"New" toaster 🙂

[Herald1360]

I've acquired this little Hotpoint toaster in tidy condition recently.

It works as well as might be expected and with an added Dualit rundown timer in the lead after a few experimental runs I don't have to watch it like a hawk!

Eagle eyes might spot the slightly dodgy connection to the timer unit but I'm happy with it (I live in a child-free household)

Anyone know exactly how vintage it is? And/or the significance of the "2C" serial number?

[Paul_RK]

The Museum of Design in Plastics (well, the little handles qualify, and maybe the cord grip too?) reckons 1947 or thereabouts:

https://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/aibdc-000967

That could be the release year, but I think your example is a little older than theirs, from the red 'Hotpoint' as well as the 'serial number', which on theirs is 3H. What that means - well, my guess would be production year followed by month, which could mean yours was produced in March and theirs in August: but isn't much help as to the years, and I'll withdraw the guess if the next one has 2W on it...

I've a few similar instruments around, including an early post-war Rowlett, an unbranded perhaps pre-war one that comes with toast rack, a boxed and apparently unused Magnet (i.e. GEC) which may also date back to the '30s, and somewhere one with a painted wooden base made by a small operation in Sunderland. They're all resting, with a much more recent tangerine-coloured Rowlett Rutland on kitchen duty as it provides one, two, three or four slices at will.

Paul

[rontech]

My parents had a similar one I think it was made by a company called "Keith ".

The daet would be about 1947

[G.Castle]

My grandfather still has his parents one! now unused, though it's two core fabric over rubber lead is in good condition, and it still has the bayonet connector ready to plug into the light pendant!

Next time I'm there I'll look for a serial number, but I'd think it was prewar.

Greg

[emeritus]

The patent number shows it was manufactured post-war.

[G.Castle]

Originally Posted by emeritus

The patent number shows it was manufactured post-war.

Yes the OP's one is. Not sure of the manufacturer name on Grandpa's! unless you know Grandpa?

Interesting item though.

Regards,
Greg.

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by G.Castle

My grandfather still has his parents one! now unused, though it's two core fabric over rubber lead is in good condition, and it still has the bayonet connector ready to plug into the light pendant!

Next time I'm there I'll look for a serial number, but I'd think it was prewar.

Greg

The 9" fabric and rubber cable stub (3-core on mine and with its green core still firmly connected to the chassis) is also in good condition. Its length suggested some sort of inline connector rather than a complete new cable would be the way to go and the clockwork rundown timer arrangement on my Dualit came to mind

[Herald1360]

The grey base cover on mine which I at first thought might be elephantide from its colour is actually a steel plate about 2mm thick which gives a nice stable quality "feel" to the unit.

[hamid_1]

I have a similar Hotpoint toaster with glass side panels. Model 808 53 (pictures below, no serial number visible). Acquired very cheaply from a car boot sale. The seller didn't know much about it. At the time I searched and found a newspaper article online in which an old chap said he was still using the same Hotpoint glass-sided toaster that he had been given as a wedding present in the late 1940s. That date seems to match what others have said.

This style of toaster where you flip open the doors on each side dates back to the early 1900s and was still around in the 1950s before being replaced by the automatic pop-up type in use today. It's amazing how little the basic design has changed over so many years.

[Herald1360]

808 53, Hamid's, 808 54, mine rather suggests my model superseded Hamid's. It does have a more modern feel to its appearance.

[joebog1]

Its a very clever design !!!. By looking through the glass window, you can see either :
1. The side not yet burned or
2. The side you already burned but haven't scraped off yet

Just kidding

Joe

[emeritus]

A toaster like the one in #9 is illustrated in the GEC catalogue for 1911.

[paulsherwin]

They were actually very common before pop-up toasters became available in the 1960s, particularly in households without open fires or gas grills. They do make nice toast if used with care, better than pop-ups in my opinion. An aunt of mine was still using one in the 90s.

[hamid_1]

I searched the patent number GB456901 from Herald's toaster on PatentScope and Espacenet

The patent was applied for in 1935 and published in 1936, so the toaster must have been made after that date. It might be just pre-war, or a number of years after. These sorts of toasters were in production for a long time. No patent number mentioned on my toaster. That could mean it's an earlier model or it didn't make use of that particular patent.

The glass doors seem like a good idea, but sadly you can't see the side of bread that's actually being toasted. It may be useful for heating or grilling other items. When the door is opened, the bread is supposed to fall down and flip itself over - this is mentioned in the patent.

[Paul_RK]

This one is somewhat removed from all the other toasters I've met, has anyone seen its like? I'm not thinking of the clip-on toast rack, just the utterly minimal appearance of it underneath and the 5A mains connector (earthing? what's that? ) No commercial operation owns up to having made it: no sign of a brand, even the mains connectors are just "Made in England".

I'm pretty sanguine generally about using vintage appliances, but I've not been tempted to put this one into service. It doesn't look as though anyone ever has: perhaps the newlyweds who were given it also received a proper one from someone else... I bought it from the window display of a charity shop just three years ago, possibly saving them a reprimand or worse.

Paul

[EF80TVVALVE]

That's probably the most advanced version of these toasters Paul! I have a 1940s(ish) Premier toaster and as previously said they make great toast! The problem I have found is that the toast can go cold quite quickly so the rack up top would certainly help if making up multiple rounds. It's amazing to see how many of these things survive but I suppose they're small enough to be tucked away and forgotten about.

[Dave Moll]

Indeed! I have two of similar design to these (though no integral toast rack). One I have rewired with three-core flex to earth the metalwork. The other still has the supplied two-core - but no plug (to avoid it being powered up).

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by joebog1

Its a very clever design !!!. By looking through the glass window, you can see either :
1. The side not yet burned or
2. The side you already burned but haven't scraped off yet

Just kidding

Joe

Many a true word.......

Not to mention that you can see that the d**n thing needs a good clean when it's just sitting on the worktop minding its own business

The weight of the glass does relieve the otherwise "tinny" feel of the flaps in the same way as the thick steel bottom plate does to the whole toaster.

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by EF80TVVALVE

I have a 1940s(ish) Premier toaster and as previously said they make great toast! The problem I have found is that the toast can go cold quite quickly so the rack up top would certainly help if making up multiple rounds.

Except once it's up there it will still grow cold pretty fast - one reason I'm sticking with our four slice Rowlett Rutland where it stays in the heated body of the toaster until the user pushes a lever to make it rise.

Here's another that appears to have escaped ever having had a plug put on it. I wouldn't be fearful of using this one, at least after checking the rubber in the mains lead hasn't perished. I've only just noticed the ingenious method of attempting to achieve an evenly toasted slice: three horizontal elements, each less densely wound than the one beneath it to adjust for rising heat; and only then did I notice how the vertical elements of the other toasters have their turns of resistance wire more closely spaced at the bottom than at the top. Obvious really...

Paul

[David G4EBT]

I have a Premier 'Cat 916' toaster.

The rather nifty feature of most of these toasters which isn't immediately apparent unless you put a slice of bread in, is that they're 'turnover' toasters. When you open the door to check if the bread is toasted to your liking, the slice slides down onto the open door, then when you close the door, the toast is turned over to toast the un-toasted side. Simple, but ingenious.

Way more convenient in my view than pop-up toaster, though that's what we use.

This Premier toaster will have been a car loot sale impulse buy about 25 yeas ago.

They date from the early 1950s and are very commonplace on eBay. They must have made hundreds of thousands.