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The Original Automatic Pop Up Toaster
Just after World War I, Charles Perkins Strite in Stillwater, Minnesota invented the automatic pop up toaster. Soon after, Mr. Waters and Mr. Genter in Minneapolis acquired the patents and thus began the great American company, Toastmaster.
Early on, the toaster was produced and sold by the thousands for commercial use in hotels, hospitals, and commercial settings, including Childs restaurants.
The timing operates by a clockworks mechanism, the fabulous Murray Ireland clock which was built inside all Toastmasters, both commercial and domestic models, until 1940. Here is a peek at the toaster with the cover removed.
As best we can tell, this model is from the late 1920s. It looks like a beast, very strange with today's eyes. It has a window made of mica on each side, and on the back. This model operates on household current, but it was also sold in 206 and 220 Volt models.
The controls are located on the front with a separate push down lever for each pair of slices and an arm in the notched slot for setting the darkness. The large crumb tray pulls out from the front. In addition, there is a switch mounted on each side which turns off the outer panel of the outer slot on that side, for lower capacity operation.
This one has been disassembled, cleaned and restored to good working order. The aluminum body shows a few minor scars and some light pitting in a few places, but is otherwise in good condition. And, it makes pretty good toast.
For best results, we recommend preheating the toaster through one cycle before making the first batch of toast. (When a single slice version for domestic use made its debut in 1926, the instructions state that one should do the same.)
The Original Automatic Pop Up Toaster
110 Volts 2750 Watts
Waters-Genter Co. Minneapolis U.S.A.
Shipping weight 28 Lbs
$575
Purchase Information
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