UPDATE to search for Wheel Maker = see end of post.
OOPS ~ I did it again. That Rabbit Hole sure is a slippery slope!
Doesn’t there exist an adage about “no see, no want, no buy?” Surely more elegantly phrased, but you get the idea. My downfall was that I peeked. Saw it, went to visit, bought & brought it home. Given my last post, you’ll know this wheel has plenty company here at our house. It’s less than 24 hours, so I’m still decompressing from the thrill of discovery, and still becoming acquainted with her rosy loveliness. I know….I know….I said I was content with my flock of wheels. But that was then. You wouldn’t begrudge me just a wee bit more contentment, eh?
Newly adopted: Norwegian wheel.
Close up of flyer assembly & distaff pc. Chipped bobbin needs repair (do-able). Distaff may or not be original, but does show a band of un-faded matching color.
Mark under treadle. Appears penciled (I haven’t tested it) and impressed deeply enough to indent the wood. The smaller mark to left is harder for me to make out, tilting this way & that in the light…. Best guess with magnifying glass: MP (?)
There is just a wee bit of history for provenance. The seller was a spinner who’s owned it since purchasing in 1983 from a woman who’d gotten it at an antique store, and only kept the wheel for decoration. The spinner entered this wheel in the 2nd Antique Spinning Wheel Showcase, held nearby in Aurora, Oregon. The same event is now (2013) on its 31st showcase, so that was 29 years ago.
Provided with the wheel was a delightful surprise, the original brochure from the event. Although it’s not dated with the year, it does have “2nd Annual” on the cover of the tri-folded paper.
I’m going to post the photos on Ravelry, in the Antique Spinning Wheel group, to ask for help with possible identification.
And I’ve sworn (for the next few months anyway) NOT to peek where spinning-wheels-seeking-new-homes may lurk!
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UPDATE: A very clever member of the Ravelry group ~ who is also a member of my spinning guild~ provided the likely answer regarding the maker of this wheel. It appears to be nearly 100% identical to a wheel made by Alfred Andresen. See mention in the Spinning Wheel Sleuth #53, from 2006. http://www.spwhsl.com/iss_53/detail53.htm The photo is a twin to my own wheel. Virtually the only difference I can detect is a slight variation at the widest part of each wheel spoke.
Also found on a blog is this post ~with photos~ about her Alfred Andresen wheel, but it has a name boldly embossed in the wheel’s hub. Alas…mine does not.
Whimsical Ewe 
Jkjkgvnv@aol.com
Dana,
What a beautiful wheel. It will make a nice addition to your collection.
Thank you, JK! I oiled it well today – the leathers really soaked it in. Took it to a spinning friend’s shop gathering tonight, where several knowledgeable ladies helped tweak the drive band, tension knob, etc to finally get it spinning. At first it felt like a belligerent child pulling at the fiber, but persistant tweaking found the sweet spot and I was impressed how solid she feels. Spin very nicely. The flyer with it’s chipped bobbin have already gone home with an impressive wood-turner, for repair and replication. Gotta have a couple more bobbins. So this wheel is different from the others in my flock, having such a larger wheel and saxony shape, but I do like it quite well. I hope the sellers were well pleased to see it go home with an appreciative spinner as new owner.
Hello! I have the same wheel. 🙂 I inherrited it from my great grandmother. My great grandfather had it imported from Norway for her. The importing company is Alfred Andresen & Company, Minneapolis, MN. Perhaps your wheel was imported by someone else, or brought here by a Norwegian Immigrant? My wheel has the same markings on the bottom, but the number looks like 77. Might the letters be “No” for “Number”? Any way, it is a lovely wheel and I loved seeing your post. Especially since I didn’t know about the writing on the bottom of the treadle until I saw this. 🙂
Hello Patricia!
What fun to (belatedly, after long sabbatical) read your post. I LOVE my Andresen wheel, it spins so smooth “like buttah.”
The oh-so-knowledgeable Ravelry folk in the Antique Spinning Wheels group provided the identification and information about my wheel. The penciled mark “No.” does indeed represent “number.” If you aren’t already a member of Ravelry, it takes mere moments to sign on, rummage in the ASW group and look up still more discussion of Andresen wheels.
Go to the Antique Spinning Wheel group main page. Scroll to bottom where you’ll find a black line to enter “Alfred Andresen” in quotes (just like I did). Click (search this board) button and it will pull up muliple discussion threads for you.
Is your wheel also a double table Norwegian style? Because he did make Saxony style as well. And what color is yours? Somewhere in time mine got stained a sort of cherry finish, which is why I call her Rosy.
Happy researching!
Hello from the future, is your wheel marked? I have no 20, and it is unmarked. I wonder if they were numbered in order or randomly and I wonder when the markings started showing up.
Hello carlyjayne2014.
In the post, I’ve shown a photo of the penciled number found underneath the treadle. It seems to read “M P, 126.” Anybody have a guess? Could it be the number of an assembly line worker? I’ve read that Alfred Andresen imported spinning wheel parts for assembly and finishing once in the United States. For further research, have a peek into the Antique Spinning Wheel group on Ravelry.
https://www.ravelry.com/groups/antique-spinning-wheels
The collective knowledge therein is astounding. They have an entire thread just for Alfred Andresen wheels too. Likely any questions you ponder have been asked and answered there.