Singer sewing machine and table from Mae's Millinery Shop: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Rectangular light tan wooden table with tapered legs and an electric sewing machine. The legs have metal tips. The front side panel of the table has a grooved rectangular pattern with two drawer pulls attached to it. The proper left side panel has a hinge on the front side to allow the panel to swing out and act as a support for the lid. Two halves of two metal hinges are attached at the proper right side of the table, though the hinged lid for the top is missing. The top of the table has a rectangular piece with round edges that is cut from the top and is hinged. The black Singer brand sewing machine is hinged at the back side so it can be stored underneath the table top. The machine has gold lettering across the horizontal arm that reads "SINGER" and an applied gold-colored ovular metal plate on the upright arm with the company's logo and a rectangular metal plate with the serial number "AM523565". The machine has a light and an electrical box attached to the back of the upright arm. Two electric cords protrude from the electrical box, with one end having a two-pronged plug and the other end having a metal rectangular foot pedal.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1956
• Manufactured by: Singer Corporation, American, founded 1851
• Owned by: Mae Reeves, American, 1912 - 2016
• Subject of: Mae's Millinery Shop, American, 1941 - 1994
• Type: sewing machines (equipment)
• Medium: metal and wood
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 39 1/4 × 24 13/16 × 17 1/16 in., 46 lb. (99.7 × 63 × 43.3 cm, 20.9 kg)
• Place collected: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Millinery
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2013.27.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mae Reeves and her children, Donna Limerick and William Mincey, Jr.
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.