Electric Toasters Made in the U.S.A.
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Westinghouse Turnover ToasterAbout a hundred years ago, when electricity in the home was replacing gas light, Westinghouse deployed a batllion of ladies as home demonstrators to households recently wired with electric service. Their job was to show the housewife the marvels of making electric toast and those of an electric iron.The one is an earlier model because it sports a name badge citing the Copeman Patents. (See my links page to learn more about the Copeman patents.) This one is still in good shape and makes good toast. It comes with a detachable cord set. Turnover Toaster
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Canadian Westinghouse Turnover ToasterAbout a hundred years ago, when electricity in the home was replacing gas light, Westinghouse deployed a batllion of ladies as home demonstrators to households recently wired with electric service. Their job was to show the housewife the marvels of making electric toast and those of an electric iron.The one is an earlier model made in Canada because it sports a name badge citing the Copeman Patents. (See my links page to learn more about the Copeman patents.) This one is still in good shape and makes good toast. It comes with a detachable cord set. Turnover Toaster
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Universal Toaster with Swinging CagesThis is one of my favorite toasters because of the elegant mechanism that allows you to turn each cage to toast two sides of the slice without handling the bread. Load in some bread, toast one side, then turn the cage to toast the other side. Cages measure 4.25 inches square and just shy of an inch wide.The construction is nickel over brass and steel. The base is weighted and the sides are fitted with turned wood handles. An early 1920s catalog page shows it with the earlier model with a rack on the top. And, I've found it an ad in the Saturday Evening Post from 1929 so it was sold for quite a few years. This one is in very good condition. It is clean and working and comes with a detachable cord set. Universal Toaster with Swinging Cages
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Early Universal ToasterThe manufacturer Landers, Frary & Clark had been in business since 1865 making metal goods. When electricity became available, this company was very well positioned for the transition by offering what they called "Electrical Servants" sold under the Universal brand.I clipped a little piece from an early promotional piece which is just a scream! I believe this toaster to have been produced about 1914. It is a fairly rudimentary affair with a spring loaded door on each side of a central heating element in three horizontal ranks covered with vertical guard wires. It sports a brass name badge mounted on the base. This toaster is one of the earliest from this company which went on to make scores and scores of wonderful toasters over the years. This glorious company went out of business and was bought by General Electric in 1965. And yes, it comes with a detachable cord set and it will still make toast. Early Universal Toaster
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The First American Electric ToasterGeneral Electric introduced their first electric toaster in 1909, the year that Marconi won a Nobel Prize for his wireless, Henry Ford was getting going with his Model T, first class postage was two cents, and William Taft was president. Shine on Harvest Moon was a popular tune of the day.This first model was a breakthrough, to make toast without fire. It has a high cage on each side of the central heating elements. One just plugs in the cord set to the side of the toaster, then inserts a slice of bread in either cage. When the first side is toasted, remove the slice to turn to the opposite side. Miracolo! Toast without a fire. Contemporary with the invention of the electric toaster was the mechanical marvel of the typewriter without which you'd be writing with a quill. That was more than a hundred years ago. Later models lowered the outer rail, making toast removal possible without burning fingers on the hot steel cage. (See bottom of this page.) This toaster still works, but it is a collector piece really. There is a signature on the bottom which is molded into the base. It is in excellent condition with two small flaws in the porcelain. It comes with a detachable cord set as shown. The First American Electric ToasterSOLD |
The First General Electric ToasterThis toaster is a later version of the toaster above.Even though this toaster still works it is in poor condition because it has one foot broken off and one finger of mica is damaged at the top so the coiled wire is irregular. It comes with a detachable cord set. The First General Electric Toaster$95 |