Please date my irons

[austinado16]

Love yard sales and the swapmeet, not to mention Craigslist. Today we stumbled upon a real estate sale, which is sort of rare around here. Gal and her hubby were clearing out her dad's 1930's era home, which it looked like he'd lived in most of his adult life.

Of course I sprinted into the kitchen, and the adjacent laundry room. I've never seen this before, but there was a cast aluminum iron storage "box" mounted in the wall, and next to it, a very tall fold out ironing board. The iron storage was very cool and I really wanted it, it was very decorative, and open, in sort of a sunburst or flower pedal type pattern, and that decorative door folded down, so the iron could rest on it. Inside was a perforated metal shelf that the iron sat on when the door was closed.

Anyway, I purchased the 3 vintage irons that were there in the closet. All 3 work perfect, and I want to keep one to go with my 50's Rijid Ironing Board (the version with the knee space so you can sit and iron).

So to all you iron collectors, what years are these? So far, I'm liking the middle one with the blue cord the best.

 

[dynaflow]

keep the presto

the last one in the pic is a presto prob 1965 or so the one with the blue cord is the newest 1st ge is prob late 50's early 60's all good iron but u will LOVE the presto
i have th same ironing board and love it

 

[austinado16]

Thanks!

I was guessing the Presto was 60's due to it's color and that, "We might get to the moon this year" look. It has a round brass shower head looking steam vent at the tip of the shoe, and one of the selector buttons makes just that vent pump out the steam. Pretty cool feature. It also has a dozen or so different temp and steam settings marked out on the dial.

So is the GE on the left from post WWII mid to late 40's?

 

[dynaflow]

ge left

the ge on the left is late 50's plus the presto has a tank built in the body of the handle so its rust proof was the HB mixer part of the sale?
i collect vintage 50's kitchen appliances myself

 

[norgeway]

That Presto!!!

Is absolutely the BEST iron you will ever use,push the spray steam button,and you get more steam than any other iron...new or old!!!

 

[lordkenmore]

I don't date irons...

...I think they might be too hot for a dull person like me!

 

[lordkenmore]

More seriously

I have no experience with Presto (but reading the comments above makes me want to find one!). But I do have GE steam iron with a blue cord. That iron is simply the best I've ever used.

Frankly, I'd guess even the worst of these irons would be better than what's readily available today.

 

[austinado16]

The HB Mixer and other goodies in the background are ours (and that photo is taken in our kitchen which is all functional vintage appliances).

You're right about the Presto cranking out the steam. That front nozzle just chugs like a steam locomotive.

Funny you guys say that the Presto is so good. That's the one I was least interested in because it's "too new" for what I like to collect. I was really hot for the 2 GE's, especially the one with blue cord. I didn't grab a comparable Westinghouse about a month ago and am still kicking myself. Had it in my hand and everything....and then set it down and walked out. Stupid.

Here's a couple views of the kitchen to give you an idea of how we've got it set up.

Looking in toward the left side:

Looking in toward the right side:

Looking back out at the left side:

Looking back out at the right side:

And the Westinghouse twins in the back corner on the right side:

And for fun, one of the kitchen before we relocated the house and started restoring it:

 

[alr2903]

I think the middle one is/was still sold as the "classic iron" To be honest i don't know if it was lablelled B&D in later years or GE. I would guess Black & Decker since they bought GE"s smalls. The blue cord has been available on GE's since the mid 1970's. Dad thought the vinyl/plastic cord was great. Of all small appliances your could "fray" an iron cord because of wear and tear with the constant motion while ironing. alr2903

 

[paulg]

That kitchen is fabulous

Wow! Love the kitchen Austinado!

 

[58limited]

Austinado - the kitchen is amazing! Would love to see pics of the rest of the house.

 

[frigilux]

OK, I'll date the iron on the left, but tell it to be aware I go no further than 2nd base the first time out, LOL!

Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful!! It's like stepping back in time. What an incredible amount of work it must have been.

 

[dirtybuck]

Two Comments:

1. austinado, that kitchen is HOT!! It's like stepping into a time capsule. Everything goes so well together.

2. By no means am I an expert on irons or blenders or any other kitchen appliance, but is the iron on the right POSSIBLY a Proctor-Silex and not a Presto? I seem to recall PS doing quite a bit of advertising back in the mid-60's for their irons.

 

[retropia]

The GE iron in the middle is exactly like ours, which I purchased new around 1975-76. It works great. The blue cord is very sturdy and still looks like new. It's never had water in it, so I can't critique the spray/steam functions. I use a spray bottle to dampen fabric while I iron.

Your "before" photo of your kitchen is amazing, and the "after" photos are wonderful.

 

[tlee618]

Todd, your kitchen looks amazing! It must be a fun place to cook in. Hard to believe the before and after shots. Are the Westy's your daily drivers?

 

[ptcruiser51]

On the left

Is a GE that my OL had in the late 50s. My aunt got one around 1962 that looked similar but had "W-n-W" as a temp setting (Wash 'n' Wear).

That kitchen is FABOO! I expecially love the Formica "boomerang" countertops! My OL had the same thing in PANK.

 

[xraytech]

First off great Kitchen, it turned out great.

Asfor the irons I'm not familiar with the Presto iron, as I only use GE or Hoover irons.

But the GE on the left would be from the late 50's or early 60's, and the one in the middel is the same model just from the mid 70's since it doesn't have a cloth weave cord.

I have a slightly higher end model GE iron, it belonged to my great-aunt Thresa ahe used to iron everything, now I have it and use it almost daily, we both used distilled water in it, it steams very well, and so far no rusty tank.

 

[dynaflow]

it definatly is a

Presto

 

[austinado16]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Yes, the Westinghouse Twins are our daily drivers and have been, since I found them in a local Goodwill in 1996. I've got a video on Youtube of them both running if you haven't seen it already. Hopefully the link will show up at the bottom of this post.

As you can see by the original condition of the kitchen, we started with a blank slate. From the beginning I (we) wanted to do a period kitchen, and my favorite is pre-54/55. Love that big streamlined look that came before things started looking "fast" with extra creases and other touches that took away the roundness that I like so much.

Anyway, the rule I/we kinda made up was that what ever we did had to be functional and usable, and it had to be a version that was the pinacle of the day for whatever it was. Took us years to find each piece and restore it all one at a time, but it was a lot of fun and we're happy with the look and feel. Generally, everything was working when found, so other than minor parts and then cosmetic restoration, each item wasn't too bad or too hard to do. Some, like the smaller items needed nothing other than cleaning.

The Formica is the real deal. We were able to locate 2 or 3 sheets of it with help from Formica. The metal edge banding is modern stuff, chosen because it looks like the wider version that's on the Virtue Bros. dinette. That curved "bar" end at the entrance to the kitchen is copied off the front of the fridge, and the tighter curves at each side of it, were done from a Melmac Boonton cereal bowl that I have a collection of.

Would have loved metal cabinets, but they were impossible to find, and now I wouldn't dismantle the kitchen just to have them. The cabinets are my design and the doors replicate features of the house's interior "Eastlake" doors. If I ever find enough period handles/pulls, I'll replace the generic modern ones that are on there now.

I'll start a new thread and post more photos of the project.

BTW, thanks for dating the irons. I'll take the 50's GE for a test drive after I polish the shoe a little and see what I think. As much as the Presto is cool and definately the best of the 3, I'm not sure I'll keep it (or the blue-cord GE) just due to them both being newer than what I typically "collect."