Original Singer commercial correspondence documenting a $255.25 machine sale
OVERVIEW
Offered is an original 1925 United States commercial window cover from the Singer Sewing Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, accompanied by its original signed enclosure.
Far more than a routine business envelope, this surviving correspondence documents the sale of a Singer hemstitching machine and preserves both the postal history and the complete business transaction.
The enclosed letter acknowledges receipt of a $100.00 payment toward the purchase of a hemstitching machine complete with table, stand, and alternating-current motor, advising shipment by express C.O.D. for the remaining balance of $155.25.
Together, the envelope, signed letter, and period accounting notations form an exceptional piece of American commercial and industrial history.
FRANKING & POSTAL HISTORY
The cover is franked with a United States 2¢ carmine George Washington definitive of the 1922 series, paying the domestic first-class letter rate. The stamp is tied by a Cincinnati, Ohio machine cancellation.
Without perforation measurement, the stamp is most conservatively identified within the 1922 Washington definitive family (Scott 528–634).
POSTMARKS & RED CROSS ROLL CALL
The envelope bears a clear Cincinnati, Ohio circular datestamp dated November 19, 1925, together with the machine slogan:
RED CROSS ROLL CALL – JOIN
Each November the American Red Cross conducted nationwide membership campaigns promoted through temporary postal slogan cancellations.
These short-lived slogan cancels are actively collected as a specialized branch of machine-cancel postal history and add significant crossover appeal beyond the Singer advertising itself.
SINGER COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
The envelope carries the attractive printed Singer Sewing Machine Company corner card featuring the classic red Singer trademark together with the Manufacturers Agency address:
113 West Third Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
The original enclosure is printed on Singer corporate letterhead bearing the notation Form 504 (1905), identifying Singer’s standardized business stationery.
The letterhead references:
Special Machines • Electric Motors • Power Table Fittings
perfectly matching the contents of the correspondence.
ADDRESSEE & ORIGINAL LETTER
The correspondence was mailed to:
Mrs. Fred Young
Box 281
Lynch, Kentucky
The enclosed letter, dated November 23, 1925, thanks Mrs. Young for placing an order for a Singer hemstitching machine complete with table, stand, and alternating-current motor.
Singer acknowledges receipt of a $100.00 payment and advises that the machine is being prepared for shipment by express C.O.D. for the remaining balance of $155.25, producing a total documented purchase price of $255.25—a substantial commercial transaction during the mid-1920s.
The letter concludes with the original signature of:
Wm. Lonney, Jr.
Agent
Singer Sewing Machine Company
CONTEXT & COLLECTOR APPEAL
This is an outstanding crossover artifact appealing to multiple collecting specialties including commercial postal history, Singer advertising, industrial ephemera, business correspondence, Kentucky history, and early electric sewing machine technology.
Unlike ordinary advertising covers, this grouping documents an actual equipment purchase from initial payment through shipment.
The reference to a hemstitching machine fitted with an electric motor strongly suggests commercial or professional use rather than household sewing.
Lynch, Kentucky was a thriving coal-mining community during this period, making the purchase consistent with tailoring, dressmaking, alteration work, or other commercial sewing enterprises serving the local population.
Equally appealing are the original handwritten accounting calculations remaining on the reverse of the envelope, almost certainly contemporary business computations associated with the transaction.
These untouched markings reinforce the authenticity and documentary value of the correspondence.
ITEM SPECIFICS
Country: United States
Year: 1925
Type: Commercial Window Cover with Original Signed Letter
Scott Number: Washington 2¢ Definitive (Scott 528–634 series)
Denomination: 2 Cents
Color: Carmine
Cancellation Type: Machine slogan cancel with circular datestamp
Postmark: Cincinnati, Ohio
Postmark Date: November 19, 1925
Slogan: Red Cross Roll Call – Join
Sender: Singer Sewing Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
Recipient: Mrs. Fred Young, Lynch, Kentucky
Subject: Hemstitching Machine Commercial Order
Topic: Singer Sewing Machines • Commercial Correspondence • Industrial History
Custom SKU: USA-1925-SINGER-LETTER-CINCINNATI-LYNCH-01
CONDITION
Original commercial window cover showing honest postal and business use, including creasing, wrinkling, edge wear, toning, opening faults, and heavier wear around the window opening and corners.
Contemporary pencil accounting calculations remain on both sides of the envelope.
The original signed Singer letter is present, complete, and fully readable, with expected mailing folds and light age toning.
While exhibiting normal period wear, the surviving enclosure substantially enhances the historical and commercial significance of the offering.
Please review the high-resolution images carefully for the item’s exact condition.