THE DEVELOPMENT of SMALL ELECTRIC COOKING APPLIANCES in the U.S. from the 1920S to the 1950S

Reviews

Received April 24, 2014; Accepted October 5, 2014

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ELECTRIC COOKING APPLIANCES IN THE U.S. from the 1920s to the 1950s

Shinsuke OMOYA

The University of Shiga Prefecture, Hassaka-cho, Hikone, Shiga, 522-8533 Japan

Abstract: In 1950s America, there were numerous small electric cooking appliances available in the marketplace. They were developed not necessarily for use in the kitchen, but for use directly on the dining table. This paper looks at the evolution, i.e., development and design changes of these appliances, and tries to account for the reason of the popularity and the spread of these appliances in this period from their cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. The popularity of small cooking appliances can be related to American dining and socializing customs. The small electric cooking appliances are not only meant for everyday family meals but also for home parties and other socializing/eating customs quite unique to the United States. The small appliances have often been chosen as gifts. Most cooking can be done by cookers and hand tools, but with small appliances, each having a special function, cooking can perhaps be done more conveniently, and no doubt they are fun to use. This character of the appliances makes them suitable as gifts. Keywords: Evolution of objects, Design changes, Electric cooking appliances in the United States

1. Introduction society. Most of the modern products that appeared in Europe In this paper, we examine the ways in which ubiquitous and America from the end of the 19th century were soon household objects developed and spread in American homes. introduced to Asia, where they experienced an initial stage of The objective of the study is to test the idea of 'evolution of copying, and now can be recognized as indispensable tools for objects' in the discipline of design history. For this purpose, daily life. we choose small electric cooking (SEC) appliances as case Those modern products marketed today in various countries objects. We will trace the development process of this group are similar at first glance to each other in their design and of objects and try to account for their design changes from variety. However, when the process of development of these their cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. We are products and the way they are used are compared carefully, looking at this development as an anonymous process of some interesting differences can be noted. The differences of evolution, rather than looking at the personal contributions in these products result from the differences in cultural, social, design changes as in conventional histories of design. This and economic conditions from which the products were case study intends to show the value of the objective approach developed. We may mention appliances like rice cookers, big in design history. Looking at the evolution of objects is round hot plates and hot water dispensers for making tea particularly useful in describing the dynamics of design which are widespread and fairly unique to Asia. changes of mass-produced objects in modern society. To understand the development of modern products, we In the formation of its modern history, Japan, like other should begin with the original development of small electric Asian countries, was greatly influenced by Western products. For this study, we examine the case of the U.S.A. technology, and quickly developed its own industrialized In 1950s America, there were numerous small electric

Figure 1. Small electric cooking appliances in the 1950s[1] Figure 4. Marshmallow toaster ( c.1909, The National Museum of American History) The product lineup of appliance manufacturers in the 1930s already included the coffee percolator, water kettle, saucepan, By the 1930s, however, these small appliances which were egg boiler, waffle iron, toaster, sandwich toaster, and popcorn for use on the dining table formed a product group distinct popper, all of which were developed not necessarily for use in from major household appliances such as fridges, washers, and the kitchen, but for use directly on the dining table. In the cookers, and distinct also from other popular small electric following, we trace the development and design changes of appliances like clothes irons, vacuum cleaners, and sewing these appliances, from their debut in the 1920s to 30s through machines. The 1900s to the 1910s was an infancy stage of their spread in 1950s, and try to account for the reason of the appliances, but they underwent large growth during the 1920s, popularity and the spread of these appliances in this period. followed by widespread use after the 1930s[2]. By the 1910s, utility companies ware able to provide 2. The Development of Small Electric Cooking Appliances twenty-four-hour electrical service in most major urban areas, 2.1 SEC Appliances Industry in Early Years and the small kitchen appliance field was a very active growth Most small electric cooking appliances were first made industry. But still, in 1921, only 10% of households had an and marketed from the early 20th century through the early electric toaster. 1920s. In the earliest years, toasters and coffee percolators Many entrepreneurs of the time went into the field of appeared, and both spread widely. Other than those now electric appliances and the manufacturing of these appliances familiar appliances, there were rather uncommon items such continued to be a major growth industry of the ‘20s. as the chafing dish (for keeping cooked dish warm, beside the Popular appliances available between 1900 and 1920 were dining table, Figure 2), the tabletop stove (combination toasters (c1909~), waffle irons (c1911~), coffee percolators cooking device with electric heating element, Figure 3), (c1905~), and electric mixers. marshmallow toaster (Figure 4) etc.

