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Review
by Molly Martin (300414) Rating (8/10)
Review
by Molly Martin
Rating
8/10
Kitchens
and Gadgets 1920 to 1950 by Jane H. Celehar a comprehensive
guide to the identification, history and values of coloured handled
gadgets and the kitchens in which they were used.
I have collected Depression Era kitchen glassware along with gadgets,
gizmos and thingamajigs for many years. Some I noticed in use
in the kitchens of my grandmother and aging aunts. Others I have
discovered at garage sales, in jumble shops, and estate sales.
Some of the pieces I own are suspended from ceiling hooks, or
rest on the walls in my kitchen and breakfast nook, and, some
are in use when I slice a tomato or open a can.
This particular paperback is my own and has proven itself vital
over the many years I have scanned its pages searching for yet
another captivating doohickey whose name and function may be as
yet unfamiliar to me. This work with 136 pages chockfull with
explanations and portrayals of numerous items created during the
Depression era is rightly a worthy resource for the serious accumulator
of green handled kitchen gadgets.
Many
of us who accumulate soon recognize that we need to confine our
fervour to a solitary paint, there were red and black and green
and other coloured handles of gadgets produced. I chose to collect
green. Or,
we will need to choose a single element to collect, from among
the many kitchen gadgets just waiting to be lifted from a dusty
shelf to be taken home by an eager collector.
I find this exacting edition to be a prized resource. Acknowledgements
and introduction are presented on 1 single page each. The author
specifically notes that Ekco Housewares Company provided occasion
for Celehar to examine A & J and Ekco catalogues from the
1920s to 1950s and provided catalogue pages for use illustrating
pages in the paperback. Illustrations are most beneficial when
trying to identify a particular item, use, handle type and the
like.
For decades the kitchen was the step child of the home. It was
frequently a small, cramped chamber unseen at the back of the
house, or, was often an unattached small structure near the back
door. At the turn of the century when wood both heated homes and
provided fuel for cooking; just preparing a meal during summer
tended to heat food, home and everyone concerned.
As the character of the kitchen and use of the room and its trappings
began to transform came a need for contraptions used for preparing
foods and garnishes. The kitchen developed into a pivotal arena
of the home providing a locale for rallying and dining and conversation.
Where a knife for cutting and a large spoon for beating once epitomized
much of the tool ware found in kitchens suddenly there were Baking
Tools and Knife Sharpeners, Bottle Openers and Mixing Tools. And,
there was colour.
The Table of Contents lists pages, and classes of items available
for collectors as well as showing some of the development from
the single Hoosier Cabinet to the expansive array of gizmos produced.
Table of Contents lists American Kitchens 1920 – 1950 with pages
in colour as well as black and white:
-
Manufacturers from A to Z, 8 pages;
- A
Guide to Trademarks covers 6 pages, and proves invaluable for
the serious collector;
- Finding
and Purchasing Kitchen Tools provides cautionary notes including
that as antique kitchen gadgets become less available, prices
soar and how to care for these gems so that the price paid is
not diminished with handling or improper washing technology.
- Background,
Colour and Dating information is 9 pages, filled with information
regarding when, by whom and what was being produced.
-
Dating and Patent Numbers is presented as a single page.
Then
the gadgets themselves are listed:
- Baking
Tools beginning on page 68 lists cookie cutters, cake and sandwich
cutters, biscuit cutters, revolving cookie cutters note: how
anyone made cookies with these things I have yet to deduce,
I have one and a more gnarly gizmo I have yet to attempt to
use, but it looks good hanging up near the ceiling in the kitchen.
- Dough
blenders, Pie Crimpers, Pastry Blenders that appear much as
a lifter might to the uninitiated, as well as rubber scrapers,
rolling pins and an interesting pie lifter are all shown and
described in detail over 5 pages.
