Singer sewing machine used by Yvonne DeVigne: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black Featherweight Portable 221 Singer sewing machine used by Yvonne DeVigne. The machine body is made of stainless steel, painted black with gold art deco style accents. There are also several unpainted sections of metal, including an elaborately stamped face plate with geometric art deco design. The base of the machine has a hinged section that can be lowered for use and raised for storage. The arm of the machine is attached to the base at its far PL edge. The motor of the machine sits just behind the arm, with a plastic belt running between it and the hand wheel. The motor casing is stamped with a black, red, and silver Singer logo and a plate with the motor's specifications on it. The plug port is on the base of the machine, just below the arm on the PL side. In front of the arm on the base of the machine is the machine's light switch toggle and the bobbin-winding thread guide. There is a gold colored stamped Singer Manufacturing plate just above the base on the arm of the machine. Above this is a vertically oriented silver stitch length regulator lever. The arm extends over the base, with a light, stamped [SINGER] in gold above the work area. The feed lever is threaded with yellow thread and there is a small piece of blue fabric with yellow stitching resting between the base of the machine and the presser foot.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1938
• Manufactured by: Singer Corporation, American, founded 1851
• Owned by: Yvonne Berry DeVigne, American, 1914 - 2004
• Type: sewing machines (equipment)
• Medium: stainless steel, plastic, rubber, paint, cloth, thread, wire, felt, glass
• Dimensions: 9 1/2 × 15 1/4 × 7 1/4 in. (24.1 × 38.7 × 18.4 cm)
• Dimensions: Hinged platform raised: 9 1/2 × 11 1/2 × 7 1/4 in. (24.1 × 29.2 × 18.4 cm)
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: Elizabethport, Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Craftsmanship
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Millinery
• Object number: 2014.272.1.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gaston L. DeVigne, III in memory of his parents Gaston L. DeVigne, II and Yvonne B. DeVigne
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.