MAIL ORDER SEWING MACHINE by SEARS 1907 Poster

The Davis Sewing Machine Company of Dayton, Ohio, with a few exceptions, would become the sole supplier of sewing machines to Sears until about 1912. It is during this time period that we have many of the Minnesota brand machines including the Models A, B, C, D, and K to name a few. Beginning in 1911, the company introduced a number of machines based on Singer designs. They were the 'Franklin' (1911) and the 'Minnesota A' (1914), copies of Singer's Model 27/127 class manufactured by the Domestic Sewing Machine Company of Buffalo, New York. The 'Franklin' was decorated with Egyptian styled decalcomania, clearly in imitation of Singer's beautiful 'Memphis' decoration scheme. The 'Minnesota' was decorated in the same type of gold filigree used on the Davis-made 'Minnesota A.' By the 1910s, SEARS had been reduced to manufacturing machines based on Singer designs. Sears likely changed its main supplier to Domestic because the Buffalo company could supply Singer copies. The only other retailer that sold more sewing machines in the United States was Singer. Both the Franklin and Minnesota Model A were near-exact copies of the Singer Model 27/127 (the most popular Singer model at the time). Sears Roebuck also marketed them as a lower priced, equivalent quality alternative to the pricey Singer. As such, the action was likely an attempt by Sears to increase its market share in the sewing machine business.