2.2 A Case Object; Waffle Irons Here, we look closer at the development of one kind of appliance; electric waffle irons. Here, we look closer at the development of one kind of appliance: electric waffle irons. Dutch colonists who settled in New York, New Jersey, and Figure 2. Chafing dish (Universal, 1910s) Pennsylvania in the late 17th century introduced waffles to America. Maple syrup, readily available in New England, became a standard topping; alternatively, molasses or savory toppings were used. To make waffles in the conventional way, you would use waffle irons made of cast iron (Figure 5) placed on top of a wood-burning stove and flipped to cook both sides. Such non-electric waffle irons often appeared in 1920s mail Figure 3. Tabletop stove (1920s, The National Museum of order catalogues and were still being produced in significant American History numbers well into the late 1930s (Figure 6).

60 B U L L E T I N O F JSSD Vol. 62 No. 1 2015 THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN Farm and ranch families liked waffles as much as city small appliances. In 1931, one major manufacturer, Landers, dwellers, but by 1935, only 10% of the five million U.S. farms Frary and Clark, offered 18 different waffle iron models [3]. had electricity. It took until 1950 to reach 90%[3]. From the 30s, square shape combination models appeared Home electric waffle makers were introduced around 1918. (Figure 11, 12), which could be used not only for making Earlier electric models (Figure 7) seem to be for professional waffles but also, by changing grill elements, for making use. For home use, round shape models become the norm by sandwich toast and for grilling other foods. By the 50s, this the late 1920s. There were also square models but round type of design became the norm. This may be because of a models are ‘easier to fill with batter than square models and change in everyday eating habits, i.e., waffles came to be usually cook more evenly.’ made less frequently. There was also a need that an appliance should be used for more than one purpose and thus used more frequently. Most homes in the 50s already had numerous appliances, and storing all those appliances neatly in the kitchen was a problem for housekeepers [4]. Waffle iron production reached its peak level in 1946, with three and half million units, up from a prewar average of half a million units annually. Since that time, yearly production dropped. Still, by 1956, one third of all electrified households Figure 5. Waffle iron in the 18th century (Henry Ford Museum) had an electric waffle iron [3].

Figure 6. Waffle iron (Griswold. c.1920, private collection, Connecticut)

Figure.7. Waffle iron (1910s, The National Museum of American History) (left) Figure 8. ‘Star-Rite’ (ad. Good Housekeeping, November 1927) The shape of waffle irons experienced some style changes, (right) Figure 9. ‘Universal’ 1920s from a leg-mounted style when they first appeared in the late 1910s to pedestal styles in the 1920s (Figure 8, 9), to low-profile styles from the 1930s on (Figure 10). These style changes were not purely functional. Pedestal model bases ‘stay cooler and usually catch overflows better than many low-profile types,’ so the emergence of low-profile types must be explained by other reasons. By the early 1930s, waffle irons were one of the best selling Figure 10. ‘White Cross’, 1930 Figure 11. ‘Universal’, 1930

Figure 12.‘Toastmaster’, 1956 [5]

