Why Do We Collect This Stuff?

This is an advertisement from the Saturday Evening Post for September 8, 1944 two days before I was born. World War II was still raging in Europe and the Pacific. The ad shows a young couple just starting out and their eyes are on peace, prosperity and the future. What are they deraming about? It's NOT self-fulfillment, or empowerment, or "space" -- it's CONSUMER GOODS! They are dreaming about stuff that they couldn't afford during the Depression and that isn't available because of the War. The young couple could have been my parents. With all due respect, they much preferred a trip to the appliance store to an art museum. I really love these "Consumer Goods Fantasies" -- Here is a nice slide show of these ads from 1937 through 1955. I love the Firestone Ad that shows a Happy Family (Mom, Dad, Sis and Son) reveling in a Christmas Morning filled with all kinds of Consumer Goods, most of which you will find discussed in these pages. [The slide show should open in a separate window. It is best viewed in "fuil screen" mode - go to the toolbar, open the "View" pull-down menu and click on "Full Screen". These are full page ads and may not quite fit on your monitor, so you may have to scroll up and down]

Thus, it is with profound nostalgia that I look back upon a happier time when folks were quite content to dream about a Roaster, Toaster, Vacuum, Fan, or Ironer. After years of searching in the exotic areas of experience, it is very pleasing to go back to that much simpler time, to have a BLT in our Retro Kitchen.

As part of our project to survey all the issues of Popular Mechanics from 1932 through 1939, we came upon several very interesting article about "appliances" in general. The first ("Thirteen Slaves...") is a look at laborsaving conveniences. Unfortunately, this article takes the view of the slave-owner and suggests that with electric appliances, one can live in something like George Washington's slave-supported splendor at Mount Vernon. (During the 1930s, popular entertainment had a nostalgia for massa's side of plantation life). The second provides details on how to repair appliances; this may come as something of a shock to the millenial generation, but there was a time that you could repair your own toaster, coffe pot, mixer, etc. We have created ".pdf" files for each of these informative articles and present them for your downloading pleasure at no cost.

  
Sociology of Electrical Appliances in the Mid 1930s
Click to Enlarge the photos
Click here to download "Thirteen Slaves for a Nickel" (April, 1939 Issue)
Click here to download "Repairing Electric Appliances" (August, 1934 Issue)

So, with a nod to my beloved parents who survived the Depression and Saipan, here is my look at a broad range of artifacts that might have been part of everyday American home life during the Swing Era. None of these are for sale -- we use them almost every day! Have a look at our collection and feel free to ask questions or send us photos of your own Swing Era artifacts

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Flying Down to Rio
Fred and Ginger's first film

Click to look at all the covers of Model Airplane News from 1929-1969.

Air, Rail and Auto in the Swing Era

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Jukeboxes

The Technology of Music

Everything You Wanted to Know About Erector Sets

• Pittsburgh Streetcars
• The Art of William Holbrook Beard
• The Story of Mother Angot -- Fishwives and Free Speech
• A Trip to a 1932 Appliance Show
• Menus From Swing Era Restaurants
• A Look at Sreamlined Locomotives
• The 1922 Chicago Tribune Tower Design Contest and its Influence on Art Deco Architecture
• A Trip Through 1947 Follow LIFE magazine in this critical year, one week at a time just like it happened!
• Building a 1948 Cleveland Model Airplane Kit
• The Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild
• Click here to view our Collection of Curt Teich Large Letter Postcards
• Click here to learn how to get Patent Drawings and Diagrams
• EXPLORE how appliances work
  • Explore your Electric Iron
  • Explore your Coffee-maker
  • Explore your Waffle Iron
  • Explore a Toast-O-Lator
  • Check Out Bersted Appliances -- "Brand X" Personified
• Collectibles in the Kitchen!
  • Kitchen Mixers (Updated 03-24-2011)
  • Toasters (Updated 07-08-2011)
  • Restoration of a Toast-O-Lator (Updated 02-17-2011)
  • Irons and Ironing (Updated 090-06-2011)
  • The Westinghouse Roaster (Updated 03-31-2011)
  • Coffee Paraphernalia (Updated 05-12-2011)
  • Waffle Irons (Updated 05-09-2011)
  • Other Kitchenware (Updated 04-26-2013)
  • Remodeling a Retro Kitchen for less than $1000.
  • Replacement Cords for Appliances
• Furniture from the 30s and 40s
  • Waterfall Furniture,Chairs, Tables, etc. (Updated 05-24-2011)
  • Cavalier Cedar Chests (Updated 05-27-2011)
  • Vintage Radios (Updated 03-17-2011)
  • Vintage Televisions (Updated 06-25-2013)
  • Clocks (Updated 05-15-2013)
  • Vintage Telephones (Updated 08-25-2011)
  • Vintage Fans (Updated 03-05-2011)
  • Complete restoration of a RadioBar (yes, a Radio that is also a cocktail bar)
• Click here to check out Vacuum Cleaners (Updated 05-11-2011)
• Click here to check out our Toy Page (Updated 11-21-2010)
• Click here to check out Vintage Cameras (Updated 02-17-2011)
• Click here to check out Knicknacks and Miscellania (updated 03-05-2011)
• Click here to check out Vintage Tools (Updated 02-16-2011)
• Click here to check out pictures of Vernacular Architecture (Updated 03-06-2011)
• Click here to check out Sports Memorabilia (Updated 03-06-2011)
• Click here to check out Wheeled Vehicles (Updated 05-03-2013)
• Faux Graining techniques
• Click here to look at our Pinup Collection
• Energy and Environment in the Swing Era
• Click here to send us a picture of YOUR favorite stuff!

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