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 Governor

Governor A: Serial No. 2263543.

This machine was made by the National Sewing Machine Company of Belvidere, Illinois which was formed c1891 by the merger of the Eldredge Sewing Machine Company (est.1869) and the June Manufacturing Company (est. 1881).

The firm appears to have specialised in producing badged machines for retailers. In 1953 it merged with Free Sewing Machine Co. but was unable to compete with imported models and the National Sewing Machine Company closed in 1957.

This machine has a very angular shape and was made before 1900. The design stems from an Eldredge machine and this version was known in America as the Improved Eldredge B. In the 1920's the machine was given a complete face lift and sold as a Badged machine. The Trade Mark logo is an illustration of a Governor which is a mechanical device found on steam engines. Beneath the logo is the Latin inscription "Nil Desperandum" followed by the initials J.S. & S. which stand for John Shaw & Sons of Wolverhampton who sold Governor machines.

This machine came complete with shuttle, spare bobbins and tin of attachments. It is set in a stunning five drawer drop head stand which is shown on the Cases and Bases Page.

 Governor Badge