Sewing Machines - Old And New (1960)

M/Ss of a young woman in Victorian costume sitting in a room with Victorian decor, sewing some embroidery by hand; on a table to the right is a hand-operated sewing machine. C/U of the embroidery as she sews; M/S as she sits and sews, then puts her work to one side and starts to sew a piece of fabric on the machine. Commentator says "In 1835 this hand-operated machine was the last word in modern design". High angle M/S then C/U of her sewing on the machine, her hand guiding the fabric through and the other hand turning the handle. C/U of a smaller sewing machine; a man's hand comes into shot to start spinning a small wheel to operate it; M/Ss and C/Us as he picks up the machine from a display table to show it to a girl in modern dress. C/Us of another machine, 'Prima Donna', made of cast iron with a circular work table. M/S of the man and girl as they move along the table to the next machine, a portable machine weighing only 4lbs "for running repairs" that was popular in the 1890s; C/Us as he demonstrates the working parts to the girl and places it back in a box. This collection is based in Kensington, London. M/S of two girls sitting at tables operating electric sewing machines; C/Us of one of the girls (the Victorian girl, now in modern dress) sewing fabric with an embroidery hoop over it; her hands guiding the fabric as she embroiders the name 'Paula' on it, then removes it from the machine and puts it down on a work box to the left. C/U of the other girl (big bouffant hair) as she guides some blue fabric (a dress or apron?) through a machine; C/Us of the machine and extreme C/U of needle area as we see this automatic machine sewing a button onto a waistband. M/S of the girl replacing the fabric with a piece of blue felt with an appliqué poodle on it; C/U as she guides the fabric; the machine is stitching with two different coloured threads at once as she sews a lead for the poodle. M/S of bouffant girl at the machine as another girl enters shot modelling a matador cape that has been made and extravagantly embroidered with flowers using a sewing machine. C/U of the cape. Note: more details on file on the machines from Baron Moss PR Ltd. FILM ID:105.08 FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/