White Sewing Machine


The White Sewing Machine was the first sewing machine from the White Sewing Machine Company. It used a vibrating shuttle bobbin driver design; for that reason, and to differentiate it from the later White models that used a rotary hook design instead, it came to be known as the "White Vibrating Shuttle" or "White VS". In 1879 it cost USD50 to USD125 depending on which table or cabinet it was to be mounted in. The White VS continued in production, with improvements, until the early 1900s.
There was also a 3/4-sized version called the "White Peerless".

Production

Versions

The White VS evolved over time through these versions:
YearModelShuttlePictureNotes
1876–1882Model A boat
round tension control on upper arm, manual bobbin winder
1882–1886VS IIaboat?round tension nut on lower head without dial
1886–1889VS IIabulletround tension nut on lower head without dial
1889–1892VS IIbbullet?round tension nut on lower head without dial
1893–1928VS IIIbulletround tension control on upper head with dial

Portable versions

White developed a 3/4-sized version for the sake of portability, exactly as Singer was developing the 3/4-sized model VS-3/28/128. It was called the 'Peerless' and its evolution tracked that of its full-sized parent:
VersionBased onPictureNotes
PeerlessVS Itensioner mounted on upper arm like the VS I
White PeerlessVS IIa or IIb?tensioner mounted on lower head like the VS IIa and IIb
New White PeerlessVS IIIthree variants produced—A, B, and C – differing in case and hand-crank.
GemUnique design.very small, and very different from the VS and Peerless

Shuttle changes

The first versions of the White Sewing Machine used a "boat" shuttle that was comparable to those used in contemporary transverse shuttle machines. In 1886 the shuttle was changed to a bullet shape, with a thin rod in the interior upon which the bobbin rotates. The change was probably prompted by the bullet shuttle used in the new Singer Vibrating Shuttle machine, invented the year before, itself a derivative of the White machine. Still later, the shuttle was refined again for the Peerless machines.
VersionShuttlePart number
VS I, VS IIa85, 94
VS IIa?
VS IIb282, 321
VS IIIoriginal shuttle used 1893-1900349, 321
VS III?
VS III1554, 321

Badged variants

White produced VS machines under several different badges, in addition to the Peerless. These included 'Franklin', 'Mason D', 'Minnesota E', and 'Queen'.

History

and George W. Baker designed the machine and are named as inventors on most of the six original US patents, dated 1876–1877, that cover it. The company literature would later look back adoringly on them, calling them "two of best mechanics" who had "perfected a new type of sewing machine, far superior to anything then on the market".
At the time of its development, the machine was the White Sewing Machine Company's flagship product—so much so that it was simply named the "White Sewing Machine". Only later it was called the "White Vibrating Shuttle", when a rotary hook model named the White Family Rotary was added to the product line.