Registration Marks

Graham Forsdyke
ISMACS News
Issue 13

ACCURATELY DATING an old sewing machine is one of the most difficult problems facing the collector. Contemporary advertisements in newspapers and magazines are a great help, of course, but most of us know from experience that little reliance can be placed solely on patent dates.

If we have, for example, a machine with patent dates of 1858 and 1860 all we can really determine is that the model was made after the later date. If, however, some near-similar versions also have a patent date of 1875, it's fair to assume that our particular example was made between 1860 and 1875.

Trying to date a machine from its design register mark again only tells us when the first example was made and some machines, of course, had quite a long run.

It has always surprised me how few SMs carry design registration marks. Britannia went in for them in a big way for their treadles and I saw one recently cast into the shoe of a Globe.

Design registration was a form of copyright for a design -- rather than a patent which was for an idea.

Registration marks in the shape of diamond marks were introduced in 1842 (that won't bother us too much) and lasted until 1883 when a simple form of numbering was substituted.

The marks give a very accurate dating -- to the month -- but remember this was the date on which the design was registered under the 1842 copyright act, not necessarily the date of manufacture.

The shape and explanation of the coding are shown below. Batch (or bundle) number and class marking were for office use.

The design copyright lasted three years after registration, but presumably there was no compunction on manufacturers to remove the mark -- ofter part of the casting -- after that period.

After 1884 a simple form of registration number was used and the following table gives the years in which the numbers were allocated. They are nearly always prefixed by Rd or Rd No.:

The number againtst each date is the first issued in January of that year but from 1891 there was a slight overlap between the December and January number from 1891.

There are a few other general pointers which can help in dating:

The use of the word Limited or Ltd was rarely used before 1880 and certainly not before 1860.

The words "Trade Mark" give a date after the 1862 Trade Mark Act.

Should you find the word 'England', it would suggest a date after 1875, when any company hoping to export to the USA would have been required to state the country of origin of the product.

However, 'Made in England' is much more likely to suggest a machine dating from this century.

Editor's Note: The tables used above are taken from a leaflet published by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust 1981.