Parade o' General Electric
So I thought it might be fun to assemble a timeline of sorts of GE washers. One of the first things I discovered was that I was wrong above when I made the comment that additional 1962 washer ads didn't exist - I found at least two. My bad.
So here is a parade of GE washers from 1954 through 1964, sometimes with companion dryer. With the exception of the last photo, these represent the TOL model for each year. The last photo is of the console-that-wouldn't-die that GE introduced in 1964 for the less-expensive models and that they continued in some form until almost the end of the Filter-flo era. IMHO, these were the exciting years for the development of GE's laundry products, but not the end of innovation. Later would appear their Versatronic controls, 18-lb capacity machines (with their 'Joe Mama' sized companion dryers), electronic sensors on dryers, and the Dispensal system on the washers. For this post, I chose to stop at 1964. I claim to have posted the pictures in chronological order....
Some highlights (primarily features and consoles, references to color are to consoles/controls):
1954 - new cabinet design that lasted 3 years; as with their refrigerators, the appliances featured the GE monogram prominently on the cabinet.
1955 - new markings/colors; introduction of GE's 'mix-n-match' appliance colors.
1956 - introduction of Filter-flo; heavy use of copper trim.
1957 - introduction of 'straight-line styling' and a new console design that would be used for 3 years; only year the timer was on the left; pink was definitely the color of the year based on plastic trim; first year for suds saver option.
1958 - introduction of programmed selections (piano keys); dark blue-green was the color.
1959 - introduction of a 'cold wash' piano key; multi-colors on the timer corresponding to the program selection choices.
1960 - introduction of a new, larger console design that would be used for 4 years; introduction of the 'bleach bucket' (my terminology) on the front of the cabinet; GE featured their 'Golden Value' products along with their anniversary so the colors on the console were browns and yellow/gold.
1961 - introduction of the 12-lb capacity, perforated tub design; introduction of a 3-position rotary water level switch; light blue markings and backgrounds for the console.
1962 - introduction of the Mini-Basket with a fourth water level choice; black-and-white console.
1963 - pretty much the same as 1962 with a switching of the black and white positions on the console.
1964 - introduction of a new console design, featuring a timeline timer configuration that would be used for 3 years.
lawrence
