General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

CHROME PLATED PRESSED METAL BASE, HOUSING & PANELS/ WIRE ELEMENTS WRAPPED AROUND SHEET MICA CORES/ WIRE METAL GRILLS/ SYNTHETIC KNOBS ON SIDE PANELS

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

20.4 cm

Width

14.7 cm

Height

18.2 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Domestic Technology

Category

Food processing

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

General Electric

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Connecticut

City

Bridgeport

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Around the time of the production of this product, the majority of Canadian households had access to electricity. Between 1941-1951, the percentage of homes with electricity increased significantly, from 69.1% of homes, to 87.8%, with higher percentages in urban regions of the country (Ref. 1). As Canadians were introduced to the benefits of electricity in the kitchen, there was initially higher uptake of small electric appliances, such as toasters and irons, than the larger appliances. Between 1952-1960, the total number of toasters that were manufactured in Canada increased from 198,200 to 278,567 toasters total, or a total value of $1.2 million to $2.6 million (Ref.2). By 1931, 40% of homes across Canada owned a toaster (Ref. 1).

Function

To toast bread on one side at a time, metal doors open to hold toast, and are reopened to flip bread manually when toasting other side. Can toast up to two slices of bread at once.

Technical

The toaster is made of metal and geometric in form. Simple art deco styling is shown in the elegant geometric diamond patterning on the doors (Ref. 3). Wire is wrapped around mica sheets to create a heating element for the toast, an approach that is used in the design of toaster components to this day. This toaster features flip-down doors, a functional design choice that protects the user from coming in direct contact with a hot element. The toaster requires that the user attends to the appliance and turns the toast by hand to ensure even toasting on both sides. Due to human error however, this often led to burnt toast. This design flaw eventually led to the development of the pop-up toaster in 1919 (Ref.4)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

INCISED LETTEERS ON UNDERSIDE OF BASE READ: 'GENERAL GE [LOGO] ELECTRIC/ VOLTS 115 CAT. NO. 119T54/ WATTS 450/ GENERAL ELECTRIC CO./BRIDGEPORT, CONN. MADE IN U.S.A. ONTARIO, CALIF.'/ 'GENERAL GE [LOGO] ELECTRIC'INCISED AT BOTTOM OF ONE END/ INSIDE BOTTOM OF DOORS READS: 'EXPAND HINGE FOR TOASTING SANDWICHES'

Missing

ELECTRICAL CORD From CA of 03/15/1994 by Tony Missio: Yes - missing cord

Finish

BASE, HOUSING & PANELS METAL WITH POLISHED CHROME FINISH/ELEMENT CORES GRAY MICA/ GRILLS METAL WITH PLATED NICKEL? FINISH/ KNOBS BLACK SYNTHETIC

Decoration

INCISED PATTERN OF LINES ON DOORS/ MOULDED EDGE ON BASE