It is commonly thought that Domestic made the Franklin, Minnesota A and Minnesota H for Sears up until 1924 when White puchased Domestic. I believe that King made these models from the beginning, as well as the Minnesota X. There is evidence to back up this theory on this page and in discussions on the Victorian Sweatshop forum here and here.
The following photos and chart are presented to show the models known to be made by Domestic and King in the 1910s and early 1920s. The Franklin is frequently referred to as a Singer 27 clone, so I am including a Singer 27 in the chart for comparison.
In 1911, when the Franklin appeared in the Sears catalog, Domestic was making the Domestic D. In 1913, when the updated Minnesota debuted, they were also making the Domestic Rotary. Both were fiddlebase machines with old fashioned designs. King was making their VS model which is virtually identical to a Singer 27. When Sears decided to put a Singer 27 clone in the catalog, it seems clear that King, the company they essentially owned and was already making a Singer 27 clone, would be the obvious choice to manufacture the Franklin and subsequent Minnesota models.
VS Model | SN (Year) | Front | Back | Face | Inside Face | Wheel | Under | Top | Foot/Feed dogs | Shuttle carrier | Shuttle | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic D | 2036103 (1909-1915) | |||||||||||
Singer 27 | H142473 (1906) | |||||||||||
King | 141856 | |||||||||||
Franklin | 172473 (1911+) | |||||||||||
Minnesota X | 36120 (1912-13) | |||||||||||
Minnesota A (Photos courtesy Jo Mercer) | 293279 (pre-1921) | |||||||||||
Vibrator | 620830 (1915+) | |||||||||||
Minnesota A | 402248 (1920+) | |||||||||||
New Willard | 201758 (1920+) | |||||||||||
Minnesota H | 13614 (1920+) | |||||||||||
Lessing | 439817 (1920+) |
Note: Lessing normally has a back inspection plate labeled "King Sewing Machine Company" as in the last photo, courtesy of Martha Wickham.
Rotary Model | SN (Year) | Front | Back | Face | Inside Face | Wheel | Under | Foot/Feed dogs | Hook Area | Bobbin Case In | Bobbin & Case |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic Rotary Type 1 | 778676D | ||||||||||
Domestic Rotary Type 2 | 1245723 | ||||||||||
King Rotary | 1200920K | ||||||||||
Economy Rotary (Standard) ** | 172473 | ||||||||||
Domestic Rotary Type 3 |
** Economy Rotary is included for comparison because it has the same patent dates on its slide plate as the King Rotary and Domestic Rotary Type 2.