Singer Cover
'New Family' Sewing Machine (Model 12/12K) with Moulded Plywood Cover, 1988
Manufactured by Singer Manufacturing Company Scotland or USA
Painted cast iron sewing machine; case of moulded 3-ply nyssa-faced plywood with veneered solid gum base and ends
The Singer Manufacturing Company was almost certainly the world's largest plywood furniture producer from the 1880s to the 1950s. They used plywood in tables, cabinets and sewing machine covers such as this. Singer used plywood to reduce costs and simplify production. They manufactured it in their factories from raw materials, including (from at least the 1910s) logging trees and cutting veneers.
[V&A]
Part of Plywood: Material of the Modern World
(July to November 2017)
Plywood is made by gluing together thin sheets of wood called veneers, with the grain of each sheet running in an alternate direction. This creates a material that is stronger and more flexible than solid wood. The technique has been around for a long time – as early as 2600 BC in ancient Egypt – but it was not until the 1850s that plywood started to be used on an industrial scale.
Featuring groundbreaking pieces by Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer and Charles and Ray Eames, alongside an incredible range of objects from planes to skateboards, this exhibition told the story of how this often-overlooked material made the modern world.
[V&A]
Singer Cover
'New Family' Sewing Machine (Model 12/12K) with Moulded Plywood Cover, 1988
Manufactured by Singer Manufacturing Company Scotland or USA
Painted cast iron sewing machine; case of moulded 3-ply nyssa-faced plywood with veneered solid gum base and ends
The Singer Manufacturing Company was almost certainly the world's largest plywood furniture producer from the 1880s to the 1950s. They used plywood in tables, cabinets and sewing machine covers such as this. Singer used plywood to reduce costs and simplify production. They manufactured it in their factories from raw materials, including (from at least the 1910s) logging trees and cutting veneers.
[V&A]
Part of Plywood: Material of the Modern World
(July to November 2017)
Plywood is made by gluing together thin sheets of wood called veneers, with the grain of each sheet running in an alternate direction. This creates a material that is stronger and more flexible than solid wood. The technique has been around for a long time – as early as 2600 BC in ancient Egypt – but it was not until the 1850s that plywood started to be used on an industrial scale.
Featuring groundbreaking pieces by Alvar Aalto, Marcel Breuer and Charles and Ray Eames, alongside an incredible range of objects from planes to skateboards, this exhibition told the story of how this often-overlooked material made the modern world.
[V&A]