Posted 11 years ago
KathyKay
(53 items)
Found this at an antique show a few months ago. It needed to be refinished and the hardware cleaned up, the hinges were all rusted but they cleaned up nicely. The wheels were missing so I replaced those with reproduction ones - everything else is original. Today I completed the restoration and wanted to share. It is an unusual size it is about 23 inches tall and 25 wide. It opens at the top and has a shelf and pan on the bottom. There is a drain on the bottom of the box it drain off the water as the ice melts. It has all of the original interior insulation and metal. The makers brass plate on the front reads White Mountain The Maine Manufacturing Company located in NH.
It seems like it is a cut-down from an old Ice-pack refrigerator that stood approximately 5 feet tall. The top was used to store the BLOCK of ice that would take quite a while to melt. Another section underneath contained the refrigerated goods that were cooled by the ice block on top. There was a pan that fit under the base to collect the melted water. RER(BOB)
I think Lou hit the nail on the head on this one. Not many of us still around that remember having an "ice box". I remember the ice man coming and carrying the block of ice in with his tongs. My mother would rush to be sure the drain pan was empty. There was no freezer and very little room in the fridge as we know it. Rich people had the big Oak three or four door units. I wonder how we ever lived through it. No phone, no electric, no computer, no car, no indoor plumbing. I should sue someone or everyone. There was no excuse for not having all the comforts and luxuries.
Thanks for pointing that out LOU, as I have never seen or heard of such a thing & you make sense. With ice in it, it would hardly hold much more than a 6 pack. Not sure if that's an attribute or a short-coming!
I know this is an old post, but I thought you might like to know I have an ice box exactly like your picture. I'm thinking it's exactly what it looks like - a small ice box. Mine was never set up with wheels, just smooth bottom on legs.
If that is so, is it feasible, that these may have been for storing an extra block of ice?
I think that could be feasible. I wonder if it might possibly be for an apartment or for a person living in a boarding house that didn't have space for a larger ice box, or didn't have the need for one.
Thanks for the post - it doesn't look like it was cut down but it is very odd to be this small. You couldn't store much in it but as stated maybe it was for one person who lived in a small area. I love it and use it as an end table.