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Saturday, September 26, 2026Est. 2026. Most of what's in here is older.

Don't fix it if it ain't broke

Still Running / Around the house

No. 0096Around the house

1899

Singer sewing machine, Sphinx decals

Singer

Running 127 years

Priced as a 1940s machine, the serial said 1899

The gold Sphinx decals on the arm of an old Singer Model 27. Not the machine in the story. — The gold Sphinx decals on the arm of an old Singer Model 27. Not the machine in the story. Photo: Txinviolet, CC0. The real one is in the original post.

At her husband's grandfather's garage sale sat the machine she had wanted since she started sewing: a black and gold Singer with a treadle. He thought it was from the 1940s. The serial number says 1899, a Sphinx edition. It's in its original cabinet, and the belt is intact and in good shape. Her mother-in-law threaded it, showed her how to work it, and it ran fine. He asked $45.

The one missing part, the thread pin, will come off a broken machine in the mother-in-law's basement.

Retold from a post on r/sewing. Read the original

More from Around the house

No. 0027Around the house

Singer sewing machine

The thanks for clearing out a house A 1910 Singer Model 27 in its treadle cabinet. Not the one in the story.

A 1910 Singer Model 27 in its treadle cabinet. Not the one in the story.

Running 116 years

No. 0030Around the house

Carpet sweeper

Played with it as a kid, so Grandma handed it over A Leifheit carpet sweeper, newer than the one in the story but built on the same idea: push it and the brushes turn.

A Leifheit carpet sweeper, newer than the one in the story but built on the same idea: push it and the brushes turn.

Running about 66 years

No. 0029Around the house

Rheem water heater

Only checked its age when the hot water stopped A Rheem electric water heater, much newer than the one in the story.

A Rheem electric water heater, much newer than the one in the story.

Running 46 years

No. 0094Around the house

Door handle

Wobbly knobs, 150 years old, original to the house An old turned brass doorknob on a wooden door in Quebec City, the paint worn away around the grip. Not the one in the story.

An old turned brass doorknob on a wooden door in Quebec City, the paint worn away around the grip. Not the one in the story.

Running about 157 years