GE Introduces Almond into their New Line

[Unimatic1140]

Three great new items have just gone up in the Ephemera Library, and a great big thank you goes to Paul (turquoisedude) via Lawrence (pulltostart) for lending me these to scan.

#1 GE New Naturals Brochure

Contemporary Collection Brochure

1957 General Electric Automatic Washer Service Manual

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Thank you for adding this brochure to the Ephemera Library Collection! Nice to read how GE was the first to introduce Avocado, Harvest Gold, and then Almond!

And the photo w/ the Island (in Harvest WHEAT) reminds me of a kitchen in one of my Home Remodeling books (w/ Tappan appliances, actually)...

-- Dave

 

[bajaespuma]

Thank you to everyone involved in bringing these documents to the Library. The 1957 service manual is especially timely for me.

 

Now let's get some 1962 and 1961 washer and dryer service manuals to webmaster!!!!!!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

I am glad you were able to preserve them Robert!   The Canadian border agent was enjoying flipping through them when I brought them back to Ogden last weekend, too!

 

[danemodsandy]

I'll BOIL You, Robert!

For a bad moment there, you had me thinking that Almond was back as some sort of retro color.

* breathe. center. meditate. Xanax. *

 

[appnut]

Still beautiful colors even today.  I remember being fascinated by almond when I first saw them in Dillards in Austin while doing a house hold equipment course series of research.  As white proved with the plastic control panels, they discolored and looked awful and ugly.  With almond everything remained uniform in color.  But then I can't stand white or pink. 

 

[frigilux]

Great one, Sandy!

While almond is my least favorite appliance color, one has to remember that it seemed like a great idea at the time. It wasn't boring old white, and it was an easy-to-assimilate color in kitchens that were transitioning out of the greens and golds that dominated the Spanish look of the early 1970s.

Me, I'll take an all-white kitchen over almond any day. I've always liked stainless steel, thank goodness, because if you're purchasing at or near the top of most lines, it's often your only choice. But if not stainless, white. However...

...I've seen GE's gray/graphite line look good in a couple of my friends' kitchens, but who knows how long that color will be around. There's a Right-Height laundry pair in gray at the local GE dealership that has been begging me to take 'em home. I can't have a full riser due to overhead cupboards, but I certainly wouldn't mind the extra few inches the Right-Height pair provides. I've reached into the washer several times and my back and knees have sighed, "Ohhhh, yeahhhhhh" every time.

Fortunately, the $3,000 price tag has provided a convincing reason to resist.

 

[polkanut]

I'll have to say that with our dishwasher shopping adventure this past weekend, I still like Almond.  Fortunately, we both detest black & stainless appliances!  Finding a mfr that still has almond in their offerings is very limited.  Thank heavens for GE still having a few models available in that color choice however.  The new dw will be delivered/installed Thursday.

 

[Unimatic1140]

More from Paul and Lawrence this morning, I just posted a beautiful early 50's GE Kitchen and Laundry Planing Brochure as well as the 1958 GE Refrigerator Freezer Service Manual.

Thanks again guys!...

 

[circlew]

I still remember all the "Hoopla" at Snyder's - the local GE dealer - when Almond and the other "New Naturals" were introduced. They had an open house with food and everything. Seems like it was sometime in '77; will have to look up the exact date in the old newspapers at historical society.

 

[dustin92]

I do have to say, Almond is my least favorite appliance color- if you want white, buy white- to me, almond never looks clean, it looks like white that has been hanging out with chain smokers for 10 years. Don't personally care for stainless because it is a nightmare to keep clean. I prefer white or an actual *color*, (Avocado, Pink, Turquoise, Harvest gold, Coppertone etc). To me, pure, sterile white appliances look clean, and match any color of decor. It never goes out of style.

 

[combo52]

Almond Appliances

Almond and the later Bisk version were are are wonderful color choices for home appliances. Almond as Bob noted, is the one appliance color that does not show its age like newer white appliances and SS I won't even go there. But almond appliances can be easily cleaned up, touched up and resold, most of the white on white appliances from the late 80s on just look too tired to resell because of discolored plastic parts.

After you have looked at and worked on as many appliances as I have the LAST finish I would ever want in my home is WHITE, Unfortunately most of the appliances in my laundry room and in the museum are white, but I will go to great lengths to keep white out of my kitchens, it is just not a warm or pleasant color, [ I feel the same way about white cars ] and I agree again Bob pink would be the other color that I would not want in my kitchen.

John L.

 

[jetcone]

Yes

but

Charcoal doesn't CLASH with anything !!

