I Don't Know if this has been posted before, But I thought You Guys
would like this film on YouTube. Nice Prewar kitchen design.
would like this film on YouTube. Nice Prewar kitchen design.
It Happened in the Kitchen
- Thread starter jakins
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what's the brand of front-loading dishwasher at around 3:00 to 3:20
I have a parts catalog from pre-war Westinghouse appliances and it looks similar to those.
toploader55
Well-known member
On the Back Splash, Looks like General Electric Logo Bob.
miele_ge
Well-known member
I suspect its General Electric
It is one of their promotional films according to the blurb on YouTube.
It is one of their promotional films according to the blurb on YouTube.
I'm with Greg. This photo came from a home decorating book published just after the Second World War (courtesy Westinghouse, bien sûr!)
Westinghouse bought the Conover Company to get that front loading dishwasher, but then, all through the 50s, they used the roll out wash well style dw until their check-rated drop door dw introduced about 1965.
Those kitchens sure featured expensive items for a nation barely emerging from the Great Depression. I know that there were two nations during the Depression; those people who carried on as though nothing had happened and the rest of the people, but this film rings false in so many ways and those heels!
I was surprised to see stuff going into the refrigerator and cabinets without being washed or wiped off, the market baskets set on the kitchen counter and that can of cream from the floor to the refrigerator--not in my mother's kitchen.
Those kitchens sure featured expensive items for a nation barely emerging from the Great Depression. I know that there were two nations during the Depression; those people who carried on as though nothing had happened and the rest of the people, but this film rings false in so many ways and those heels!
I was surprised to see stuff going into the refrigerator and cabinets without being washed or wiped off, the market baskets set on the kitchen counter and that can of cream from the floor to the refrigerator--not in my mother's kitchen.
The US was rapidly emerging from the Depression by 1941, and simultaneously heading into a horrific war. I often wonder if ads from this period were overly optimistic about the recovery, or desperate to pretend the war wasn’t coming.
Another irony of this ad is that by the end of 1941—even before Pearl Harbor—large factories across the country were being converted to wartime production, from airplane parts to munitions. Manufacture of large appliances and similar items essentially came to a complete stop.
That was certainly the case with Frigidaire. But all through the war, they continued to publish large, colorful print ads in popular magazines, featuring all sorts of happy kitchen scenes with products that were not actually available, always with a paragraph that began, “Frigidaire, now busy in war work …” or “<strong>Frigidaire, busy with war production …</strong>” They kept their name in the public eye, certainly, but they were also part of the nationwide effort to remind people of the world that waited for them after Victory.
That was certainly the case with Frigidaire. But all through the war, they continued to publish large, colorful print ads in popular magazines, featuring all sorts of happy kitchen scenes with products that were not actually available, always with a paragraph that began, “Frigidaire, now busy in war work …” or “<strong>Frigidaire, busy with war production …</strong>” They kept their name in the public eye, certainly, but they were also part of the nationwide effort to remind people of the world that waited for them after Victory.
And those institutional ads, run to keep brand names in the public eye, always had the message to buy war bonds to save for the day when you would be able to buy the appliance, kitchen, washer, house, car etc. that you could not buy now. That pent up demand for consumer goods from the decade of the Depression and then the half decade of the war and then the Korean War helped to fuel the economic boom of the 50s and early 60s. I was surprised to find, when I read shelter magazines of the early 50s, about the shortages of home heating oil and natural gas because of the Korean War effort and the insulating and heat saving tips they offered. It was similar to what they were offering in the 70s.
Sadly, you are right that it was basically the tooling up for war that finally brought our economy out of the Depression, but at a horrific cost. Every time there were signs of improvement before, the Republicans in Congress would cut back the aid to recovery too soon and the economy dipped again.
Sadly, you are right that it was basically the tooling up for war that finally brought our economy out of the Depression, but at a horrific cost. Every time there were signs of improvement before, the Republicans in Congress would cut back the aid to recovery too soon and the economy dipped again.
