Sunday Morning Coffee

Okay, it's really Sunday afternoon, but I worked all night and went to bed at 8 a.m. this morning.

This Farberware model 206 was a recent find, although I have several in this identical or near identical design.

I'm Cuccu for Cuccuma

A few months ago, I picked up an Imusa Moka pot Expresso 3-cup coffee maker. It wasn't vintage, but it's something I always wanted to try.  I'm actually surprised I didn't write about it.  Anyway, it works great and makes good coffee, although it's a little involved and doesn't make a lot of coffee.

So when I saw this at a recent estate sale, I assumed it was another similar coffee maker.

Saturday Night Popcorn

 When I was a kid, treats and snacks were limited, but I could usually talk my mom into making popcorn at least once a month, usually on a Saturday night.  It was made on the stovetop in a big cooking pot with regular vegetable oil and the cheapest popcorn kernels we could buy.  It was seasoned with table salt and served in a large tin cake pan.  Then I'd settle down in front of our RCA console color TV for a double-header of  "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" or maybe the CBS Saturday Night Movie.

Sometimes my mom would spring for a more expensive popcorn brand like Jolly Time that came with it's own packet of yellow-colored seasoning. I loved that powdery salt. I told myself it tasted like butter (it didn't).

In my teen years, my desire for popcorn as a weekly snack got to the point that my mom finally bought a popcorn popper.  It was a simple Mirro brand model; just an electric pot with a lid similar to this one, although ours had a clear plastic lid (this, by the way, was not my find).

I once scalded the inside of my nostril sniffing the popcorn immediately after lifting the lid (I told you, I really loved popcorn); lesson learned.

It made adequate popcorn, but I sometimes burned the bottom. There is no worse smell than burnt popcorn.  I longed for one of these (this IS my find):

Manning Bowman Bonanza

Yes, it's another toaster and percolator post. What can I say?  These things almost seem to find me rather than the other way around.

A few weeks ago, I spotted a Manning Bowman percolator in all it's glorious Art Deco roundness.

Universal Toaster

Toast indeed is universal. Who doesn't love toast? (p.s. we can't be friends if you don't love toast).  And this is a Universal Toaster, patented 1914.  I found it at a private estate sale a few weekends ago.  It still amazes me people have these 100+ year-old toasters laying around.  And based on its condition, this one apparently was laying around in a dark corner of an attic or basement.

A Not-So Sticky Mystery

As new as this looked, it was sitting on a shelf without a box in the basement of a recent sale.  However, by its design, I knew it wasn't new. It sported that 1960's space-age/UFO aesthetic.  

Silex Science

This 1951 Silex syphon coffee maker joined the collection this past weekend.  I got it for 50% off at $5, plus the estate sale cashier threw in the rest of my items (mostly ephemera) for free, so I was happy.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Toaster Toast?

I found this 4-slot "Mary Proctor" model P21601 toaster in the basement of a home this morning.  It was pretty dusty, but I could see the chrome underneath was in good condition.  It cleaned up nicely.

Empire State Toaster

I have a disease for which there is no known cure.  If you saw me walking on the street, you wouldn't even be able to tell I was sick.  The disease? My name is Tom and I'm a toaster hoarder. I have an urge to buy any toaster I see at garage sales, estate sales, antique malls, thrift stores, you name it.  Maybe someday there will be a cure, but for now, I just keep buying.

My latest infection is this 1930's Electrahot Style 500 toaster featuring a stylized Empire State building design. I found it at a private estate sale for $6.  It was pretty grimy when I got it.

Percolating Finds

 Okay, Summer is over and the Countdown to Halloween begins next week.  I need to clear out some cobwebs and when I say "cobwebs" I mean coffee pots.

For some reason, this past year produced a bumper crop of them.  I can't resist picking up percolators and other coffee makers, particularly when they're under $5.  I've kept some (okay quite a few), but I've also sold quite a few of them too; all to fund future purchases and to subsidize what I decide to keep.  These are in addition to the Jet O Matic coffee maker I bought last December.  And yes, many of these need a good polishing.

