White Vibrating Shuttle Sewing Machine
This White Vibrating Shuttle sewing machine pictured above is our oldest White. It is portable and electric. We have not tried to sew on it. It is a vibrating shuttle machine. The bobbin, which is nestled in a boat-shaped shuttle, is swung back and forth in an arc tossing the bobbin through a loop in the upper thread forming a locked stitch. Travel of the shuttle can be viewed under the two slide plates.
It was originally a treadle. Most of these conversions of treadles happened during World War II when new machines were nonexistent and people wanted to "modernize." Kits were sold for converting treadles to electric and that made it a fairly simple task. Sort of a form of recycling. Also, the VS III was quite long running as a model -- 1893 through 1928. The changes were minimal, mainly an upgraded bobbin winder and a different shuttle just after the turn of the century.
White did not name these models other than to designate those following their initial offering as an "Improved White."
The Serial Number is 1,407,729 suggesting a manufacture year of 1903. (During 1903 SNs 1,389,763 - 1,407,808 were produced.)
Thanks to Katie Farmer, a White researcher, for these words and who refers to this particular machine as a White VS III.