Posted 10 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
Here are two fine, and original examples of early American toasters. Colonial Americans toasted their bread so that it would not go bad as fast as fresh bread. The result was rock solid bread that lasted much longer in the home.
The first toaster, images 1 and 2, is the more common swivel or rotating style. The caged area spins around a single hand forged bolt. The second style seen in images 3 and 4 is more rare. Instead of moving 360 degrees, this one simply flips back and forth. As you can see this style was harder on the handle, as it tended to bend from all of the turning and the weight of the cage.
I enjoy these because they are both simple, yet effective. Both allow the person toast both sides of the bread with a flip or a spin. Hope you enjoy the posting!
I've seen several like your #1 before, but I never saw one like your #2 toaster. They're great! I never knew that the main reason to toast the bread was to preserve it from going bad by getting moldy. I thought they just liked toast as we do today. Now that you mentioned it, it makes a lot of sense to preserve your foods by taking a lot of the moisture out of it. Great posts (as usual).
hotairfan....thanks for the compliment!!! I found the second one at an Estate Sale in Wall, NJ. When I saw it I was POSITIVE that it was a fish broiler (as seen in the George C. Neumann book). Then I realized that it is an alternate, and perhaps earlier version of the toaster. I have a feeling this piece could be especially early...but it is just a gut feeling.