for where to find the serial number is provided below. Start by finding your machine’s serial number and then contact me.
Raymond Sewing Machine Age:
How old is a Raymond Sewing Machine? Raymond’s machines, in fact, have a long history, as Charles’ first machine would date to 1851. Except, a legal challenge from Isaac Singer in 1852 shut Raymond’s plans down. So, whether any 1851 Raymond sewing machines exist today is unknown. Raymond’s next attempt came in 1857 with partner Willford H. Nettleton. Together they made an unknown quantity and heavily promoted their machine in an extensive advertisement campaign. Still, Raymond Nettleton examples are pretty rare, as, at the present time, only three are known to exist today. Be aware, many of today’s New England “for sale” listings are mistakenly labeled Raymond Nettleton. In short, be careful before you spend large sums of money.
New England Chain Stitch:
Charles Raymond’s first mass-produced sewing machine was traced to 1861. As a result, Raymond’s New England chain stitch created great success and firmly established his market share. Any New England sewing machine is very collectible today. Although early generations are rare, the others, less so, are found in the marketplaces. I can date Raymond’s New England period from documentation but also personal inspection. Notwithstanding hours of study of collections made available to me. Please contact me for a discussion.
Serial number for determining age:
Machine serial number is undoubtedly the best way to date a Raymond Sewing Machine. Keep in mind, Raymond’s England and Household were the only models without a serial number. Why not? It is still a mystery. Raymond’s Lock Stitch model, however, is the first to receive an organized serial number system. I date this era by your photos to first confirm identity, but also by its serial number.
Next, the first and later generations of New Raymond High Arm are also serial numbered. So is the Economy machine, specifically a secondary line introduced late in production history. You can see in every model Raymond produced noticeable changes or upgrades that occurred over time. Observable changes reflect design progress and assist in aging and classifying each model into generations. You will find this helpful when discussing and understanding Raymond’s production history.
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Raymond Sewing Machine age, serial numbers, cont. :
All Raymond serial number locations appear below. Although, a serial number can sometimes be hard to see. Often due to lighting but also due to a layer of dried oil and dirt. I often find dirt is removable with just one’s fingernail. Good lighting, good eyesight, magnification or, scrub lightly with fine abrasive may be required.
Pro Tip !!
Smartphone cameras do well at capturing an image of the serial number and serve as a good magnifier.
Be careful if you consider a mild abrasive. I have successfully used 0000 steel wool, carefully applied, for example. You may find that pre-softening dirt with fresh sewing machine oil is enough. I am cautious in advising, in stubborn cases only, the use of Gojo non-pumice hand cleaner. In stubborn cases, Gojo products will soften dried oil to ease removal. Most importantly, please note my warning below.
Gojo Warning
Except directly over a serial number boss, do not apply Gojo anywhere else on a Raymond Sewing head. Raymond’s clear coat may be too fragile for Gojo’s ingredients, and you risk wiping the color out of the decoration. This damage, regretfully, will be permanent.
Raymond serial number | Main line heads | Location instructions.
The following instruction applies to a variety of labels. New Raymond, Canadian White, Premier, Dominion R, Challenge X (and others) are Raymond main line sewing heads, to name a few. You many notice, Farmer’s Supply Co, cast into the iron of the cabinet stand of certain brand names.
Look close for a prefix or suffix character
Many, but not all, Raymond sewing machine serial numbers are found with a prefix. Strangely, a suffix is occasionally observed although the meaning or purpose is unknown. Characters A, B, D, E, G, K, M, 2M and 1,3 and 9 are most common and there may be others. A prefix or suffix is not critical to determine the age of or to date but are worth noting; I record them regardless. Such characters are hard to see and thus routinely missed.
Raymond Sewing Machine Age. Find your Economy line serial number- pictured here. This machine’s serial number always end in an “A”.
Raymond Lock stitch | No 1, 2 or 3 Lock stitch | Instructions
Raymond Sewing Machine Age, continued.
Below, you can find your Raymond Lockstitch or Raymond No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 serial number. In my experience, the serial number is sometimes stamped in full but often only partially at the bottom of the machine. Therefore, the needle bar or presser bar is the preferred location, and I find it consistently correct.
Raymond Lock Stitch, Raymond No 1, Raymond No 2, Raymond No 3
Serial number on the presser bar or needle bar.
Below: An example of a serial number found on the bottom of sliding shuttle cover.
Patent dates
Patent dates signify the beginning of a design but can be limited to just a single part- the bobbin winder in the case of this image. The patent date shown here on Raymond’s automatic bobbin winder applies only to the winder. Subsequently, patent dates are not a useful date guide, as, in this case, this date was stamped between 1879 and 1903.
**The numbers in this image are a patent date, not a serial number. 22 Sept, 1879 and July 5, 1880**
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