There were recipes for waffles in every home and region, Figure 14. Recipe book for Universal Waffle Grill, 1948 and flour prepared especially for making waffles was commercialized in the 1930s (Figure13). Appliance 2.3 The ‘Needs’ for Cooking on the Table manufacturers began to employ home economics and nutrition 1920s’ consumer book on home electrification explained experts and started creating recipes especially tailored to their how to entertain guests at home by using small electric products. Recipe books were distributed to customers as cooking appliances. Stressing the advantage of labor saving, incentives to use their products (Figure 14). the books said that, by using these appliances, housewives The development of new recipes and new professional could entertain their guests without having to leave the dining food staff may have affected not only the popularity of table to cook in the kitchen. waffles, but American eating habits in general. However, the Perhaps in large part thanks to advertising campaigns such increased use of many kinds of precooked foods seems to be a as these books, in the 1920s those appliances developed from characteristic of American cuisine, and the practice of objects of curiosity to everyday household equipment. One of cooking at home from scratch has declined. This applies as the “enlightenment books” for home electrification extols their well to waffles. virtues: Waffles, as a food item, hit their peak of popularity in the “Now the smaller electric cooking appliances may be 1930s, perhaps because they served as an inexpensive treat in looked on as somewhat amusing toys with which to entertain the Depression era [3]. But today they are considered by many one’s friends at tea, or for an after-theatre supper. But, consumers to be too time-consuming to prepare; instead, potentially they are far more than that. In the hands of an factory made frozen waffles to be quickly heated up in toasters, intelligent manager, they can do much to introduce into the debuting in 1953, are widely consumed. self-served meal the element of true hospitality, where the Nonetheless, many homes today have electric waffle irons, hostess, at her ease, may minister to the wants of her guests, at even if they are not used as frequently as before. the same time not departing from her dignity as hostess to leave the table or the room on errands for which a waitress should properly be employed”[6]. The book continues, “Nothing destroys the aesthetic pleasure of the table more than to have uprising and down-sitting to fetch forks, plates, or holders that should have been previously assembled.” The writer of the book saw electric table cookery as being endowed with a social function, a desirable tool to help in informal entertaining conducted by housewives in increasingly servant-less middle-class homes. Figure 13. ‘Virginia Sweet’ Pancake flour (1929) Eloquent prose notwithstanding, there is no doubt that a clear benefit of small electric cooking appliances was that they enabled quick and easy cooking at the dining table, for breakfast or lunch or even a graceful social gathering (Figure 15, 16).

62 B U L L E T I N O F JSSD Vol. 62 No. 1 2015 THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN 2.4 The Change of Appearance Design in Small Electric Cooking Appliances Toasters underwent continual change during the 1920s and 1930s, from models, which toasted only one side and required the bread to be manually turned around to toast the other side, to automatic pop-up type such as McGraw Electric’s Toastmaster. The electric coffee percolator developed into an important ‘household necessity’ during the 1920s and 1930s. All-purpose mixers, such as Sunbeam’s Mixmaster, were Figure 15. Breakfast in the nook [6] promoted heavily in the 1930s. Other small electric kitchen appliances introduced during the 1920-1930s include juicers, tabletop broilers, blenders, and frying pans [2]. These appliances were widely advertised in women’s magazines. A brief look through those magazines will reveal many ads for waffle irons, toasters, and percolators from the 1920s throughout the 1950s, giving a message that these three items were ‘necessities’ in homes of the period. Ads for tabletop stoves and hot plates were often seen in the 1920s, but almost disappeared after 1930. Blenders/mixers started to appear in the 1930s. Roasters/grillers were often seen from the 1940s on. Skillets suddenly appeared widely around 1955 Figure 16. Dinning room with small appliances [7] [10]. In terms of appearance design of these small appliances, The mixer/beater and other motor-driven appliances are models of the streamline form and details of the art-deco style different kinds of appliances from heat-cooking appliances. are seen from the middle of the 1930s. Industrial designers, a They are usually not used on the dining table, and not for growing new profession at the time, were responsible for cooking but for food preparation before the cooking stage. The designing them [11]. In the case of Toastmaster toasters popularity of the mixer/beater from the 1930s through the (Figure 17), their appearance designs changed only slightly 1950s may be related to the ‘demand’ for more elaborate from their debut to the early 1930s, probably caused by minor home cooking, which has been linked to the perceived role of technological improvement, but around 1935 the appearance women in middle class homes [8]. design clearly changed into bulbous streamline form, probably Also, it was often advertised that with small cooking intending more appeal on the dining table (Figure 18). Figure appliances, the kitchens were kept cool, without needing to 17 shows the successive appearance changes of their models light large conventional coal ranges. This was another from 1926 (left) to 1956 (right). Their appearance design advantage before the spread of gas or electric ranges. clearly changed around 1935 (center). The end of WW1 brought a dramatic reduction in Many appliances in these “streamlined” designs, with industrial demand for electricity. Power companies were rounded corners, were downsized to handle more easily and to burdened with excess generating capacity. In response, many reduce weight. Small appliances became even smaller. utility companies offered home wiring services, encouraged the Blenders, such as the Sunbeam Mixmaster in the 1940s, were major house wares manufacturers to develop and build more much smaller than the models of the 1930s. More convenient electrically operated gadgets, even offering to underwrite their hand-held models replaced larger items such as stand mixers advertising campaigns, and began to sell appliances themselves [2]. from their own showrooms [9]. After the 1950s, the metal body of these small appliances In these ways, the ‘need’ for small electric appliances, has was finished by chromium plate, and handles, the base and been, at least in part, created by the electric industry. operating dials were made in black plastic. By the early 1950s, round corners and the slightly bulbous look became popular (Figure 19).

