In Dec 1910 as an engagement present to his son, Monsieur Guillard was gifted this house. In Jan 1912 he married. On the 14th July 1914 The Great War Broke out and Monsieur Guillard was called to duty. The property was inherited from Madame Guillard in 1947 by her daughters.
Left behind in this house was a treadle operated sewing machine marked “La Prevoyante” – Foresight. It was covered in cobwebs. The wooden veneer was lifting and the wood was rusting.
In the drawer of this ancient treadle sewing machine was a small menthol pastel box used to hold needles. Inside that box was a black and white photo of a man we presume to be Monsieur Guillard. The pastels were dated 1904.
The lid of the sewing machine was old and dusty. The wood was dry and the inlay had started to lift. Some of the really intricate inlay had already been lost. With some light sanding, a bit of glue and some bees wax much of the old sheen was restored.
When we first saw the sewing machine, it was covered in mounds of rubbish. The room needed clearing. Luckily the vendor did a lot of the work but as you can imagine there was still plenty left for us.
