Its official name is "Deluxe Zig Zag Model 5700". That's on the instruction manual. It has no brand name on the machine itself. After much research, I believe it to be a "Morse" brand. Guess who made "Morse"? Toyota. Yeah, -that- Toyota.
It was supposed to be a gift for my friend's daughter. I was supposed to store it at my place, while I learned how to operate and maintain (ie. oil) it, so that I could later show her how it works. I have never used a sewing machine before in my life. Basically, I do not sew. But the more I used it, the more I appreciated it. The more I appreciated it, the more I fell in love with it. (And what we do in the privacy of our home is none of anyone's business, okay...). Then it got to the "Screw your daughter, this is too good for her!" point. I couldn't in good conscience give it up to someone who rides a quality bike in the winter. The winter!!
I can't believe how quickly I went from "If I was the type to own a sewing machine, this is the sewing mcahine I would want to own".... to being the type to own a sewing machine. With the Morse 5700, it was easy. For one, she was the nicest looking sewing machine I'd seen. Clean lines, turquoise grill, and an engine lifted straight from a '57 Chevy. No, maybe a Tercel. Still. This was way too much machine for a 21 year old girl. She could never hope to appreciate the quality that went into this thing, as much as I did. So I got her a plastic Singer jobbie, kept the Morse, oiled her insides, cleaned her bobbin well, re-tensioned her bobbin holder and 72 hours later.... voila, I'm now an expert on sewing machines. Plus, all those pants I chewed up on my bike are now officially unchewed. Being the son of a tailor (who never learned anything from his dad...) ...it must be something in the blood.
Now I'm hoping that something else gets torn, in order to practice my new-found sewing skills....
MCM is a term generally...
MCM is a term generally related to interior design, or architecture. I guess you could call it a 'midcentury' sewing machine as much as you could call it a 60s sewing machine... to append 'modern' would be rather pretentious, esp as all sewing machines are modern, even the ones from the 19th century...
If vases and such household objects (that are not furniture) are seen as MCM, I'm not sure why sewing machines couldn't be on the list? Likewise, if industrial design is seen as "design" (ie. Bauhuas), then a sewing machine....
Design-wise, I don't see all sewing machines as "modern". Especially not when the term "antique" is often attached to them (ie. on the second hand market), when they are relics. There are great differences in the design of the models. The one pictured here, I see as an attempt to apply a modern design aesthetic to the traditional sewing machine (60's era modern). In my view, the design aesthetic on this model is stronger than models I've seen that are more, or much more, recent. Earlier or possibly later but industrial models of Morse machines have a very 50's style design model.
Pretentious would be calling it an "Eames Era Sewing Machine"! (Then listing it with that heading, for 3x its actual value on eBay).
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