The White Family Rotary or White FR, later White Rotary or White Rotary Electric, was the first rotary hooksewing machine produced by the White Sewing Machine Company, introduced circa 1900.[1] It joined the successful White Vibrating Shuttle on White's expanding product line and eventually eclipsed it. It was originally sold as a treadle with cabinet or as a hand-crank with carrying case. Later, add-on electric motors with foot or knee control were available pre-installed or as a field upgrade. Typical cost for this machine as a treadle with a cabinet was US$65 in 1909,[2] which is about US$1532 adjusted.
The White Rotary was sold under multiple brands, including Domestic, Franklin, and Kenmore.[3][4] A White Rotary Electric Series 77 machine was placed in the Crypt of Civilization.[4][note 1][5]
White reused the White Rotary name in the 1950s and 1960s, applying it to a machine manufactured by Juki (White model #659).[6] This machine had a rotary-driven thread takeup instead of the more common takeup lever. The Rotary name was later used again on a stretch stitch-capable sewing machine.[7]
Notes
^A photo of the machine inside Crypt of Civilization can be seen here.
