Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
- Modern executive chair
- Looking "old" at age 41
- Colour Quandry
- Curious Cat
- The Modern Executive
- Died on the operating table
- You've seen his work
- Fish swimming free from their barrel
- Great picture
- Only one or two things missing
- Griffith Stadium
- Douglas SBD Dauntless
- ???
- (Almost) Still Around
- Just NE of the Schuylkill
- True Grif
- The future lies overhead
- Huff & Puff
- To smithereens
- Moxie Baby
- See the book of Hosea
- The house survives
- Loammi
- Drinks for everyone, just don't lose your head
- College Ices?
- What The?
- Hellgamite
- Signs
- Everything you ever wanted to know about the Hotel Weirs
- Mr. Bean
Photos submitted by Shorpy members!
Printporium
Flood Refugees: 1937
April 1937. "Flood refugee family in tent at Tent City near Shawneetown, Illinois." Photo by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
Free Sewing Machine
That treadle is a “The Free” Sewing Machine, made in Rockford IL. The cabinet is unique to them. They cost around $65 new, and are exceptionally well engineered. The cabinet top has an automatic lift that raises the machine. Free also had an guarantee that gave the original owner a brand new replacement if the machine was destroyed by fire, flood, or accident. It’s no surprise to see it saved as a prized possession. The machines are a favorite with collectors and quilters today.
Treadle
My mother had one of those treadle sewing machines that very much resembled the one in the picture. I liked to sneak in and work the treadle by hand.
Sunday Funnies
Remember when the Sunday comics were this size instead of the present miniaturized version?
Important Things
Is that a toy motorcycle on the floor to the mother's right? The youngest has a doll. And mother saved her sewing machine (a major investment and a tool for further savings by making things). Today, after the family members, what would we save? Photo albums? Computer disks with photos?
Let there be music
There's also a cabinet Victrola in the right hand side of the photo next to the sewing machine.
Sewing machine
The treadle sewing machine behind the boys seated on the floor has features typical of models from the earlier part of the century (1900-1920); curved drawers and a drop-down head. When the hinged top was opened, a cable lift mechanism raised both the machine and front panel, to allow access for the operator's legs. Nearly every household had a sewing machine, which means that there were millions produced, and that their value today is negligible.
Sewing Machine?
Is that a sewing machine behind the two boys? I think so... it is interesting what people look to save when the flooding begins.
[Fancier than my mother's of similar vintage, interestingly. She was still using hers up into the 1970s. - tterrace]
Worth A Pretty Penny
A few items that would be of value today would be the sewing machine cabinet (holding the clock and lamp) and the Mickey Mouse shirt the little boy is wearing.
Castor Oil?
It looks like the bottle next to the Pet canned Milk might be Puretest Castor Oil.
It'll never happen
No matter how long they watch it, that pot will never boil.
Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2025 Shorpy Inc.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5