- Beaters
and Whippers beginning on page 73 includes spiral whisks resembling
modern gizmos, as well as flat wire whips in various oval to
round design with green or other coloured wooden handles as
well as a series of vari-shaped whisks and a one hand automatic
eggbeater are detailed. More recognized egg beaters of the handle,
rotating wheel and blades in the bowl are shown over 4 pages.
Beater and Bowl, or Pitcher Sets and even an electric powered
glass bowl and beater, 1933, rounds out the section. I will
admit I have too many egg beaters, and a Beater and Bowl or
two as well as several of these whisks.
- Bottle,
Can and Jar Openers, Lifters and Wrenches begins on page 82
and specifies varied gadgets provided for removing corks and/or
lids from bottles, in addition to lids removed by hand powered,
stab in the point and move the can opener around the top of
the can gizmos. These lethal devices did remove lids from cans,
I suspect at times to the tune of a good bit of swearing and
reaching for bandages, I have several of the things, and on
occasion have used one or the other for removing a lid. Cut
was never particularly true or smooth, but somehow lids did
get removed and meals were prepared.
A & J and Ekco began production of Miracle™ Can openers,
the design continues in production to today. Handheld openers
and wall mount openers also were introduced during the depression
era, many continue in use to the present.
Jar Lifters devices used then and now by home canners for lifting
hot jars filled with fruit, jams or vegetables from pots filled
with boiling water. The early lifters proved an outstanding
archetype; the ones accessible on the shelf at the big box store
for home canners today has changed little from those offered
during the 1930s.
Jar Openers and Wrenches are used for releasing or tightening
metal screw type lids and caps. Once more, the design presented
during the depression era is used today for the same use.
-
Choppers and Mincers are hand powered, bladed mechanical and
rotary cutting and shredding devices. Some are a simple blade
with wooden handle while others are a mite more elaborate, all
deliver the result, and maybe save fingers from scrapes and
cuts as onions or other items are hacked into miniscule bits
using something other than a sharp kitchen knife. I have choppers
and mincers, they spend most of their time hanging on the wall.
I do have a glass cup or jar and chopper devices too. Choppers
include devices using up down movement to raise and lower the
bladed end of the device in the glass cup or bowl, others, particularly
convenient for chopping nutmeats, have handle or key turn chopping
gizmo which fit onto top of glass jar.
Rotary Mincers offered by numerous companies were used for narrow
chopping, creating strips, of meats, fruits, vegetable, orange
rind, parsley and homemade noodles.
- Cutting
Tools (Other Than Knives) begins on page 94 and specifies fruit
and vegetable ballers or scoops, butter curlers, corers, and
parers, grapefruit corers and French Fry Cutters, Fruit pitters,
and garnishers, graters in several different designs as well
as ice cream scoops and ice picks of many designs. Parers, peelers,
slicers and graters are included in this section.
Juicers begin on page 102 and includes Juice O Mat™, Orange
Flow™, Speedo Super Juicer™ and KwikWay™ are shown and detailed.
Also included are the Handy Andy, and Universal fruit juice
extractor. While I do have a number of glass reamers, I do not
collect many metal juicers. The ones I have are mainly display
items.
- Knives
and Knife Sharpeners beginning on page 105 includes Bread knives,
Cake and Pie Servers, and grapefruit knives, fruit knives, paring
knives, spatulas, Utility Knives, and spatulas along with Knife
sharpeners. I have several knife sharpeners, and have yet to
be able to sharpen a knife using one of them. Sharpening Stones
and Rods are also shown, these I can use for sharpening.
- Mashers,
Pounders, Ricers, Food Presses, and Food Mills begin on page
109 and feature many designs of mashers including round, mesh
and one with spokes. Pounders are wooden while meat tenderizers
resemble axes with blades and ax type head. Ricers includes
a whisk type, a push through mesh and one design that has continued
to today with a perforated basked and pull down pressure panel.
