No picture....
Some were toys...in that they really didn't sew....others were both....most toys also serve as learning tools. think about it....how did you first learn how to steer a wheeled vehicle?
Linda C

Hey Linda. Of course your right ,to a point. These goodies are so well made,it's hard to se them as just toys.Most old toys (not cast iron) are made from stamped out junk.This is the kind of stuff that keeps us all looking and fascinated(well me anyway). Thank you.
john

Being a man and never having had a doll I can only comment based upon my observations, but I fail to see how one could make a distinction as to whether a doll is a toy or a learning tool. I think it would be more proper to say that dolls basically fall into two categories, Collectibles, which little girls dare not touch, or Educational toys, which not only serve as girls companions, but they serve to teach young girls the arts of motherhood, childcare and housekeeping.

I remember when the Barbie dolls first came out my sister was 9yrs old and we couldn't afford all those cute little Barbie outfits so my sister would go to our church every Monday after school and get the wide satin ribbons off the altar flower baskets from the janitor, then she would come home and sew the most elaborate satin gowns for her Barbie.

When she was 10 she got a lifesize infant doll for xmass and my Grandad made a cradle for it, then he made a high chair, and mother found a little girls table & chairs at a tag sale. For the next two or three years she was constantly feeding that baby, bottles at first, then when she got a little set of dishes it was tea parties and more formal dining at her little table, or she would haul mothers old stroller out of the closet and push that baby around indoors & out for hours on end, and when she wasn't fussing with that baby she was begging scraps of cloth from mother to make clothes for it.

Maybe someone can enlighten me but in my opinion all dolls are either nic nac shelf collectibes or learning tools.

Your pic

Those look pretty serious. And heavy. It seems possible that they are specialty machines and not toys (the Sew-o-Matic Senior looks like a toy though).

Do they take the same needle as a proper sewing machine?

And what does the rest of that horse look like? :)

Toys vs learning tool for kids is of course subjective, but if these are for girls, they would be more toys than learning tools. You'd probably learn to sew on your mother's big machine. All I learned from my fully functional toy sewing machine is that I needed a real machine if I wanted to sew.

But if you mean learning tools for adults...well...I still think they'd be stuck on a real machine.

Fori.Yes that one is probably a toy.Thanks for the thoughts.Come to think of it,maybe I should put the horse up on the site.I seem to have problems up-loading to this site. Also it seems to freeze my computer up. Anyone know if this is just my problem.
john

They all were meant as toys. Notice they are all hand cranked making it impossible to do more then stitch by stitch. no belts and no possibility for the machine to "run away".
Also none but the maroon one in the upper right appears to have a bobbin thread, and without a bobbin you are not seriously sewing as one quick pull of the thread unstitches everything.
They are all toys, but for possibly the maroon one. Notice the seam guide which can be adjusted and the large area to support the fabric being sewn.
Linda C

Hi Lindac. I guess that in the big picture you are right.It's just that most non-cast iron toys weren't meant to survive.These seem tougher than just toys.Thank you
john

I've been having issues with Photobucket since some update a few years ago. Picasa works well for me and is worth a try if you don't mind giving more business to your Google overlords.

Thanks for the tip
john

Pre WW II....there were lots of metal, but not cast iron toys that would have survived if they had not been tossed out.
I had an iron that plugged in and got pretty warm and a small metal ironing board, a metal doll house which I have seen on ebay, sand pail and shovel, small wheel barrow and all manner of wind up toys,a monkey that banged the cymbals, a train that went round and round and through a tunnel etc etc.
Linda c

The machine in the upper right (if it has a bobbin) may have been used for sewing small things, like cuffs and collars or baby clothes, attaching braid decorations, where stitch by stitch is not a problem.

The rest are toys. They could be used for doll clothes, but as Linda said, one yank and the whole seam came undone because they were chain stitch.

I had one, hated it, gave it to a cousin.

Hi all. OK there toys.The reason that clock-work toys are high prices is because they fell apart with use.Some of these guys you could hammer nails in with( no I won't try that).Sinks,fridges,irons,ah you girls knew how to play. OK just kidding
john

A Singer No.30, 7 in. child's sewing machine- electric is valued at $138 in good shape in Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles 2010 price guide. Singer Sew-O-Matic Junior, cream & red paint, hand crank 5 1/2x6 1/2 in. $35 in 2010. Child's Singer 6 in. Very Good condition $110. in 2010 both listed in Schroeder's Antique Price guide & of course different areas of country get different prices & condition is everything unless someone is willing to buy less than good to complete a collection or they are uninformed. Check sites for antique sewing machines - children's or under children's toys-sewing machines.

Hi Sunnyca.Wow ,thank you.While I'm only into collecting,it's always nice to see $$ signs.Value out of guides is always "that says maybe" kind of thing.On forums,you get laughed at,praised'et al.But facts do come out.
john

So wonder how the "forums" people come up with prices. I live in the L.A. area & every shop I've ever been in has price guides behind the counters. Nobody is so smart that they know what every item is worth. But on the other hand it is a ball park figure & varies by area you live in & wealth of people in area. You take a depressed area with 3 houses per block for sale, don't expect to get much for your red glass collection. Same area 10 yrs ago you could have sold it for small fortune. But you know whether it is worth keeping around by seeing a price guide or checking it out on Internet. A little spice cabinet is something I passed up number of times, then I found out some are very valuable so now I will at least look at them. Also more fun to read about antiques than to waste time watching junk on TV. There are a few dealers that I've run into that didn't seem to know what anything was worth,they overpriced or under priced, probably according to how well they liked the item. 1 lady had the worst quilts, poor stitching, faded, stained but apparently her prized possessions as all were priced way over $100. She had a very junky store & I loved to go there as she under-priced a lot of neat things. All of those shops have gone now ,because of recession, old age of owners, health problems, raised rent,etc. Internet has taken it's toll on many shops along East Coast too, I understand. Have fun & enjoy your treasures!

Hey.Sunny.You just about nailed it. All those "guides" would burn down ebay in an eye blink. I will dig my stuff. And when the time comes ,I'll sell cheap to people who dig the toy for themselfs. And if I sniff that a person is buying on "spec" (to re-sell),well that person will get a different price. Thanks for your input
john

Those are well made toys except maybe for the upper right one. It may have a bobbin and uses an upper and lower thread. I remember seeing a few of these ca 1942 and wishing I had one. A few were marketed as "can be used for minor repair and sewing on buttons". Most used single sided thread with chain stitch, the same as found on animal feed sacks. Those were right sized for making doll clothes.

Hi J.D..I guess that they were made well,with the thought of the toy being passed on to the next in line. Thank you
john