Wertheim Planet M sewing machine

Hi everyone!
I’m very new to this whole antique thing but I am loving it. The only tricky part is figuring out what it is I just bought haha. The other day I picked up this old werthiem sewing machine. I was wondering if anyone knew when it was made, its rarity and how much it’s worth?? It says planet M on the top and says it’s made in USA. Thanks to anyone that can help!

 

I couldn´t find recent sell prices for this model, but other old models only seem to be sold when they´re in a very good condition:
https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/11614...h-beautiful-decorations-approx-1900-frankfurt
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2855723...GaE/rBFiDOoa48VmgwVqsdMA==|tkp:Bk9SR_zU0tWrYw

so I don´t know what it´s worth now, but in 1914 you could buy one in Australia for £8.13

 

The only tricky part is figuring out what it is I just bought haha..............


Nope....the tricky part is figuring out what it is......before u drop hard earned coin on it !!!!

& here's a tip that we all know , only too well.......

unless you have a store where folks can take stuff away on their own......
buy smaller items..!
They take up less room, and you can ship them if u have to !

 

@Shangas is our sewing machine man, he has just been tagged.

I posted your photo full image so people can see. I see your machine has some condition issues and parts missing. It needs a lot of TLC.

 

Before you buy, google your item unless it is something you are going to keep for yourself. Look for sold prices on ebay or at least average prices. This sewing machine is in pretty rough shape and even for parts. I would not be able to get $1 here in Mid Missouri.

 

Thanks AJ.

Wertheim was a German sewing machine company, originally based in Frankfurt. It was up there with the likes of Frister & Rossmann, Seidel & Naumann, etc.

The Wertheim family branched out extensively. Apart from Germany, it also made machines in America, and even Australia (where it also made pianos!).

The machine is a vibrating-shuttle model, from what I can see in the photo, which means it should take modern machine needles. So once you've cleaned it up, bought a pack of needles and put one in, it should sew and run as normal.

I've got a Wertheim Planet in my collection, although mine is the portable version with a hand-crank on it. Antique German sewing machines are very highly regarded, although they were also considered quite antiquated at the same time.

While other companies like Singer or White or Domestic in the US, went onto use stuff like round-bobbin mechanisms, companies like Wertheim, Frister & Rossmann, etc, in Germany, kept manufacturing vibrating-shuttle, and even older transverse-shuttle machines right into the 1930s and 40s when such technologies were already WELL obsolete. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess.

Here's a piano made by Wertheim, at its Melbourne factory in Australia. Hugo Wertheim, the son of the company founder, sailed out to Australia in the 1850s, I think it was, for the Victorian gold-rush, settled in Melbourne, and then just decided he was going to be the Australian agent for his family business. They imported Wertheim sewing machines, and then started making pianos, as well.

 

For the sake of comparison, here's my Wertheim from 1910...

 

Oh look! An instruction manual for the Wertheim PLANET sewing machine...

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451056992/view?partId=nla.obj-451075137#page/n2/mode/1up

Yes, that makes sense. Sewing machines were ENORMOUSLY expensive in the 1800s, early 1900s.

At the time, I believe the Australian minimum wage was about £2 a week, so a sewing machine that cost £8 13/- (eight pounds, 13-shillings and no pence) would've been a PRICEY thing to buy, costing more than a month's wages.

And that's assuming you spent the money on nothing else but the sewing machine. Obviously, you can't do that IRL, so let's be a bit more realistic.

Let's say you saved 10/- (ten shillings) a week, to buy the machine.

20 shillings in a pound, so that means it'd take you TWO WEEKS to save ONE pound. So 16 weeks to save 8 pounds, plus 10 shillings the week after, plus three shillings the week after that. That means you'd be saving for 18 weeks, or four-and-a-half MONTHS, to buy a sewing machine.

Not exactly cheap, huh?

 

wow I’ve gotta say im impressed by all the great responses, thanks everyone! Thankfully I picked this gem up at a yard sale for $10 along with some other things, which is why I knew nothing about it! Just caught my eye. I’m going to give it a clean today and I’ll send through the results. I still haven’t seemed to work out the exact year it was made as I haven’t been able to find an exact replica anywhere. Although I did manage to find what looks like some sort of serial number - 30595. It’s also so fascinating to see how expensive they we’re back then, love this little community, again thanks guys!

 

If you post more photos of the machine, I should be able to tell you more. In an ideal world, we'd have the serial-number records, but a lot of German sewing-machine records were destroyed during WWI and WWII from allied bombing raids, etc.

As I said earlier, Germany made vibrating-shuttle machines for years after they were obsolete, but then, so did many other companies. I have a Singer from 1936 which is a vibrating-shuttle model.

 

I gave it a clean and I’m quite surprised with how well some of the rust came up. It also works pretty well, I’m gonna grab some thread today to see how she goes in action. I’m also going op shopping today to see what else I can add to my collection as I really enjoyed cleaning it up even if it isn’t worth anything. Is there any recommendations on what I could use to varnish/gloss it? Unless keeping it in the original condition is a safer option. Thanks again!

 

Sewing machines like these were originally just bare steel underneath. Then they were covered in layer after layer of black "Japanning" paint, and then the decorative decals were laid on, then clear-coat over the top.

 

Welcome to Antiquers, @TahliaDzudzar ! Looks like you might have a new hobby. Enjoy it!