NEEDLE, SEWING MACHINE

Frister & Rossmann, Berlin, was founded in 1864 and made award winning sewing machines which were very popular in Australia. This one was purchased before the start of World War One and was originally used in Queensland by the Barrymore family before being brought to Western Australia some time after World War One. When the war began, businesses selling these sewing machines would remove all German related markings, although this did not prevent sales from plummeting as people avoided German made products. During the war Frister & Rossmann, like many other manufacturing business transformed their factories to manufactured weapons for the German army.
After the war the company returned to making sewing machines and in 1920 was once again exporting their machines around the world. The company was dissolved in 1929 and in 1945 the brand name was sold to a British company.