Posted on 03/31/2009 7:00:02 AM PDT by Daffynition
NO wedding list would be complete without an electric toaster…
The cleverest little kitchen gadget since – well, long before sliced bread surprisingly – celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
When Frank Shailor, a technician with General Electric, dreamed up his D12 toaster in 1909, it was 20 years before there was such a thing as a sliced loaf.
He invented it so people could still eat bread that was going stale and it was an overnight success. Bits of bread were simply wedged inside the exposed “wire fence”.
Unfortunately, this would prove quite hazardous because the bread had to be turned by hand to make sure both sides were toasted.
After a decade of people getting their fingers burnt came the first covered, pop-up toaster in 1919.
This led to the world’s first automatic electric toaster, the Toastmaster, in 1926.
When Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a machine to slice bread in 1928, no home could be without a toaster.
The gadget has been through so many incarnations, there is a museum in Kettwig, Germany, with almost every toaster ever made, including the willow-patterned Pan Electric Toastrite and the modernist 1930s Saluta revolving toaster in nickel-plated steel and red Bakelite.
A spokesman for breadmakers Kingsmill said: “Bread has been a staple part of our diet for 6,000 years, but toasting is relatively new and it’s interesting that the process hasn’t changed that much in 100 years.
“The 1926 Toastmaster looks pretty similar to the toasters we have in our kitchens today.”
What a beautiful, graceful, functional object she is. They really don’t make things like this anymore. They are all “modern” and would look right at home on a space ship. I have a 1948 Sunbeam Radiant Control that was handed down, is still working, and still has the original cord. It makes wonderful toast.
I’m lucky to get a year out of an electric coffee maker...
He’s a real hoot! He’s on the Bob and Tom show quite a bit. I was hoping he would be on the Comedy Tour down here in West Palm Beach, but no such luck. I’m sure we’ll still have a blast, though.
The Toaster - 7 m x 4,5 m - done out of 3.053 slices of toasted bread
Sunbeam model T-20 automatic toaster
Beautiful chrome body with incised deco design and bakelite base. It's automatic beyond belief! No levers to push -- no popping or banging. Just drop in the bread and the Sunbeam turns on the current and lowers the bread silently. When perfectly toasted, the current turns off and the toast comes up silently.
With "Radiant Control", the toasting is always the same no matter what kind of bread you use. The heat radiated from the surface of the bread activates the exclusive thermostat. That's why you always get the same uniform golden toast you want whether the slices or moist or dry, cold or warm, thick or thin.
Very popular as wedding gifts when it debuted in 1949. Slots are a little wider than usual. Cleaned and adjusted and in very good condition.
Sunbeam Corporation
Chicago U.S.A. Toronto, Canada.
110-120 Volts 1275 Watts
$198
This model was in introduced in 1947, built to last, signed and serial numbered, and used continuously for ten or twenty or fifty years by American families. Think of all those GIs, home from the war, marrying their sweethearts and starting families. It was very popular as a wedding gift, and at $23.50, it wasn't cheap.
Toasters were marketed not only for breakfast, but also for entertaining -- a toast party to watch CBS Playhouse on TV.
But, when the Toast-R-Oven hit the market, most of these "old fashioned" Toastmasters were stored away in the attic or basement, still in working order. (And greasy and full of crumbs, I might add.)
The original advertising features the Superflex toast timer which compensates for a wide range of voltage variations automatically; the bakelite "Easy-Lift" handles are large, smooth and curved to fit the finger tips, always cool to the touch; and, the Pop-open with hinged door on the bottom makes for easy crumb removal and cleaning.
The heavy steel case is plated in highly polished chromium. The fittings are bakelite. The control knob allows a range from light to dark.
This toaster has been disassembled, cleaned, repaired if necessary, reassembled and tested. It is ready to do just one thing.... make toast. It is in good condition with only minor cosmetic flaws -- a Toaster Central "best value".
Toastmaster Products Division
McGraw Electric Company, Elgin, Illinois.
$98
smoke and mirrors
Oh, my gosh! I love and collect Blue Willow! How old is that, do you know?
Chickens and Toast, please
WHITE toast.
Isn't it great!
Blue Willow is one of my faves. I started using it recently for my everyday dishes.
After my last toaster, which was made in China, stopped working two years after I bought it, I was in the market for a new one. Unfortunately, toasters aren’t made in this country anymore, and the only toaster on the market that is not made in China is an English model that costs almost as much as a computer. So once again, I had to settle for a damn Chicom toaster.
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