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Electric Toasters Made in the U.S.A. during the depression years: 1930s

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1936 Toastmaster Automatic Pop Up Toaster

"Over the Rainbow" topped the hit parade for 15 weeks the year Toastmaster came out with a toaster that would do Auntie Em proud. It has a chrome body with incised parallel lines that wrap around the corners and sits on a graceful bakelite base. The top of the toaster slopes toward the push-down lever side. A light/dark knob controls the clockwork timing mechanism. Cost in 1937 was $16.

Toastmaster Automatic Pop Up Toaster
McGraw Electric Company,
Toastmaster Products Div. MPLS MINN U.S.A.,
110 Volts 1100 Watts.

Shipping weight 9 Lbs.

$149

Purchase Information
The most beautiful toaster ever made in the U.S.A.

1934 Toastmaster Automatic Pop-up Toaster

"Cheek to Cheek" by Irving Berlin topped the charts and "42nd Street" was running on Broadway when Toastmaster produced this stunning architectural design with that could have been a Busby Berkeley set! It has a clockwork timer that ticks with settings from light to dark. Remove the bottom cover for crumb extraction.

I found an advertisement for Coca-Cola, encouraging the consumption of Coke for breakfast, and if you look closely behind the coke bottle, you'll see this toaster on the breakfast table.

We can also offer a hostess set for this model. (Priced separately.) It consists of a pressed wooden tray and crust trimmer, a pair of divided glass dishes for the spreads, and four glass serving dishes. Pretty darned nifty. In fact, is was suggested as a gift for Christmas in the 1835 Sunset magazine.

This one is in good condition, but shows use and wear. It's still my most beautiful, second-most popular toaster.

Produced July 1934 until June 1936
McGraw Electric Company
Water-Genters Div. Mpls, Minn. U.S.A.
120 Volts 1200 Watts

SOLD

Purchase Information


Sunbeam Silent Automatic Toaster, mid-1930s

You'd never know that this toaster arrived during the depression years. This statuesque, two-slice toaster is automatic but not pop-up. When the toast is done, the toasting panels turn off automatically. When you want your toast, simply raise the handle. It uses a bimetal timing mechanism rather than a clockworks hence the name "Silent Automatic."

It has been completedly disassembled, derusted, terminals cleaned, nuts and bolts replaced with stainless steel where necessary, the carriage mechanism lubricated, and the bimetal blades calibrated.

The beautiful chrome body with bakelite handles sits on an ornate bakelite base. It features a faceted glass jewel set in the front that glows orange when the toaster is in operation. It comes with a detachable cord set which plugs in at the center of the back.

The case on this one shows light scratching, consistent with being wiped down, and as is common with this model, the base has an inconsipicuous crack along a seam.

Sunbeam Silent Automatic Toaster
Chicago Flexible Shaft Company
Chicago U.S.A.
110-120 Volts 875 Watts

Shipping weight 10 Lbs.

$250

Purchase Information		 Perfect Anniversary Gift
One of the least common of the Sunbeams

Sunbeam Silent Automatic Toaster circa 1938

In between the T1 and more famous T9, this toaster was made for a short time only; I've seen it advertised in 1938. The distinctive faceted glass jewel set in the face of the toaster glows orange during the toasting cycle.

It is also a pre-pop-up model, so after the toasting cycle has ended automatically according to the light/dark setting, one raises the handle (signed Sunbeam) manually to lift the toast.

I've used this toaster and can attest that if you use a dense, dark whole wheat bread, you'll never have to put it through twice! This toaster is capable of producing lightly toasted fluffy white bread all the way to darkly toasted dense, whole wheat or multi-grain bread. Aside from a small chip, this one is in superb condition, with most sumptuous shoulders. It comes with a detachable cord set that plugs in the back.

Sunbeam Silent Automatic Toaster 1938

Shipping weight 10 Lbs.

$325

Purchase Information

Sunbeam model T-9 automatic pop-up

Peerless for design and quality, the T-9 has an incised design surrounding a glass jewel on the face of the toaster finished with bakelite handles and base. Controls for Light/Dark, as well as "Keeps Toast Warm" or "Pops Toast Up". It has a large, easy-to-open crumb door.

This model is in the permanent design collection of several museums. And, you can have one of your own, or give one as a special gift, clean as a whistle, working as it did originally when it was brand new. It has been fully refurbished and is in excellent condition. This is an especially good choice for customers looking for good value, a toaster not made in China, and an alternative to replacing a toaster every year or two.

Sunbeam Corporation
Chicago U.S.A. Toronto, Canada,
110-120 Volts 1100 Watts.

Shipping weight 10 Lbs.

$395

Purchase Information 		The Sunbeam T9 toaster is an example of American manufacturing at its zenith.

Robert in Toronto bought this toaster and wrote to say For the real toaster. I am sooooooo happy with it.

General Electric with expanding door hinge for toasting thick breads.

General Electric Expan-dor

Before World War II, General Electric introduced this attractive toaster with a special feature that allows for toasting of thick breads, bagels, and sandwiches as well as regular bread.

The hinge at the bottom of each door is made to expand for extra width. Pretty neat, huh?

