Silent Singers

Sewing machines in lots of old places, but none ever rusted beyond hope. Great find!

That's disappointing, old singers are nice.

Love this shot! Can just see in my minds eye patients working hard to mend their clothes.

What a waste! I want the thread holders!

Mans wastefulness.

Used for occupational therapy I bet.

Hmmm, I think there might have been some slave labor going on. Perhaps a little extra coins in the pockets of the powers that be?

maybe used to fix the clothes that got ripped or bedsheets that got ripped up

Yeah those are totally rusted.....

It's hard to tell what they were, I had to look twice -

i have to say that looking through these images as well as all the other galleries shows the improvements on the facilities that we have now. I have been in and out of psychiatric wards to know that these places r not fun to be in. It is very boring in these places when admitted. I hate them, but find the history interesting....

It's not unlikely that the hospital clothes for both staff and patients may have been made on the premises at one time. The size of the thread spool-holders and the machines are for industrial, high-volume manufacture. It's possible that they are not rusted beyond use. Those things were made to be almost indestructible and built to last indefinitely.

If you were to disassemble one and clean every part of it, soak the parts in machine oil, replace a part or two, repaint and add a reproduction Singer decal (yes, they are available) -- you would likely have a nice-looking and usable machine. If you want to go through all that, you may have a $500 item at the end but still, all the work and cost of supplies, you'd be lucky to pull $3/hour.

I don't see any electrical cords -- my guess is treadle power.

that title speaks a million words and yet leaves me speechless... its hard to explain the emotions that arise while looks at this photo. excellent work :)