Husqvarna originally was the arms factory to the Swedish Royal Family.

They opened their door in 1689 after King Charles XI ordered a factory to build muskets for the Swedish army.

The name Husqvarna comes from the position of the factory alongside the impressive Husqvarna falls where great salmon leap up in the spring floods.

For nearly 200 years, they produced mainly armaments but around 1872 with a drop in orders the Husqvarna factory switched some of its production to sewing machines.

Sewing machines were the "new thing."

Their first sewing machine was one of the most beautiful sewing machines ever made, the Northern Star. A simply stunning machine. Unfortunately, it did not sew as well as it looked and was soon updated.

The Northern Star is one of the most sought after sewing machines. Few people have seen a real one. I have even scoured Sweden looking in every shop I came across, no luck.

By 1880 Husqvarna, who use the more common name Viking (they are known quaintly in the trade as Huskies or Husky's) produced their first really big selling machine The Freja. This was pretty much identical to many of the German imports, which in turn based their machines on the best selling Singer transverse shuttle.

The Husqvarna machines were first imported into Britain by the American Sewing Machine Co who in fact were not American at all but simply imported mainly American machines. There were founded in 1863. Also E. Todd makers of the Champion of England imported the Freja model as early as 1886 and sold the to lager stores with their own decals on the front like Reed. Todd and the A.S.M.C. were somehow tied up together but I have yet to discover how.

Husqvarna Freja sewing machine circa 1890-1925

When the Freja model was sold by other stores all that was on the top  was Made in Sweden. Values on these rare machines are hard to say as there is a growing collectors market especially in Sweden. They can still sew better than many new machines today and look utterly beautiful in good condition.

Freja, spelt many ways such as Freyja or Freya is one of the Norse Goddess of great legend and even today she is one of the most popular Scandinavian names for girls, being the Goddess of fertility.

By the 1950’s there were over 100,000 machines a year pouring out of the factory.

I once came across a Husky that had been dropped of a school table and thoroughly abused. Across the machine was scratched, I hate Dave! The machine still made a superb stitch.

Husqvarna still pride themselves on quality and make a superb range of machines.

Husqvarna also produce a wide range of domestic goods from fridges and microwaves to chainsaws as well as their world-renowned motorcycles. Around 50 years ago Husqvarna were already producing space age looking microwaves.

The only way to travel in 1899

In America Husqvarna has joined forces with White to promote an excellent range of machines.

However with all its faults give me the Northern Star any day.

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