- Measuring
Tools begins on page 113 and details measuring cups, scoops,
spoons and scales. My own collection of measuring tools is mostly
glass.
- Mixing
and Cooking Tools beginning on page 116 features beaters resembling
lifting tools and slotted spoons as well as a Foley Fork, strainer
resembling a lifter and a slotted mixing spoon. Coffee pots
show a Drip O Later™ while a hand powered Toddy mixer with clear
glass tumbler reads A meal in a glass.
Popcorn poppers, the handled basket for holding over flame type
are detailed as is an early electric popper. Also noted are
egg poachers for cooking eggs sans shell in boiling water, these
are used by submerging the gizmo with egg into the water.
Egg lifters resembling ones seen today had wooden handles.
Two and three tine forks for lifting and holding or stabbing
meats and vegetables. I do have several of these with green
handles, and use often for lifting and holding turkey and the
like during holiday meals.
Ladles and strainers, pan drainers, basting spoons and scrapers
are all discussed. At one point I embarked upon search into
electric appliances and treasure my few toasters. They take
up a lot of space on the shelf, nonetheless I was pleased to
see one of the very early ones shown in the book, and its twin
sitting in my breakfast nook.
Lifters, often referred to as pancake turners came with wooden
handles and slotted, pierced and dotted blades. Early electric
waffle irons were a far cry to the ones we enjoy today. I have
none, they too take up too much shelf space.
- Sifters
and Strainers beginning on page 124 commence with Rotary Sifters.
While any dry ingredient might be sifted, we called the one
used in Mama’s kitchen a flour sifter. The basic design has
changed little, a circular metal tube, mesh at the bottom, turn
handle and a wire or other device for moving the flour through
the mesh. Depression era sifters had wooden handles for turning.
I have several used mainly for deco along wall area just below
ceiling in kitchen.
Horizontal Sifters feature a shaker type, to and fro sifting
while trigger action sifters were used via a squeeze handle.
Arthritis in my hands precludes my using mine for sifting, it
hangs on the wall. I do use one having a green rotation type
handle.
Tea and Coffee Strainers used to separate liquids from solids
by pouring through wire mesh featured wooden handles and perforated
metal or mesh bowl. Strainers can be found in a variety of sizes.
- This
book also discusses a few other specialty items, ones I do not
collect, including curing iron, heated on stove, non-electric;
various brushes and mops, and shows a green handle, electric
clothes iron.
Children during depression era as now enjoyed toys similar to
those mom used, and various toy kitchen collectibles can be
found. I do not collect these.
- Writer
Celehar offers a 2 page Bibliography.
- Closes
with an A - Z index.
On the whole this is a well-researched edition describing many
of the gadgets and devices obtainable during the Depression era.
For the novice or serious collector this book helps guide understanding
for use, appeal and purpose of the many items we can discover,
perhaps use and fill our shelves, walls, cupboards, rooms, barn...
Prices are shown for items, a note of caution, because a price
is shown as the going rate today may or may not mean a thing in
the market place. Items in a dusty box may be marked as 0.25 each
and show in the book as $2.50, buying the item with a notion that
a quick profit is to be made may or may not come to fruition.
Prices vary from state to state, collector to collector and economy
of the country, condition of the item, etc. I buy only things
I like, and have a set price I am willing to pay in mind before
I go to the sale, shop or whatever. If the seller will not haggle
and the price is too great, I walk away.
Knowing what you are looking at may be a huge advantage. I take
my book along when I go on a foraging mission. My book published
many years ago is still timely, the items showcased have not changed,
only prices listed would be different in a newer edition. I will
continue to use mine despite loose pages and notes penned in margins.
Well written, well researched, good resource. Happy to Recommend
Kitchens and Gadgets 1920 to 1950 by Jane H. Celehar. Pages
were not stapled or sewn into book and after 3 decades plus of
usage some pages are falling out. Even so, I still do not plan
to replace.
Molly
Martin (30th April 2014)
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