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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. |
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The Straco Toy Company & Little Betty Sewing Machines LB Little was known about Straco until recently but hold the press I have 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 models. The Straco Toy Sewing Machine Company made some wonderful toy sewing machines. Their best selling model was the Little Betty available in many shapes and colours. They made toy sewing machines for several decades starting from around the Second World War era.
We do know that many were made in England for several years. Straco later also imported some Japanese 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. 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 their 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. Further information Kindly
supplied by Len Soyka in 2006. The
original sewing machines from their range were made in
The British Little Betty toy factory, run by E. M. Gheysens Ltd, 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.
Note the earlier models were all metal including the hand wheel but the later ones had plastic hand wheels.
At some period E M Gheysens went into partnership with F Struass and Straco was born. The partnership must have lasted quite some time as even the last toys were still marked with the E M Gheysens label. E M Gheysens retired to Nice, France where he died in 1963. All early Straco Little Betty models came with instructions in no less than 6 languages!
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 to try and keep the price down.
There was also the Jet-Sew-O-Matic with a square
base.
A
machine appeared on the market around this time called the Comet Sewing
Machine. It bears a huge similarity to the Little Betty W7 but is named
Comet EMG. Also made in England we can guess that EMG was the initials
of
Fred
Soyka, and his son Leonard Soyka bought the 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 is now in his early 90's and resides in
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 and made in Japan. There is no doubting the popularity of these sweet little toys that turn up in many guises.All Little Betty machines were sold as Practical, educational and dependable. Finally the Little Betty machines were simply marked LB.
One of the last Little Betty machines called 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 big problem with all of these sweet little toy is that they do not sew that well. In fact it is hard work which is probably why so many ended up in the loft or some dusty cupboard.
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. 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 little fairy that used to sit on the factory owner’s sewing machines while he pottered away making his first models. One cold winters day the window blew shut with a load bang! She was so shocked she flew away. Although he often thought he caught a glimpse of her peeping around dusty corners in his workshop she never came home. He named many of his favourite sewing machines after her so as never to forget his little helper. Hey it is only a story!
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. Producing just a simple chainstitch. The machines were prone to damage and many a girl who wanted makeup, jewellery and clothes had a disappointing present. 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. The last Straco sewing machine machine circa 1971.
And to the last of an era... The rare Disney Snow White/Little Betty
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. Why not buy one of your childhood memories back! Except for the very early tin-plate war models Little Betty sewing machines are still available at excellent prices and what a superb talking-point and display they make. Just don't try and sew curtains on them!.
The End A brief history of Straco and Little Betty sewing machines. I hope you have found this page helpful it took me several months of research. Do let me know: alexsussex@aol.com
Fancy a funny read: Ena Wilf & The One-Armed Machinist Or a brilliant slice of 1940's life:
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