What is this wringer washer?

[whirlykenmore78]

The ratings plate says it came from "Automatic washer Co." in Newton IA. Yet, it's not a Maytag. What is this?
WK78

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/app/4547043319.html

 

[DADoES]

[No message]

 

[scoots]

I'm wondering if this is a secondary Maytag brand?

Occasionally companies buy out competitors and rather than destroy the inventory, they continue to sell the product as a secondary brand. I am wondering if this might be the case with the nondescript "Automatic Washer Co."

This is from the Maytag Collector's Club website describing a rarely seen wringer called the "Fred"

"Model 20 Fredrick: The machine was produced for the Fredrick Company, The Frederick Company was another Maytag owned Company - named after Frederick L. Maytag."

 

[launderess]

"In 1907 Automatic Electric Washer Company introduced one of the first, if not the first, mass produced electric powered washing machine. By 1910 it was selling more than 40,000 machines a year with a corporate slogan “Everybody Works but Mother.” Its advertising campaign declared “Ten O’clock and the Washing Done.” Even its slogan and advertising campaign had hidden meanings. In 1905 a song “Everybody Works but Father” became a big hit. The song sung in the voice of a young man told the story, reminiscent of the early complaints about “blue Monday”, of a lazy alcoholic father who forced the rest of the family to work so that he could live the life of ease. “Everybody works but father,” the chorus asserted"

http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/blue-mondays.html

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/299/341/237078/

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...iIbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PkoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4978,1843885

 

[launderess]

In the early days of laundry appliance as with many others it was sort of like the wild, wild, West. Hundreds of men were out there forming companies, filing patents and building washing machines. Over the years as the industry grew some companies went out of business for one reason or another. Others were purchased and or absorbed into larger corporations who in turn were often themselves gobbled up.

Automatic Washing went bankrupt in 1961 under what looks like a cloud of securities fraud. https://casetext.com/case/ashbach-v-kirtley

As late as 1966 persons connected with the above case were appealing their convictions.

Guess you could say it call came out in the wash!

Ba-da-dum!

Thank you ladies and gentlemen........

 

[scoots]

Thank you Launderess...

... for an authoritative answer.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Meadows was a brand of wringer washer produced in Bloomington, IL and later in Newton, IA. It looked very much like a Maytag. They had a very unique red Bakelite agitator that was featured in the Smithsonian Exhibit titled: It's a Material World. It had the narrow post like the Maytag Gyrator, but it had 6 or 8 fins that were about two fingers high and maybe one fat finger wide on the skirt.

There was at least one law suit between Meadows and Maytag which you can read at the link. Tab down to read the rest of it. [this post was last edited: 7/23/2014-09:24]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...ZpQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uyEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4898,3278712

 

[classiccaprice]

Did automatic washing make an automatic?

 

[launderess]

Automatic

Everyone was harping on about that word because it meant "modern" and an end to housework drudgery for millions of women, in theory. Early appliances however including washing machines would more fall under "semi-automatic" than anything else. However when compared to three days of boiling, scrubbing, hauling endless pail of water (often boiling) then yes, these machines were automatic.