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Wertheim Planet M sewing machine
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<p>[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 9680656, member: 360"]Oh look! An instruction manual for the Wertheim PLANET sewing machine...</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451056992/view?partId=nla.obj-451075137#page/n2/mode/1up" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451056992/view?partId=nla.obj-451075137#page/n2/mode/1up" rel="nofollow">https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451056992/view?partId=nla.obj-451075137#page/n2/mode/1up</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, that makes sense. Sewing machines were ENORMOUSLY expensive in the 1800s, early 1900s.</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>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. </p><p><br /></p><p>Let's say you saved 10/- (ten shillings) a week, to buy the machine.</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Not exactly cheap, huh?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 9680656, member: 360"]Oh look! An instruction manual for the Wertheim PLANET sewing machine... [URL]https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451056992/view?partId=nla.obj-451075137#page/n2/mode/1up[/URL] 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?[/QUOTE]
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