Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Coffee and Toast

This past weekend I attended a rummage sale at a local church, St. John's Evangelical in Mehlville, Missouri.  Rummage sales seem the last bastion of bargains.  Unfortunately, their primary way of advertising is by signs in front of the church, so I rarely know of them.  I just happened to be driving the route past this church last week and saw the sign.


It's become an obsession with my daughter to find any coffee pots or toasters before I do, and I have to admit she's pretty good.  Although this time, I found the coffee pot, and she found the toaster.  Both were $1 each.

This time it's a  1960s Toastswell model 148 4-slot toaster in chrome with a fantastic space/atomic design on the side.



I have the 2-slot version of this toaster as well with the same design, but it has a blue, translucent sticker over the design:
  

I'm not sure if this one is missing that or just didn't have the sticker originally.



The downside of this toaster, compared to the Mary Proctor 4-slotter I picked up recently, is there's only one plunger, so you're burning all 4 slots regardless of how much toast you're making.


But I have to say, it toasts well and makes swell toast.


Coincidentally, like the toaster, the coffee pot I found, a Farberware Automatic Percolator model 108 is a larger version of the model 104 which I also picked up this past year.  I'm guessing the 8 vs 4 on the last number of the model reflects the number of cups it makes.

I couldn't find an exact date, but I'm guessing this percolator dates to the 1930s.  The handle is painted wood.



It makes very good coffee surprisingly fast. In fact, it's faster than most of my "newer" percolators.

As much as I write about coffee and toast, I got to wondering if there were any songs about the combo; and of course there is, and it's surprisingly catchy.  By English band James, "Coffee & Toast".

Thanks for stopping by.  And if by chance you come by my house, I'll make some coffee and some toast.

9 comments:

  1. i love James, and i've never heard this song before. i thought we had all their albums, too (maybe a B-side for a single?).

    Anyway, what a perfect theme song for you! I wonder if the sticker on your 2-slot toaster is just a protective thing that never got removed. really love that midcentury design!

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    1. >(maybe a B-side for a single?).
      The video says it was a b-side for the 2001 album "Pleased to Meet You">
      >I wonder if the sticker on your 2-slot toaster is just a protective thing that >never got removed
      Maybe, but odd it would only cover the symbol. When I found the two slotter, it had peeled off and was actually stuck to the underside of the toaster.

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    2. man, in looking at their Wiki, i'm waaaay behind on their albums. looking at the release dates, it jibes with my tendency to lose track of all the bands i long loved in the early 2000s. The explosion of the internet made music harder for me to keep track of, in a way. there was just TOO MUCH.

      As for the sticker, it just seems weird if it was meant to stay, especially on a surface that was sure to get hot and cook it.

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    3. >it just seems weird if it was meant to stay, especially on a surface that
      >was sure to get hot and cook it.
      That is an excellent point. If it was intended to be permanent, they didn't think things through.

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  2. What is the difference between toasting well and making swell toast?

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    Replies
    1. "Toasting well" refers to the process itself: the machine functions efficiently. "Making swell toast" refers to the final product: the resultant toasted bread.... regardless of how inefficient and horrifying the process is.... meets or exceeds any aesthetic expectations.

      Don C .

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    2. Thank you, Don C., for explaining so eloquently.

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  3. Perfect finds both of them. And functional too!

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure, Lady M. At this point, with the amount of coffee makers and toasters I have, it might be considered DYSfunctional.

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