 

[brib68]

Colored appliances

I remember seeing ads for GE's "Onyx" in my mom's women's magazines as a child. We never had anything but stark white at home, so I thought any decorator color was rather exotic and exciting. Our back yard neighbors had gold--a bottom-freezer fridge with pedal open, a slide-in range, and a dishwasher. They were the only people I knew with a DW and I was fascinated by it and always wanted to help load and unload if I was over there. My aunt got a full suite of gold Kenmore appliances when they got their first house, and she kept them for years (she might even still be using some of them). My dad's folks had the white appliances that they had in the 50's--extra wide GE stove, non-functioning Bendix combo, GE fridge. Actually, at some point I think they had a a fridge with a mechanical push button to open the door. (I don't *think* it was the electronic one from the famous live TV blooper). My mom's folks had 60's white appliances, but other than the RCA-Whirlpool washer and dryer, I don't remember what they were. When they moved to the country, though, the house came with PINK General Electric: push button cooktop, wall oven, fridge. Mom kept with white appliances until she remodeled her kitchen after my dad died and she put in all stainless. Myself, when I have been able to choose my own new appliances, laundry has been white, and kitchen has been stainless. When we moved into our new house, it had a brown KA dishwasher, probably from the early 70s. We probably would have kept it, but we couldn't figure out how to get it to run--Once we lucked into getting it to start and do a cycle, but mostly it just frustrated us. Too bad I didn't know about this site back then!

 

[danemodsandy]

The Kitchen Planning Guide....

....From 1951 is GREAT!

Not only does it show the '51/'52 GE kitchen and laundry line at its Day One best, it's a great look at decorating trends of the time.

It's also fun to see the societal expectations of the day - the ladies who are busy in their new GE kitchens are all freshly permed and manicured, in heels and good day dresses, with pearls and pretty aprons.

I well remember housewives making more of an effort back in the day than they do now, but not that much, LOL! This was more fantasy than reality.

Anyway, the brochure is well, well worth your money and downloading time. Recommended.

 

[bwoods]

colors

Almond, and the more subtle Bisque, give a warmth and touch of elegance to appliances. After the bold Avacado and Harvest Golds of the previous era, it was nice to have something with earth-toned neutrals that would go with most everything decor.

When General Electric first came out with "White on White" (the first I remember seeing these was approximately 1988) This was a great improvement over the common white body with the black or dark colored control panels/escutcheons.

The white on white appliances were crisp, clean and energizing in appearance. GE used Soldier Grey for the print and accents when they first came out with their white on white line and I thought this was the perfect combination.

 

[appnut]

I agree.  I think Almond and Bisque were intended to tone down the avocado and harvest gold and allow a transition as people replaced their appliances one by one that blended with what was still there and didn't clash and still gave an option that wasn't plain ol' white. I can tell you all the new houses that were built in my subdivision from 1960/1961 (upper middle-classes houses) through the mid-1970s all had kitchen appliances which were NOT white unless the homeowner specifically requested.  All other colors  and finishes available during those times under the sun were used but white.   I can only recall one house on my street (26 total for both sides of the street) that had white appliances and the homeowner built the house and specified white.  Seemed like everything was white, including original carpet.  Housewife was OCD about cleaning.  Of course the two kids stayed out a lot playing and no neighborhood kids wee allowed in--they had an outside water fountain for everyone. 

 

[bwoods]

white was a no no

Yes! I remember those times, Bob, when white was not in vogue.  It seemed white was out of style, and quite pedestrian, for the flambouyant sixties and seventies.  You were just "not with it" if you had white appliances.  lol

 

Can all of you olders remember when appliance dealers used to charge extra for "color?"  

 

[pulltostart]

I think color was a cheap way for a builder to make it look like he had spent more $$ on appliances than he actually had spent.  My folks bought a new spec house in the spring of 1963, in a subdivision that featured 3 floor plans (count 'em, three).  Two plans had 2 full bathrooms, one plan only had 1.5 baths; some had basements, some had carports - you know the drill.  The appliances were BOL Hotpoint, BUT they were in colors!  Our house had pink, others had yellow, others had turquoise.  Stylish, but still BOL.

 

As I've looked for appliances for my Mobile house, I've found a lot of Avocado and Coppertone, and I don't have a problem with either color, except both of these colors were selected to blend with stained wood cabinets, which were in vogue at the time.  I do not want stained cabinets - painted will do, thank you - but I've not been able to come up with the correct color combinations to make either Avocado or Coppertone work.  Unfortunately, Almond almost always works.

 

So far I've not gone over to "the Dark Side".

 

lawrence