The Indian Star! It sounds so regal. Like some great diamond hacked out of the dusty earth of the Subcontinent, back in the days of the Imperial Raj, which became the object of desire sought after by thieves and bandits and which played a key role in some dastardly Sherlock Holmes adventure!
Ahem.
THIS is the Indian Star:
It comes from this rather battered-looking Singer 15 sewing machine. My latest sewing-machine purchase:
At just $30 at the local flea-market, this thing was in a SORRY state when I got it. This is what the machine looked like after several hours of hard scrubbing and scouring to remove 70 years’ worth of grime!
That’s right. This machine dates all the way back to 1945! And for a machine that was missing its whole front panel, it was in pretty decent shape, apart from needing a damn good clean and a bit of rebuilding work. It came with its lid as well. Once I get the time I’ll rebuild the front panel and put in a new base for it (the base is absolutely dead), to keep this thing in one piece. It’s barely holding on as it is.
I replaced one hinge, the slide-plate and fixed a few other things, mostly by sanding or scrubbing off rust and grime.
This Singer is a ‘full-size’ machine. That means that it could fit into a treadle-base if I wanted it to. It’s an absolute beast and weighs a ton! It’s hard to believe that something like this (which weighs about 35lbs!) was ever considered “portable” back in the 1940s!!
Will be posting updates as this progresses…
Wow!
The decals are in such good condition – the Sphinx. You’ve picked up another lovely item. I recently got a 1910 Singer 27k VS for £10, The Sphinx decals on that are pretty battered and a lot of the chrome has gone but she runs beautifully. I’m getting her clean and replacing a few bits that have gone as a gift for my mother. It’s a full size machine like yours and she’s looking for a treadle base for it. Once these old machine get you they get you! My 1917 Lotus 66k clean up is going well albeit very slowly, the 66k base needs patching up as one side had succumbed to woodworm. Both mine are being preserved so they can be used rather than fully restored to new. They are both seriously heavy too compared to a modern machine but then our old ladies were built to last a lifetime. It is testament to their quality that they have lasted several lifetimes.
Do you know where your 15 was made? Does it have the India star because it was made in India or for the Indian market. I know machines were made and exported throughout Europe and the old British Empire almost as a separate market to the Americas. I look forward to your progress reports.
Best wishes from the East of England,
T x
I think this was probably made in the US, and exported to India. It’s the only reason they had the Indian decals.