What I've been able to find out so far: The Wards 1284
Montgomery Wards 1284, front side.
Montgomery Wards 1284, back side.
The "Mystery Sigil", found in two locations inside. No other markings found!
Top cover removed. Very well built!
Bottom cover removed. No manufacturer's marks found other than the above sigil.
This is the "Monkey Wards" machine my mother purchased sometime in the early to mid 70s to replace her ailing American Beauty. Most experts would tell us that this was built by Japan's Happy Sewing Machine Company - and maybe it was! However, it bears NO "JA", "JC", "HA" or other markings whatsoever, inside or out, other than the above pictured sigil - which no sewing machine expert thus far has been able to identify. One authority tells me that "It [the machine's appearance] made me think of some Riccar's and Janome/New Homes I've seen.", but is as mystified by the sigil as I am...
The only other clue is that I've seen pictures of a couple of Nelcos that had carrying cases identical to the one this machine came with. Nelco was a distributor/badge, not a manufacturer so this factoid means little. Perhaps whomever supplied machines or cases to Nelco also supplied Montgomery Ward at the time this machine was built. Who know?
If you know anything about this, please tell me!
If you have one, you can buy the manual
here.
A Belly Dance "Stitch and Bitch".
The lovely lady to the right is now the proud owner of this machine.
The Pfaff 776 can be seen in the foreground.
Directly behind it can be seen my "American Beauty" Reversew.
Yes, my White 690 was hard at work this day also - in a different room.
Oh, the machine to the far left? A modern, plastic Singer belonging to another dance sister.
Does quite well, although I don't think it "holds a candle" to my '57 Singer 99k which was not
in use here, but I take it to "away dates" frequently.
Lost?
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