Figure 17. Appearance change of Toastmaster from 1926 to 1956 3. The Reasons for the Popularity of SEC Appliances [5] 3.1 The Change of Electrification Rate and the Relation to Cookers Looking at the change of the spread rate of electric appliances reveals that the electric ranges (cookers) have been less popular than other major appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners (Figure20). This was probably resulting from their high initial price, the high expense of electricity, and the need for dedicated wiring. Gas cooking ranges dominated the home market during the 1920s and 1930s and continued to outsell electric models through the 1940s[2]. To boost daytime demand, certain electric companies tried changing variable rates. Some metered electric ranges Figure 18. Toastmaster, 1938 separately from lighting circuits and charged reduced rates for power used for cooking.

Figure 19. Appliances showing typical styles of the 50s to early Figure 20. Spread Rate of Major Appliances 60s (left: Deep fryer by Dulane Inc., 1952. center: Waffle grill by (the number of appliances per 100 households. [12]) Universal, 1952. right: Electric skillet by Mirromatic, 1963) In these circumstances, homes that perhaps could not afford expensive electric cookers were able to obtain the conveniences of electricity only by using small electric

64 B U L L E T I N O F JSSD Vol. 62 No. 1 2015 THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN cooking appliances. When the electric cooking range became available for the home kitchen, for those who could not afford one, appliance makers offered a variety of at-the-table electric cooking devices such as percolators, hot plates, table stoves, toasters, grills, waffle irons, frying pans, chaffing dishes, and slow cookers, or crock pots [3]. In effect, then, there was another large market for numerous small electric cooking appliances, different from the market for electric and gas ranges. The home electrification in rural district in the U.S. was very late [13], compared to cities, and therefore, the spread of electric appliances was limited to cities even in the 1930s. In 1935, the ratio of gas to electric ranges was 13 to 1, but by 1945 the ratio had dropped to 3 to 1 [14]. Figure 21. House plan with the pantry ( Stickley, Craftsman Homes, 1909 [15] ) 3.2 The Space where small appliances were used Compared with gas or electric cookers that were heavy and fairly immovably installed in the kitchen, one important reason for the existence of small electric cooking appliances is found in the space where they are used, in the relation of the kitchen space and the dining space. The typical plan for middle-class Victorian houses, with the pantry placed between the kitchen and the dining room, was replaced gradually to a layout without a pantry (Figure 21, 22)[15], and the kitchen and the dining were placed side by side. It was in the home of this type, without servants, where small electric cooking appliances, that enabled simple cooking on the dining table, were used fully for the first time. From the 1940s, the breakfast nook area began to disappear and the kitchen was enlarged to accommodate a table and chairs (Figure 23). This was the beginning of the end for the formal dining room. During the 1940s, L-shaped Figure 22. House plan without the pantry kitchen counter extensions (Figure 24) with stools became ( Bennet Lumber Co., 1924 [15] ) popular for serving breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Specially designed storage spaces for small appliances also appeared [2]. Cupboards began to include open corner shelves at the end of the unit that were ideal for displaying and storing small appliances for quick access. Small electric appliances were gathered on kitchen counters or in such specially designed cabinets; if they were out of sight in back corners, they were seldom if ever used. This change of house plan by the 1950s encouraged the spread of small electric cooking appliances. More and more manufacturers entered this market in the growing affluent consumer culture. Figure 23. Plan for ranch houses with dinning space in the kitchen ( Harrell and Lendrum, 1954 [15] )