First up is this Mirro copper-colored aluminum coffee pot.  I've seen these attributed to the "Colorama" line, but I haven't found evidence of that.  Colorama was made by Weller Hostess-ware.  I'm not aware of a connection to Mirro.

Star Toaster

It's been a while since I've shared a toaster find; I know everyone was on pins and needles.

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you probably are aware of my toaster obsession.  I just love how many different styles and ways there are to perform the simple task of toasting bread.  That combined with the fact that vintage toasters were made to last and you can expect them to perform exactly as they did when they were new up to nearly 100 years ago makes them desirable to me.

This Star toaster by Fitzgerald Manufacturing dates from the 1920's. 

Classic Osterizer

We had a blender growing up, but I could probably count the number of times we used it on one hand.  It's always seemed like a very job-specific appliance, and of course, it is. It chops things. Or gooifies them, depending on the setting.  I've always done my chopping manually.

My wife and daughter, however, like smoothies, something we'd never heard of in my family growing up.  So we've picked up modern blenders from the store and garage sales in the past.  None survive.  The blenders made today are mostly plastic and utilize cheaply-made motors.

I came across this 1960's Osterizer Classic VIII at an estate sale a few months ago.  It was in rough condition and the motor was locked, but I liked its looks.  And when I picked it up, it weighed a ton.

Jet O Matic Brewing

Yesterday was a particularly good estate saling day, and it happened all at one home.

It began with my weekly perusing of the listings on estatesales.net. There weren't many sales in my area, but one was particularly close and while looking through the posted photos, I saw this:

A Peach of a Toaster...or At Least a Pear

Despite being the toaster enthusiast (read "fanatic") I am, I nearly passed on this Toastmaster model.  I even went as far as to pay for my other items and get in my car. Then I asked myself, "What kind of toaster hoarder, I mean, enthusiast are you?"  After all, it was only 75 cents. So without a concern for my dignity, I got back out and went back into the garage and bought it. The seller asked me, "You must like old things."  Uh... Yeah.

A Toast to 2020

I make no excuses for my toaster obsession.  I don't know what it is.  Something about the comfort and civility of just eating some toast with a cup of coffee.

I picked up this GE toaster at an estate sale about a month ago.  It's getting to the point where I need to sneak these things into our home.  As I've mentioned before, there's really no good way to photograph chrome appliances.  They always look worse than in person.  This toaster displays very well in person.

Dormeyer Toaster

By now you should all be familiar with my toaster obsession.  I've tried to scale back my collecting of these to odd or interesting and the "just so cheap I can't pass it up" variety.  This 1950's Dormeyer toaster I found a couple weeks ago met all three categories.

 The model number on this toaster is 6303 and was produced in 1962. 

If You Want Me, Just Whistle

I have a weak spot (read "sucker") for old appliances and electronics.  I love the gadgetry (even the failed ones) the 1950's and '60's brought.  This predecessor to "The Clapper" falls in that category.

Leftovers Day 12 -- You've Got Mail!

This mail signal is meant to trigger a flag when the mailbox is opened.  You can then visually see if mail has come without hiking your 1/4 mile country driveway.

Tramp Lamp

"Tramp Art" (a term I suppose isn't quite as offensive as "Bum Bling") dates back to the late 1870's. It's decidedly low brow in the art world, but can be quite beautiful.  It refers to art or even everyday objects that were created by the common man (and woman) using salvaged pieces of wood including anything from popsicle sticks to cigar boxes, fruit crates and wooden spools.

I found this Tramp art lamp at an estate sale during my lunch hour today.

Unidentified Frying Object

Looking more like the Jupiter 2 than an electric skillet, this frying saucer, also known as a "Party Chef" was made by Cory appliances of Chicago in the 1950's.