About us
About HeirloomID
An independent reference that helps people find out what their old sewing machine is: when it was made, where, and which model.
Most old Singers arrive with a story attached: a grandmother’s machine, a find at a house sale. We help you add the facts to the story.
Principles
What we hold ourselves to
Sourced
Every date and specification links back to the research it came from, led by ISMACS.
Honest about uncertainty
Where records are missing or sources disagree, we say so, on the page and in every result.
Free and private
The lookup runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us.
Built for owners
Plain language, real examples, and the next step on every page: date it, identify it, care for it.
Why Singer first
The machine most people inherit
Singer is the machine most people inherit or find, and its serial records survive better than most. Its own allotment ledgers, transcribed by collectors, let us date a machine to the year and often the month its number was issued.
We started there, and plan to add other makers and other heirloom tools over time.
Independence
No connection with Singer
HeirloomID has no connection with The Singer Company. Singer and model names are used only to identify the machines described. We don’t sell machines or parts.