Figure 24. L-shaped kitchen counter extension, 1952 [16] Figure 27. Ad. for General Electric, 1937 3.3 The Small Electric Cooking Appliances as ‘Gifts’ One important reason for the popularity of the small appliances is the fact that they were often bought as gifts. From the 1920s these appliances were often advertised as suitable for gifts from husbands to wives in the Christmas season (Figure 25, 26). Also there has been a custom of gift giving to prospective brides from her friends and relatives in the “bridal shower” party (Figure 27, 28). Small appliances were often chosen for this purpose and as wedding gifts proper. From the 1920s, these appliances were heavily promoted as the ‘most appropriate of Christmas and wedding gifts’[7] and throughout Figure 28. A bridal shower [17] the 1950s they continued to be very popular as gift items. In the 1930s and 1940s, waffle irons were considered the An author of a book on American home cooking recalls: wedding gift of choice, but by the 1950s, more waffle irons ‘When my husband and I married in 1952, our friends and were purchased in December for Christmas presents [3]. relatives equipped us with a blender, a pop-up toaster, an electric beater, an electric waffle iron that doubled as a sandwich grill, copper-bottomed saucepans, and several too many pepper mills’ [18]. Most cooking can be done by cookers and hand tools, but if there are small appliances each with a special function, cooking could be done more conveniently and it would also be enjoyable to use them. The character of these appliances is suitable for gifts in the growing consumer culture.

3.4 The Relation to Eating and Socializing Customs The popularity of small cooking appliances can moreover (left) Figure 25. Hotpoint advertisement, 1929 be related to American dining and socializing customs. (right) Figure 26. Toastmaster ad., Dec. 1957 During the 1920s and 1930s, various social gatherings or entertaining events, such as afternoon tea, card parties, club or church dinners, became popular in middle-class homes [2]. The skillet (Figure 29) that became popular from the 1950s can keep cooked food warm and be put on the table for easy serving. The waffle iron, although never as common as the pop-up toaster, can show the process of cooking on the table

66 B U L L E T I N O F JSSD Vol. 62 No. 1 2015 THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN as a fun activity. Cooking devices that show the cooking By the 1960s and 1970s, the importance of these process, like the rotisserie (Fig.30, 31), also appeared in the appliances might have declined because almost every market. Small electric cooking appliances were not only for conceivable food product became available in supermarkets, the everyday meals of families but also for home parties, a lessening the need to prepare food at home. custom very popular in the United States. 4. Conclusion As we have seen, small electric cooking appliances in the U.S. have developed in a peculiar way, having experienced peculiar situations in each period. We have examined the various factors that affected the course of evolution of the appliances. Those factors are the ‘needs’ of easy and quick cooking on the dining table and its relation to the change of house plan of middle class homes, the comparison to the relatively more expensive electric ranges, the growing consumer culture, the custom of gift giving, and the cooking/socializing customs such as home parties. We can see the relation of the actual development and those Figure 29. Skillet (Presto,1961) Figure30. Rotisserie (G.E.,1958) affecting factors to be evolutionary. We understand the principle of evolution as ‘a theory about how competing groups of entities try to survive in a changing environment’ [19]. In the case of modern mass-produced objects, the term ‘environment’ would mean a set of conditions that influences the state of the objects. Thus, certain appliances, as their designs changed, survived and flourished in a changing environment, that is, a changing economy, technology, culture, and society. In this paper, we could not examine the technological changes fully, but there were many changes in the Figure 31. Deep Fryer (Broil-Quick, 1953) manufacturing technology of the appliances, such as the technological development of metal working and finishing for By 1950, GE company strategists had made optimistic the body, of heating elements and temperature regulators, of predictions on the industry based on four factors; the increase materials to form knobs, handles and feet, etc. [3]. in population in the U.S., increases in the number of The processes of design changes of modern products, some electrically wired homes, increased per-capita earnings, and of which this paper has described, could be called social changes which would elevate the importance of electric ‘evolutionary.’ Designs have always been changing and new appliances in everyday life [14]. products have certain similarities to their predecessor. These The fourth factor is rather vague but suggests that there are the bases for the concept of evolution. was a growing tendency to appreciate and even require the Most ideas of evolution come from biological analogies conveniences brought about by small cooking appliances. [20]. Although living things have a series of programs written These conveniences included not only growing needs for labor into their genes for their exact reproduction, objects by and time saving in cooking, but also increasing demands for themselves do not have such a mechanism, and their new ways of cooking for socializing occasions such as home reproduction is carried out by individual craftsmen, by parties. For such occasions, small appliances could help create industry or by society as whole, in a far less deterministic way. dishes in specialized recipes that were developed by the The ‘program’ is written in, somewhere outside the objects, in appliance manufacturers. Buying these appliances was also an the culture. act of demonstrating affluence by possessing such new Evolutionary theory, if used in certain appropriate ways, technology during socializing events. could be an analogy from which the history of objects or the

