Christmas in early twentieth century America was a glittering mash-up of age-old traditions and brand-new modern marvels. In 1925—smack dab in the middle of the Roaring Twenties—Americans were experiencing a swirl of monumental changes in their daily lives. Automobiles and streetcars were replacing horses and carriages; telephones and radios were becoming common additions to millions of American homes and business all across the country—instantaneously connecting our great grandparents to a whole new world of news and entertainment. Airplanes, skyscrapers, movie palaces and transcontinental telephone calls were all the rage in 1925 and suggested a new modern world of the future.
One hundred years ago, 50% of American homes and businesses were being transformed by a new source of energy—not heat, or steam, or gas, but quick, invisible electricity. In 1925, half of the country had access to electric light, and it was only just the beginning. Advertising from 1925 often used words to describe electrical energy like “magical”, “futuristic”, and “marvelous”, not to mention words like “deadly”, “insanity”, “Armageddon”.
“One hundred years ago, electricity was used almost exclusively for lighting,” says Jon Winter, collector & co-founder. “But as soon as it entered the home, other inventors quickly jumped on the bandwagon.”
“Since dedicated wall outlets were still a few years in the future, people had to improvise ways to tap into the power,” says John Jenkins, president & CEO. “The most common method was using a screw-in adapter that fit into the standard Edison light bulb socket. The appliance cord would plug into the adapter, essentially borrowing power from the light fixture, which was often on the ceiling in the center of the room.”
As more and more homes got electrified, Christmas gift-giving became a showcase for the future. Americans suddenly had access to a variety of new home appliances, many of which would become today’s common household items.
The Museum displays a wonderful variety of these early home appliances, many introduced for the first time, making them unique and memorable Christmas gifts for 1925.
Here are just a few of the brand-new holiday gift options for someone lucky enough to have electricity in their home one hundred years ago today:
Smooth Operator
The electric clothing iron may not seem very glamorous, but it is considered the very first electrical appliance to become commercially available for domestic use, and the ideal gift for any busy homemaker pressed for time.
Before the electric iron, people would heat heavy solid irons, or “sadirons”, on a fire or in a stove, making it almost impossible to control the heat. Other methods included an iron filled with hot coals or, later, gasoline!
The electric iron was an immediate improvement as it could be controlled to a much greater extent to avoid scorching clothes and the operator.
Lighting the Tree
In 1919, General Electric had launched their line of decorative, miniature string lamp Christmas kits. These kits were affordable and featured a flame-shaped bulb using a longer lasting tungsten filament. The lights were a hit with the public, and definitely safer than traditional candles with open flames.
A Golden Age for Toast
“Some people can’t imagine life without toast,” says Charlie Bryan, director of operations. “I happen to be one of them.”
“People have been searing their bread long before the first electric toaster,” continues Bryan. The Romans knew toasting food acted as a preservative, making it more portable and especially handy when invading their many less powerful neighbors.
The British developed a fondness for the Romans’ toasted bread, and later introduced it in the United States when they crossed the Atlantic to try and set us straight.
Early Americans would use a long-handled metal fork to hold a slice of bread over an open fire, fireplace, or gas stove burner. Later, options like wrought-iron or tin frames were designed to hold multiple slices of bread in front of a fire or on a wood or coal-fired stove, which required manual rotation of the rack to toast the bread evenly.
That all changed when, in 1909, General Electric introduced the Model D-12, the first commercially successful electric toaster.
No open flame, no stove or hearth.
The GE Model D-12 was a basic, non-automatic appliance that required manual operation. “Manual means the operator does everything,” says Bryan. “No timer, no heat controller, no pop-up bread eject lever.”
The original Model D-12 featured a metal cage-like device surrounding a heating element made of a durable nickel and chromium wire able to sustain repeated high temperatures without burning out, all mounted on a white porcelain base.
“And it only browns on one side, so you have to flip the bread with your fingers,” adds Bryan. “Not exactly the family friendly kitchen appliance we all know and love today.”
The user would place a piece of hand-sliced bread into a wire rack on one side of the heating element. Since there was no timer, and the machine only toasted one side at a time, the user had to keep an eye not to burn the toast, then manually flip the bread over—often with their fingers—to toast the other side, and again watch it carefully to prevent burning.
The exposed heating coils, along with the poorly insulated electric cord, made these first toasters a real safety hazard, with burns, shocks and fires common occurrences.
Due to the early safety issues and limited access to electricity in homes, early electric toasters were initially more popular in restaurants.
A Stroke of Genius
“The Tark Electric Razor is one of the scariest looking products ever invented to help a fella stay well groomed,” says Winter. “It’s basically an electrified razor blade that vibrates 7200 times a minute—across your face.”
The mechanism would vibrate back and forth, causing a standard single-edge blade to rapidly oscillate against the person’s skin, supposedly cutting hairs as they entered the shaving head.
“Whisk your beard away like magic!” says the advertising on the box.
“If you’re not careful, you’ll whisk parts of your face away, too,” laughs Jenkins. “There’s no protective foil, and along with the poorly insulated power cord, there’s nothing safe about it—but what a fascinating attempt at transitioning to electricity for a better shave.
Wave of the Future
Simplex” curling irons were early electric hair styling tools manufactured by the Simplex Electric Heating Company in the early 1900s, and represent a transitional period in history from stove-heated irons to modern electric appliances.
Curling irons became wildly popular in the Roaring Twenties because they were essential for creating the era’s fashionable hairstyles, especially the “Marcel wave” that accompanied the short, bobbed hair cuts that many women adopted. The invention of the electric curling iron in the 1920s made it easier and safer for women to style their hair at home, but not that much.
Before electric curling irons, women went to great extremes to get curls like silent movie star, Clara Bow, like sleeping in rollers and setting solution, or using metal rods, tongs, or irons heated in a fire or on a stove, and taking a section of hair and carefully curling it around the hot metal to hopefully set—not burn—the curl in place.
The Simplex electric curling iron offered a more safe, convenient and consistent heating method. The Simplex curling irons included a separate electric heating element, mounted on an ornate metal base, into which the iron was inserted for heating.
Though considered much safer and consistent than non-electric curling irons, these early units lacked many basic features any modern appliance would be expected to have today, like an on/off switch, or higher quality insulated cords and wiring. Burns, shocks and fires were just part of the risk of trying to look like Betty Boop in 1925.
Scratching an Itch
The Polar Cub Electric Vibrator was a domestic appliance produced by the A.C. Gilbert Company in the early 20th century, primarily marketed in magazines and mail-order catalogs as a beauty and health aid for women.
Ads promised relief from a variety of ailments, including anxiety, fatigue, headaches, constipation, and even “fading beauty”.
“Guarenteed to melt tension away in seconds,” states Museum health & beauty expert, Victoria Parrish. “As you can see, the lady on the box looks pretty darn happy.”
The Polar Cub vibrator, in particular, was marketed as a superior beauty aid, and one of the first electric gadgets, along with vacuum cleaners, fans, toasters, and curling irons to become an ordinary, common household item.
“Definitely more fun than a toaster,” adds Parrish.
Stay grounded.