[cat404]

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this or not. I have an old(? ) treadle sewing machine in a fold-away wooden cabinet. It is a "Beaver" sewing machine and I have not been able to find any information on it at all. Can anyone help me with finding out how much it is worth, or where to go to find any info on it? I can post pictures and give the serial number if it helps. Thanks to all who can help.

[Fr_Chuck]

This is the company that made the beaver, The original company sold out years and years ago to the white sewing machine company

Charles Raymond:

For over 30 years, Charles Raymond of Guelp remained the principal rival of R.M. Wanzer and Company. Like Wanzer, Raymond was an American but one who had already established himself as a leader in the sewing machine industry. In 1858, he and William Nettleton were manufacturing a chain-stitch sewing machine in Brattleboro, Vermont, that Raymond had invented. In 1862, Raymond moved to Guelph, bringing with him fifteen men to form the nucleus of Guelph's first sewing machine establishment. By 1869, he owned one of Guelph's largest factories and employed forty people. An incredible rate of expansion is evident from the following description printed in the 1871-72 County of Wellington Directory.

"In manufactures Guelph will compare with any town in the Dominion. Among which, mention may be made of Raymond's Sewing Machine Factory, these extensive works were established in 1861 and are situated on Yarmouth Street and Yarmouth corner or Woolwich streets, one building being wood 106 feet x 96 feet, two stories high with an engine of 15 horsepower, the other wood 90 x 30, two stories high with 8 horsepower. The works have a capacity of turning out 500 machines a week, 165 hands are constantly employed."

The earliest Raymond sewing machine manufactured in Canada was called Raymond's Family Sewing Machine or Improved Family Sewing Machine. It came in a little metal box and was hand-operated, portable, chain-stitch machine which would be clamped to any type table. It bears a patent date of 30 July 1861 on the throat plate, and this refers to Raymond's last American patent for an improved sub-platform looper.

This machine was manufactured with two objectives in mind. Most early sewing machines were combination machines (meaning they could sew on both course and fine material), but they generally required a skillful workman to put them in order for the weight of the material to be sewn. The aims of the Raymond machine were to be so simple that anyone could change it to accommodate almost any weight of fabric and "at the same time make it at so small a cost as to be within the means of everybody." This machine sold for twelve dollars and was possibly the cheapest one on the market throughout the 1860s.

A single-thread machine has one major drawback. The chain-stitch is not always sufficiently secure stitch for domestic sewing as it unravels easily, and for this reason the lock-stitch machine is more desirable. On 18 April 1872, Charles Raymond took out his first patent fro "an improved sewing machine called the Raymond Household Sewing machine." This is the earliest Raymond machine known to exhibit a beaver, which became the Raymond trademark.

By 1871, Raymond's line of machines had grown to include a series of three more lock-stitch machines: the Family No. 1, No 2, and No 3 Shuttle machines. Both the No. 2 and No. 3 machines were adapted for heavy manufacturing. The No 1 was a heavy machine bearing two patent dates (22 September 1879 and 7 May 1880) which refer primarily to improvements to the spooler spindle. Raymond manufactured another machine quite similar to the No. 1 except that it was considerably smaller. The only markings on this machine is the name "Chas Raymond" stamped on both the shuttle race slides. It is possible that this was an early edition of the No. 1 but more research would be necessary to prove it.

Like the Wanzer company, Raymond exported many machines to Europe. However, production was severely curtailed in the late 1870s and by the early 1890s, competiton from giant American sewing machine companies like Singer and White began to squeeze Raymond out of the market. In 1879, he finally sold his company to the White Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Renamed the Raymond Manufacturing Company, this firm continued producing sewing machines until 1916. The New Raymond, based in part on Charles Raymond's patents of 1879 and 1880, was the last type of the machine the company produced.

Worth has a lot to do with finding the right collector and the condition.
It is a great collection item, but you are not rich by any means from this.

[Saturn99]

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this or not. I have an old(??) treadle sewing machine in a fold-away wooden cabinet. It is a "Beaver" sewing machine and I have not been able to find any information on it at all. Can anyone help me with finding out how much it is worth, or where to go to find any info on it? I can post pictures and give the serial number if it helps. Thanks to all who can help.

I think I have the same Beaver treddle sewing machine you have. Were you able to learn any more about it? I just bought mine last week (CDN $175.00) but have no idea what it's really worth. It's in full working order, several accessories and included the manual. Do you need a copy on that, I wonder.

[hooochiema]

I think I have the same Beaver treddle sewing machine you have. Were you able to learn any more about it? I just bought mine last week (CDN $175.00) but have no idea what it's really worth. It's in full working order, several accessories and included the manual. Do you need a copy on that, I wonder.

Ld like a copy of the manual
[email protected]
Thanks

[cat4047]

I would love a copy of the manual. I had one but it has been lost. I still have not got any info that I really wanted on the machine. Could you post a picture of yours? I have no idea how old this one is... it has been in my family ever since I can remember. No one seems to know anything about the "Beaver" machine. Would love to find out how much it is worth!
[email protected]

[Chip27]

I have the smaller version of the Charles Raymond machine that you say might be a prototype for the number one. Mine says Charles Raymond Guelph Ontario on the shuttle race slides on both sides of the needle.. It is a treadle machine which is much smaller than the Number 1 that I own. I have never had much luck finding out more information about it. We assumed that it was made in the original factory in Guelph that burned down in 1875. We are the only collectors I know who have a complete machine on the table with treadle. Can you tell me where you go the information about this machine? I would be happy to send you a photo of the machine. We live not far from Guelph and the machine was from the area. [email protected]