Circa 1955 Western Holly gas double oven -

[cheers]

We have a circa 1955 working, beautiful yellow Western Holly gas double oven in our family estate. We are putting the home on the market, and our realtor was thrilled to see what great shape the oven was in...and said we might think about looking for a buyer and replacing it before the home goes on the market. We figured we'd at least 'review' the subject, and see if there is much interest for it? This forum was suggested as a good place to start. We also have a matching 4 burner gas stove top...but that might be more of an undertaking than we want to put forth. Where does one go, or contact, for this type of thing? We have found many antique 'stove' restorers on the web, but can't quite find ones that specialize in restoring/purchasing vintage ovens for restoration and sale? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I placed a photo below...but I apologize in advance for its quality. It was taken with a phone camera...but you can get the 'picture'. Regards!

 

[appnut]

This is not a double gas oven.  The upper door is for acess to the oven part.  the lower door is access to the broiler. If it were two separate ovens,  then you would have two separate temperature knobs for temperature settings.  Which it doesn't have, just the one in themiddle.

 

[rp2813]

In the mid 80's I lived in a 1955 house that had the same oven and likely the same cooktop as original equipment.  The cooktop is, I think, easier to remove than the oven.  We removed our cooktop (neighbors were getting rid of their original unit that was in better shape than ours so we grabbed it) and it wasn't a big job at all.  You should consider offering both items.  It's also possible that a buyer will know how to extract both units and could be willing, or even prefer to do so.

 

[passatdoc]

That looks a LOT like the ovens in the kitchen of "Pleasantville". Not sure if Holly made electric units as well. But the Pleasantville kitchen set ovens had the same round porthole style windows.

I've never seen a double GAS wall oven in the US. Of the models currently made, some have a lower door for a broiler, but there is only one oven. Most of the models now made are basic, without bells and whistles, and are designed to replace older single-oven gas wall units. You can't get features liked convection which one does see in gas ranges (freestanding and slide in).

 

[laundromat]

Other than not having the housepower needed to have it, I have no clue why else anyone would want a built in gas oven.Their heat is uneven and there are many hotspots.I would have electric over gas to bake my foods hands down.

 

[bugsyjones]

I would like one of these, but right now I have nowhere to put it and I'm not even close enough to go pick it up.

Very nice though!

~Tim J.

 

[cheers]

Correction - my poor choice of words

I apologize for describing it as a double oven. While it does have two (2) separate oven compartments...the larger (top) one is the oven compartment, and the smaller (bottom) one is the broiler compartment.

Actually we have found this gas oven to consistently produce evenly baked, and level cakes. I used to have a home with a gas oven and it would bake cakes unevenly, and they would rise and fall in some places because of the uneven heat. Not an issue with this one.

We do appreciate all the comments and suggestions.

 

[retropia]

If you are willing to try selling it yourself, I'd consider placing Craigslist ads in southern California places where mid-century style homes are popular, like Palm Springs. As someone else suggested, I'd offer both the cooktop and the oven as a set.

There are vintage home furnishing stores that either buy outright or sell on a consignment basis. Even if the ones in your area usually only sell furniture, I'd ask if they'd be interested in your appliances. Also, I would check with used appliance dealers, especially those near neighborhoods featuring period homes.

Atomic Ranch is a magazine that has a Resources page on its website:
http://www.atomic-ranch.com/resources/resources.php

Also a good place for resources is Retro Renovation; their website is below.

You might find a dealer interested in your vintage oven and cooktop through one of the resources on these sites.

Retro Renovation - Remodel & Decorate in Mid Century Style

The New York Times called Retro Renovation “… the go-to destination for enthusiasts who want to restore houses built during the post-World War II boom."

retrorenovation.com