Hubby went to an auction without  me a bit ago.  That’s always dangerous….he doesn’t have my “good reasoning” to talk himself out of buying things (just teasing).  Anyway he came home with this….
He gave me the tags stating the prices when he got home but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Â Then the other day I was doing the book work, I picked up the tags. Â I was reading through them and saw that they called this a sewing table.
The table is super cute. Â It’s made of nice wood and folds up super easily and is so handy.
I have one in my sewing room that I use all the time. Â Here it is in use right now…see?
It’s not quite as tall as a regular table, but that’s nice for sewing.
Does anyone know why they call them a “sewing table”? Â Does anyone know a good price to sell these at? Â I did look on Ebay and they are listed anywhere from $60 to $600. Â Ebay isn’t always a good judge on how much things are worth and this time, they certainly aren’t.
We have another one that Hubby already refinished and we have it in our stash of things that we are taking to Clear Lake for the antique show on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend…but then I talked to Hubby and told him maybe I should take them with me to the retreat. Â I have plans to set up a booth of vintage things for sale that attendees might be interested in.
So readers….can you help on pricing this or telling me any history as to why they are called sewing tables? Â A couple comments mentioned that the readers thought the table was square. Â It is not. Â It is rectangle.
It looks like a bridge table/card table. They are usually lower than a regular table height. Have no idea why it would be a sewing table. Is there a manufacturers name on the bottom? Good luck with your retreat and Labor Day Dale.
I agree with Dotti; the square shape makes it look more like a card table. My sewing table had the same leg construction but was more rectangular and it had measurements marked along the front edge.
Tables like yours were used for card games for Sunday night gatherings at our church. Solo, euchre and 500 for the adults and as a child, I played Euchre. They were set up and taken down and put in a storage area, along with the memorable wooden folding chairs. It’s all been replaced with metal and plastic now but the same cards games of our ancestors are still played today!
I bought one a few years back at a flee market. I just figured it was because of the measurements on one of the long sides. They are cute little tables.
Maybe it was used as a cutting table ? Being that it’s a bit shorter than a kitchen table it would be the perfect size for a cutting mat and rotary cutting of quilts. That’s definitely what I would use it for.
Since this table is rectangle I would use it for sewing. At our retreats there are tables for sale and they get $60, they are also rectangle. The tables are really handy for retreats and forming a U shape.
Okay, here’s a guess. There are fold-up “card” tables that are square and pretty flimsy and lightweight, since all they are meant to do is hold cards. Card tables are square so that each player is sitting equidistant from each other, and close and equidistant from a center pile. Maybe they called these “sewing” tables because they are definitely sturdier than card tables (meant to hold the weight of a heavier sewing machine)–and rectangular instead of square, which is the best shape for a sewing machine plus project. Maybe these were made about the time machines were made portable and able to stow away in a closet, but the machines were too heavy for regular card tables, which might collapse under the weight. So you had to distinguish if you bought/sold a portable table: lightweight square card table or sturdy rectangular sewing table? Perhaps there were a lot of collapsing card tables when people tried to use them for sewing? Ouch!
The lettering on the bottom is from a church. Any chance you could call the church and talk to someone who has been around a while to find out some info about the table?
Any other writing on the table to help you out? Like a manufacturer’s name?
I think Lisa hit the nail on the head. It’s about the shape and sturdiness. I have no idea on price however. Good luck!
I have a sewing table that is for my Featherweight….on mine, there is a piece that can be taken out and the sewing machine sits down in the hole…so when you sew, the bed of the sewing machine is even with the table top….When not being used for sewing the piece can be inserted back into the table….. Mine has metal legs, and it does fold up like a card table..I love it!!
It looks very similar to the vintage “Paris tables”, called that because they were made by the Paris Manufacturing Company. The legs fold the same way, but the leg-locking mechanism is different on yours. I have a Paris table, which has a tape measure embossed into the wood. But it’s at our mountain house, so I can’t look closely at it today. Here’s a link to a site with several photos of a Paris table.
https://www.ebth.com/items/2260557-vintage-paris-mfg-co-folding-sewing-table
They’re fairly collectible, although this one didn’t sell for much.
I have several tables that are similar to this one. My tables are not as wide as yours. I know mine are sewing tables because they have measurements on the front. It’s like having a yardstick as part of the table. I’m not sure just because it has collapsible legs that it’s a sewing table. Mine sounds like what Dot has.
If you look on a site for the Singer featherweight you will find this kind of table, some have a lower space for the machine and some are just a flat table top, might also find a good starting price for the table, considering condition.
Paris sewing table
I have seen them on line only some have small wheels so that may make for a difference in height also as to table height when you put a vintage sewing machine on a kitchen table it’s too high so lower seems right
I think the Paris manufacturer made and marketed them as sewing tables with a built in measuring marked
Since it is rectangular, I would call it a sewing table. Some are narrower than yours and have a “yardstick” printed along one edge. These tables are lower so that a portable sewing machine can sit on them and your arms will be at a more comfortable angle, vs on a higher kitchen table. My grandmother had several featherweight sewing machines and these type of tables. Set them up in her living room for 4-H girls to come to sew their projects. Back “in the day” most homes didn’t accommodate a sewing room so the folding tables and machines came out when there was time to sew.