This one is clean top to bottom with some signs of wear: a small spot spot on the base and another one on a door, and some on the inside of a door. It comes with a detachable cord set that plugs into one side. And, it makes pretty good toast.

The Expan-dor from General Electric
115 Volts 450 Watts
Bridgeport, Conn. Made in U.S.A. Ontario, Calif.

Shipping weight 6 Lbs.

SOLD

Purchase Information

1931 L & H Dropper from Milwaukee

Lindemann & Hoverson was a prominent manufacturer in Milwaukee, with a factory four blocks long on Cleveland Avenue with a thousand workers, iron and brass foundries, sheet metal shops, machine shops, research and chemical labs, a power plant, and loading docks for 30 rail cars at once. Albert Lindemann's insisted his factory be clean, well lighted, ventilated and safe, remarkable in the 1920s. He also served as president of the Milwaukee School Board and founder and administrator of the Milwaukee Trade School. Buy the book and you can read the fascinating history.

In 1931, when gas cost ten cents a gallon and the average price of a new home was less than seven thousand dollars, this toaster sold for $15, a handsome price. When it was advertised in 1931, it was billed as The Toaster That Almost Thinks. (Yeah, but can it play Jeopardy?) But, it earned the billing because it is automatic, well sort of.

First, on control panel you flip the On switch to let the toaster heat up for a minute; next adjust the setting for how dark; next raise the top cover, which also closes the flaps at the bottom of each slot.

Lastly, cock the lever to start the timing and drop in the bread. The lever operates a clockworks mechanism which eventually triggers the bottom flaps to open allowing the toast to fall down a chute on either side, and automatically!

I cannot recommend this one for anything but occassional use or as an art object, but it is in working order and will make good toast, but with a twist -- the center panel runs hot, so you have to take the slices out and reverse them after ninety seconds. This one shows a touch of corrosion and some scratching. It comes with a detachable cord set.

1931 L & H Dropper
Lindemann and Hoverson
Milwaukee, Wisc. U.S.A.

Shipping weight 12 Lbs.

$400

Purchase Information 		Lindemann and Hoverson on Cleveland Avenue in Milwaukee
Thomas A. Edison got his name all over this toaster.

The Edicraft Speed Toaster

For Christmas 1929, Toastmaster led the electric automatic toaster market with it's toaster but it toasted only one slice at a time. So, it's no wonder that this toaster was billed as 'double slice, double side, double quick'. And, the notion of speed was modern and sleek and streamlined in 1929.

Indeed, this high-end toaster would toast both sides of two slices at once. It's a clamshell design, with heating panels mounted inside both doors. It has a clockworks timer on the control panel, with Thomas Edison's signature even.

It heats up as soon as you plug it into a wall receptacle and turn on the inline switch. Then one cocks a lever that winds a clock and also closes both doors. At the end, the doors open, but the current doesn't go off automatically. If you want a toaster for daily use, look for a Sunbeam or Toastmaster; this one is more of a collectible and curiosity.

It is in reasonably good condition and working. The main flaw is some plating loss alont the top of one door.

The toaster was heavily promoted, with Christmas ads in 1929 and 1930. It was pictured in a period booklet called Equipping The Modern Home from Lewis and Conger on 45th Street in New York, presumably to guide young brides on what to buy -- Baccarat glassware and this this Edison Speed Toaster. They even invented a character called Rita who scored a social coup and has nothing on her gift list but Edicraft electrical appliances.

Edicraft Speed Toaster
Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
Orange, N.J. Made in U.S.A.

Shipping weight 10 Lbs.

$425

Purchase Information

Cloud Toaster from GE


General Electric made a series of toasters in the 1930s and 1940s that look quite similar except for the design in the doors. They are simple, entirely manual, have no controls (except your nose and your attention.) And, they all featured a heavy steel body with chrome plating on the doors.

This one has what I call a cloud design in the doors It is clean and working and shows some wear with scratching and a scuff. It comes with a detachable cord set.

Cloud Toaster from General Electric
115 Volts 450 Watts
General Electric Co. Hotpoint
Bridgeport, Conn. Ontario, Calif. U.S.A.

Shipping weight 6 Lbs.

$145

Purchase Information		 General Electric with Cloud Design
Strong Geometric Design

1938 Manning-Bowman Toaster

Manning-Bowman & Company had huge factories in Meriden, Connecticut, craftsmen in metal since 1864. They produced this toaster with beautiful chromium plating in 1938 with a strong geometric design.

This one is in good condition, with some scratching on the door and some corrosion on the base. We've made a splice repair to the heating element and now the toaster makes good, crisp toast. It comes with a detachable cord set.

1938 Manning-Bowman Toaster
110-120 Volts 470 Watts
Manning-Bowman & Co.
Meriden, Conn. U.S.A.

Shipping weight 6 Lbs.

$110

Purchase Information

Home. . . 1920s. . . 1930s. . . 1940s & Later. . . Non electric. . . 220 Volt. . .
Waffle Irons. . . Corn Poppers. . . Fryers. . . Egg Cookers. . . Other. . .
Kitchen Props . . . Toast Racks. . . toasterNotes Cards. . .
Repair Service. . . Replacement Cord Sets. . . FAQ. . . Links. . .

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