The Toast

September 27th.  Almost October. Enough time for one more toaster. One more toaster before October. Just to keep our bread warm.

This is a pre-1920 Beardsley & Wolcott toaster.  It's a somewhat unusual design in that the toast drops in the top and then falls out the bottom once toasted.  One slice only.

Manning Bowman Bonanza

Yes, it's another toaster and percolator post. What can I say?  These things almost seem to find me rather than the other way around.

A few weeks ago, I spotted a Manning Bowman percolator in all it's glorious Art Deco roundness.

Coffee and Toast

This past weekend I attended a rummage sale at a local church, St. John's Evangelical in Mehlville, Missouri.  Rummage sales seem the last bastion of bargains.  Unfortunately, their primary way of advertising is by signs in front of the church, so I rarely know of them.  I just happened to be driving the route past this church last week and saw the sign.

Universal Toaster

Toast indeed is universal. Who doesn't love toast? (p.s. we can't be friends if you don't love toast).  And this is a Universal Toaster, patented 1914.  I found it at a private estate sale a few weekends ago.  It still amazes me people have these 100+ year-old toasters laying around.  And based on its condition, this one apparently was laying around in a dark corner of an attic or basement.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Toaster Toast?

I found this 4-slot "Mary Proctor" model P21601 toaster in the basement of a home this morning.  It was pretty dusty, but I could see the chrome underneath was in good condition.  It cleaned up nicely.

Empire State Toaster

I have a disease for which there is no known cure.  If you saw me walking on the street, you wouldn't even be able to tell I was sick.  The disease? My name is Tom and I'm a toaster hoarder. I have an urge to buy any toaster I see at garage sales, estate sales, antique malls, thrift stores, you name it.  Maybe someday there will be a cure, but for now, I just keep buying.

My latest infection is this 1930's Electrahot Style 500 toaster featuring a stylized Empire State building design. I found it at a private estate sale for $6.  It was pretty grimy when I got it.

Star Toaster

It's been a while since I've shared a toaster find; I know everyone was on pins and needles.

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you probably are aware of my toaster obsession.  I just love how many different styles and ways there are to perform the simple task of toasting bread.  That combined with the fact that vintage toasters were made to last and you can expect them to perform exactly as they did when they were new up to nearly 100 years ago makes them desirable to me.

This Star toaster by Fitzgerald Manufacturing dates from the 1920's. 

A Toast to the Sunbeam T-20A

I recently told of my estate sale quest for a toaster, so I won't repeat that, but I'll give a little background on why I was obsessed with my mission that day.

For one thing, I've been obsessed with vintage toasters for a long time.  I've owned many different models over the years and it's always fascinated how many variations there can be for the same simple task of toasting bread.

I've previously owned a couple different Sunbeam models that featured automatic lowering and raising and radiant control including the model T20-B and T35.  Over the years, my toasters have come and gone, either due to selling them or them simply wearing out.  It was easier letting go of toasters back then as no one was interested in them and were easily found for $1 at sales.  Times have changed.

When I saw this ad in the December 1951 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, I knew I had to own one again.

A Peach of a Toaster...or At Least a Pear

Despite being the toaster enthusiast (read "fanatic") I am, I nearly passed on this Toastmaster model.  I even went as far as to pay for my other items and get in my car. Then I asked myself, "What kind of toaster hoarder, I mean, enthusiast are you?"  After all, it was only 75 cents. So without a concern for my dignity, I got back out and went back into the garage and bought it. The seller asked me, "You must like old things."  Uh... Yeah.

Birthday Greetings

No, it's not my birthday, but it's been a while since I've done a post, so I thought I'd dig through my backlog.

This birthday card collection was a find this past summer. I'm not sure if they were all for the same person on the same birthday, but seem to be from the same era (1950's).

Given my penchant for vintage toasters, this first card was a favorite.

A Toast to 2020

I make no excuses for my toaster obsession.  I don't know what it is.  Something about the comfort and civility of just eating some toast with a cup of coffee.

I picked up this GE toaster at an estate sale about a month ago.  It's getting to the point where I need to sneak these things into our home.  As I've mentioned before, there's really no good way to photograph chrome appliances.  They always look worse than in person.  This toaster displays very well in person.

Dormeyer Toaster

By now you should all be familiar with my toaster obsession.  I've tried to scale back my collecting of these to odd or interesting and the "just so cheap I can't pass it up" variety.  This 1950's Dormeyer toaster I found a couple weeks ago met all three categories.

 The model number on this toaster is 6303 and was produced in 1962. 

Hotpoint

For years, I have driven past a house on my way home from work that I have entertained (if only wishfully) I would some day own. It's located in an old neighborhood (turn of the last century) of homes called "Webster Park" in Webster Groves, one of the earliest suburbs in the St. Louis area. Despite being an upscale (read expensive) area, the amount of repair on the home gave me a glimmer of hope it would be affordable when it did come on the market.  Seeing this picture on the estatesales.net listing gave me hope that it would soon be for sale.

Sunbeam T-9 Toaster

I've previously mentioned my addiction to chrome toasters.  As I've often said, I've never met a toaster I didn't like.  Usually my wife just rolls her eyes when I come home with yet another.  But this past week while estate saling, she revealed her true self -- an enabler.  We were at an estate sale off of Gravois Road, a very crowded one, I might add.   While squeezing around, I had become separated from her.  Suddenly, she appeared before me holding this.

Odd Man Out

Happy Labor Day, and who works harder than the humble toaster.  Since 1919 it's been popping up our daily bread.  Simple electric toasters were on the scene 10 years prior before someone decided to put a timer on one. 

I've admitted in the past that I've never met a toaster I didn't like. Especially one decked out in chrome and with some unusual feature.  When I saw this toaster at an estate sale marked at $3, I probably would have bought it if it even if it met only one of those criteria.  The chrome was evident from a distance, but when I got a closer look, I was surprised to find that it was a 3-slotted toaster.

Nobody Does It Like Yoooooouuuuuu!

As I've written in the past, I like to use vintage appliances.  I generally find them built to last and with more style.   I'm drawn to chrome toasters and percolators in particular.  I found a percolator for $1 at an estate sale in North County about a month ago. 

It's made by a manufacturer long associated with vacuums -- Hoover. I had no idea they had a line of other appliances in the '60's.


Mine dates from 1967 and I only know that because I came across an ad in Google's library of Life magazines.  The June 9th, 1967 issue has the following ad:

 

Sorry for the dual image -- I need to find some image stitching software.

Design-wise, it's actually pretty plain.  I do like the shape and I love that the red Hoover emblem lights up when the coffee is done.  The ad boasts that it brews a cup per minute and I can vouch for that. 

Now if I could only find that 4-slot Hoover toaster...

Okay, I admit it, I have a problem...

I guess it's more of an addiction than a problem, or possibly an addiction that results in problems. I can't resist toasters. Particularly chrome ones. I can't pass up a chrome toaster at a garage sale. Most homes only need one, but I have several. I came home with another one Saturday. One almost exactly like another I already have.