30 September 2014

Gritzner Durlach Sewing Machine

I've had this machine lying around at my house for a number of months now, but was a bit slow to do some research on it. It is a Gritzner, made in Durlach, Germany, which I'm sure in it's prime was a beautiful machine.







How/When Acquired

This machine is a side of the road find. Back in February of this year, I bumped into a friend who had been out walking her dog. She told me about a machine that she had seen in a back alley not far away. This is that machine (a couple of hours later!)

Machine Specifications

I haven't actually been able to find out much about this machine. The internet isn't helping me much on this one. Gritzner had quite a number of ownership changes over the years, with it's final owners being Pfaff. Even if I could make out the serial number (I've had a good guess at it, but it's really hard to read, and you can't make out anything in the photo), I have't been able to find any info regarding Gritzner serial numbers.


Gritzner machines were made in the town of Durlach, Germany. By the look of it, this machine has very similar specs to my Singer Model 27. Based on that, I'm guessing that this machine dates from around 1900, as does my Singer.

Here's a few places that I have found more information on Gritzner:
Sewalot, Sewmuse

You can see from the two holes on the right hand side of the machine that is has come out of a treadle cabinet.


Work Done on This Machine

 I got my husband to pull the bobbin case out to see if there was a bobbin still in it. It took a screwdriver to pry the cover off, but indeed there was a bobbin still in there, and it was in perfect condition. And it's the same as the bobbins in my Model 27 Singer. Incidentally, there was one bobbin missing from my puzzle box. Not anymore!


You can just see the bobbin case in the top right hand corner -
it's the shiny pointy thing!
There is so much rust on this machine that none of the parts move anymore. I figure it can't really get any worse, so it now lives on my deck under the washing line. I refer to it as my lawn ornament, so now I just need a lawn, or at least a garden that is bigger than the machine to put it in!


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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous28 May 2015 at 19:16

    Just wondering if you found out anything about your Gritzner? I have the opportunity to buy one but I'm struggling to find out if there are replacement parts etc. It's a vibrating shuffle and I already have a Singer VS but they're comparatively easy... ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Andrea F29 May 2015 at 12:25

      Everything that I found out about it is in this post. I guess because they had a lot of ownership changes there just isn't the same information available, unlike Singer. It does look very similar to my Model 27 Singer, but I can't guarantee that the Singer parts will be the same, although the bobbin is. Sorry I couldn't be more help to you.

      Delete
    2. Callisto5 August 2015 at 19:45

      Hi, I have a Gritzner and I could not sew without it. It's a VS and most Singer parts are compatible with it (my "Eveline" is a clone of the Singer Class 28 model).

      If you're still lookinf for information on this firm => http://leblogdecallisto.blogspot.com/2013/10/un-peu-dhistoire.html
      & http://leblogdecallisto.blogspot.com/2013/10/un-peu-dhistoire-la-suite.html
      It's in French, but thanks to Google translation tool, you'll be able to understand the most of it.
      Gritzner produced its 1.000.000 machine in 1901/1902 and its 2.000.000 machine in 1910.
      Have a nice day,
      Callisto (from Brussels, Belgium)

      Delete
  2. Starlight10 November 2016 at 21:13

    My Mom has a Gritzner machine which is around 70 years old. Not sure if it was bought second hand and it is in perfect working condition. I managed to find the following serial nr on it 434363. We want to value it but have no idea where to start
    Thank you. Marius(South Africa)

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  3.  Taxilunar7 May 2017 at 00:13

    Thanks for the info, I dismantled one of these machines.
    The pieces are available at http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-847996380-lote-pecas-maquina-de-costura-gritzner-gritzner-sewing-mac-_JM

    ReplyDelete
  4. Julene29 November 2017 at 11:28

    You may have found this by now, but this site lists a few serial numbers: https://fiddlebase.jimdo.com/german-machines/gritzner/dating-gritzner/

    I can't find a serial number on the one I've inherited. Mine looks like a treadle that has been converted to a hand crank.

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    Replies
    1. Andrea F30 November 2017 at 19:42

      Thanks for the reference Julene! I hadn't seen that website before. I can't make out the serial number, so that won't get me any closer to a date. This machine lives in my garden, so any hope of deciphering the number I fear is long gone!

      Delete
  5. whatsapp plus apk26 August 2021 at 00:39

    Thank you for your informative article. sewing thread

    ReplyDelete

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