early topload Automatics
IIRC, the first Blackstone was the model 50, available sometime in 1941 before the start of the war. Once production started back up, post-War, the model designation switched over to the 50A and was replaced by the 150 by the late 40's/early 50's.
GE documented their production date ranges for the AW6 machines, putting the first AW6A1 in production March of 1947. GM Frigidaire wasn't far behind in the early fall of '47, along with Thor and I believe Apex around the same time.
ABC introduced their automatic in 1949, similarly to when Maytag introduced theirs. The dual motor Beam iteration of the first Hotpoint washer was also introduced in January of 1949, with subsequent Beam related brands also beginning production around that time (with SQ in late '52 and Easy in '54).
Norge was one of the last to introduce their top load washer, in 1952. I'm not counting the Bendix Economat, as it's mostly a glorified Maytag Model E2 mechanism with a rubber tub.
As for Whirlpool/Sears - wasn't the first iteration of their non bolt down automatic introduced in 1949? I've also not seen any actual documentation from either Whirlpool or Sears dated before '49, in relation to an automatic washer.
Ben
