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Alex has spent a lifetime in the sewing industry and is considered one of the foremost experts of pioneering machines and their inventors. He has written extensively for trade magazines, radio, television, books and publications world wide. All Alex's books are now on Amazon
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The Straco Toy Company Little Betty Sewing Machines LB Little was known about Little Betty sewing machines and Straco on the Internet which was strange for such a popular toy sewing machine so I started digging and a short 10 years later I have compiled lots of new news...
Before I start I must say, to my knowledge, not one single collector in
the world has a complete set of Straco/
Only EMG/Straco, originally run by
The Snow White Sewing Machine
Little Betty sewing machines are possibly the best selling British toy
sewing machines of all time, during their long production they kept
their prices to a minimum meaning that a child's first sewing machine in
Britain was often a little Betty or one of the Straco/
We know that many EMG machines were made in England for several years and many more imported, I shall go into a little detail later on. The Straco Toy Sewing Machine Company that later combined with Little Betty/EMG made some wonderful toy sewing machines. Their best selling British model was available in many shapes and colours. Straco later also imported some Japanese, German and Chinese toy sewing machines and for a short while during the late 1940’s and 50’s were involved with giant German Casige Sewing Machine Company, importing some of their models and selling them once again under the Little Betty name. The name Casige, pronounced Kaseege, was one of the great German toy makers. The company name comes from a mixture of letters of the founder of the company, Carl Sieper( Carl Sieper evenbroich) and his hometown of Gevelsberg, Westfalen in Germany. After WWII the Casige plant lay in the Western part of occupied Germany and produced machines for Straco for a short period. The similarities between the two company’s machines were obvious and no effort was made to hide Casige’s manufacture for Straco.
EMG
The plant made small numbers of basic pressed steel toy sewing machines right up until the outbreak of World War Two when rationing took hold and toy production came to a halt. I am not sure what the factory produced during WW2 but I will hopefully find out.
During WWII
Straco
Straco was an American company started by Mr Fred J Strauss. Straco was
the trademark of the company Stra-uss
Company.
The company started importing toys and games in the early 40's.
Some of the
original Straco sewing machines
were made in
The British Little Betty toy factory was run by E. M. Gheysens and his son. It was in Lorne Road, Dover, Kent, England. Being a major port this was the perfect place to ship the Little Betty machines all over the world. Little Betty Model W2
Note the earlier models were all metal including the hand wheel but the later ones had plastic hand wheels.
E M Gheysens (EMG) were in partnership with Straco during the 1950's. The partnership must have been successful as even the last toys were still marked with the E M Gheysens label. E M Gheysens eventually retired to Nice, France where he died in 1963. His wife continued to live there.
Little Betty Sewing Machine W3/03 1950's A Singer 12k needles works perfectly in the earlier models I have a few in stock: alexsussex@aol.com
The sewing machine moulds were later moved to Japan, and finally new moulds and machines were made in Hong Kong
There was also the Jet-Sew-O-Matic senior and
junior with a square
base.
A
machine appeared on the market around this time called the Comet Sewing
Machine (and the Super Comet). It bears a huge similarity to the Little Betty W7 but is named
Comet EMG. Also made in England we can guess that once again EMG was the initials
of
Fred
Soyka, and his son Leonard Soyka bought the Straco
company from the two other
partners in the early 1970's and the company was run successfully
through the early 1990's when it was sold again, and then ceased to
exist. Mr Fred Soyka retired to
The machines went from metal to plastic. This one was a bit of each, top plastic bottom metal, just like mothers.
As I write his son Leonard Soyka is still active in the toy industry. Len owns a
company in
The Straco Electro-Matic and the Straco Super Jet-O-Matic made in the early 1960's were both battery powered, one made in Japan and another Germany.
There is no doubting the popularity of these sweet little toys that turn up in many guises. All Straco and Little Betty machines were sold as Practical, educational and dependable. The Little Betty machines were simply marked LB. Straco peaked in the 1950's and even commissioned a television advert, filmed by a local Kent company. The TV advert was 30 seconds long but I have never found out if it was ever shown.
The Midinette! It was possible made by the French manufacturers of the 1960's,Ma Cousette range, as the similarities are startling. It used a battery pack and even had a foot control. The Little Betty Debutante and Midinette were sold through the Windfield arm of Woolworths
The Royale
The big problem with all of these sweet little toys is that they do not sew well. In fact it is hard work which is probably why so many ended up in the loft or some dusty cupboard. The instructions did include how to repair the hook but for most youngsters that was pretty much impossible. The Little betty Midinette came is three colours
The Little Betty, Straco’s most enduring machine was often referred to simply as model W1/01, W2/02, 3 or 4 up to 20 and some with letters after like the W4D. There were no more than 20 different models that I am aware of at this time but you never know more may turn up!
Now her proper name is much more fun!
The story goes that Little Betty was a sweet but highly strung little fairy that used to sit on the factory owner’s sewing machines while he pottered away making his first models. She would often fly into the forest and pick berries for his supper. This inspired him to put little pictures of her collecting berries on his sewing machines. One cold winters day the window suddenly blew shut with such a load bang that, startled, she flew away. Although he often thought he caught a glimpse of her peeping around dusty corners in his workshop she never came home and never again picked him berries for his supper. He named many of his favourite sewing machines after her so as never to forget his little helper. It was probably a little story for the kids so that they would look out for the fairy on Straco machines!
Why new toy sewing machines don't sell well today! Of course the biggest problem with toy sewing machines, especially the thin-tin and plastic ones is that they do not sew very well unless you are really careful and most only produce a simple chain stitch. The machines were prone to damage and many a child who wanted to make clothes had a disappointing present. The factory
in Old toy sewing machines today are collected by enthusiasts around the world much more for nostalgia and display rather than use.
The Little Betty Royale sewing machine.
The Little Betty Debutante. Almost the last Straco sewing machine machine circa 1971.
And to the last of an era... The rare Disney Snow White/Little Betty W4D
Values Values of the early tin-plate Little Betty, Straco sewing machines are rising fast so grab one if you can! Ebay has opened up a whole new world for collectors and whereas you may have had to search for months, if not years, now you can pick and choose at your leisure. Small toy sewing machines make a great talking point and a fabulous display on a shelf or lit display cabinet. Except for the very early tin-plate war models Little Betty sewing machines are still available at excellent prices and what a superb display they make. Just don't try and sew curtains on them!
. The End A brief history of Straco and Little Betty sewing machines.
Fancy a great read: All Alex's books are now on Amazon Sample story for fun Ena Wilf & The One-Armed Machinist Or a brilliant slice of 1940's life:
Books by Alex Askaroff: Books
I hope you have found this page helpful it took me several years of research. Do let me know if you liked it: alexsussex@aol.com
Hi Alex,
Hello Alex
Ii found your article on little betty child's sewing machines fascinating, its great to see the history laid
out like that.
Cheers tony
Hi Alex, My father and I have just read your article on E M Gheysons sewing machine. Father is now 88 years old and ran the company from 1947 to 1973. If you require any added information we would be pleased to help. I can assure you dad has a very sound mind and is as sharp as a button, we still live in Dover. Many thanks for your article we really enjoyed it, Kind Regards, Kieron Jaynes. Some of this information was kindly supplied by Len Soyka in 2006. Thanks Len.
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