Copyright © 2015 日本デザイン学会 All Rights Reserved. THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN B U L L E T I N O F JSSD Vol. 62 No. 1 2015 67 anonymous approach to design history could benefit. However, 91(1930), 101(1935), 121(1945), 131(1950), 141(1955). there is no ground to argue that objects are changing towards a 11. Greb FG. Origin, Development and Design of Minor perfect or ideal form. Instead, in reality, objects are changing Resistant-heated Appliances (dissertation supervised by Jay in peculiar ways in each society as we have seen in this case Doblin), Illinois Institute of Technology, 1957; 69-72, 77-80. study. Objects do seem to evolve, in a sense, but they do not 12. made from a table in Tobey RC. Technology as Freedom, necessarily progress toward a final ideal form. In the University of California Press, 1996; 7-8. Darwinian analogy, the idea of trial and error, as well as the 13. Nye D. Electrifying America, the MIT Press, 1990; idea of selection, is useful when we look at the design changes 288-300. in mass-produced objects, which are not created by individual 14. Friday F. and White RF. A Walk Through the Park: The designers but by the collective activity of the whole society. History of GE Appliances and Appliance Park, Elfin Objects that have similar uses often take different forms in Historical Society, 1987; 30, 21. different cultures. There are differences in the course of 15. Clark, JR. CE. The American Family Home 1800-1960, evolution, which are the result of differences in The University of North California Press, 1986; 152, 164, ‘environmental’ factors: i.e., social, technological, economic 214. and cultural backgrounds. 16. photograph by Norton and Peel, Minnesota, Clark, 15; To understand the nature of anonymous design of everyday 230. objects, design history looked at from the evolutionary point of 17. The Saturday Evening Post, February 1955. view will serve as a useful means of study. 18. Mcfeely MD. Can She Bake: American Women and the Kitchen in the twentieth century, University of Massachusetts References Press, 2001; 95. 1. Montgomery Ward, The 1954 Christmas Book; 246. 19. de Rijk T, Drukker JW, Kooman C. Introduction to 2. Plante EM. The American Kitchen 1700 to the present, collected abstracts of papers submitted to the Design History Facts On File, 1995; 214-217, 255, 271, 252-253, 268-299, Society Annual Conference 2006 ‘Design and Evolution’, 249-250. Delft University of Technology, 2006. 3. George WF. Antique Electric Waffle Irons 1900-1960: A 20. Steadman P. The Evolution of Designs: biological analogy History of Appliance Industry in 20th Century America, in architecture and the applied arts, Cambridge University Trafford Publishing, 2003; 244, 2, 7, 245, 10, 2, 245, 16-25. Press, 1979. 4. “Storage for an appliance should be considered when selection is being made. If the storage place is too inconvenient, it may become too much trouble to use the appliance, and very little satisfaction is then had from its ownership.” Florence Ehrenkranz and Lydia Inman, Equipment in the Home, Harper & Brothers, 1958; 78. 5. McGraw Electric Co., 30th Anniversary Toastmaster 1926-1956, 1956. 6. Whitton MO. The New Servant: Electricity in the Home, Doubleday, Page & Co., 1927; 181-2, 9. 7. General Electric Co., Home of Hundred Comfort 3rd.ed., 1925;10-11. 8. Levenstein H. Paradox of Plenty: a social history of eating in modern America, University of California Press, 2003; 102-4. 9. Lifsey E. The Housewares Story, National Housewares Manufacturers Association, 1973; 244-259, 280-85. 10. Ladies' Home Journal, Vol. 40 (1923), 42(1925), 50(1933), 57(1940), 64(1947), 67(1950), 72(1955) and Good Housekeeping, Vol. 61 (1915), 81(1925), 71(1920),

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