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Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Mrs. Beuchert." Whose psychedelic stove is far out, man. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
I love that room. I would put down linoleum, braided rugs, paint the walls a soft peach color, add some lace curtains, leave the marvellous sink and table as is, and take the lady shopping for new duds.
I mean I look at Shorpy's pictures and I see kind of Russia could be but never been.
... and exactly these days (10.25.1917) there was October revolution in Russia wich killed the country after all. That's why Russia's history was broken and torn but America's not. That's why I love Shorpy.
Found this 1909 ad for a combination coal/gas range made by Novelty Kitchener.
The one in the ad looks fancier. I'm also going to go out on a limb and postulate through my keen detective work that this photo was taken in October 1917.
That beatiful stove would probably sell now for about sixty times what Mrs. B's house was worth.
Does anyone recognize this hardware device next to the
door closer?
[It's an excellent example of the thing found here. My guess is that's it's some sort of noisemaking alarm. This seems to be a commercial establishment. - Dave]
Mrs. Beuchert seemed less than enthusiastic about whipping up some vittles and she is also a bit sloppy (flour all over the place and her hand resting in the dough bowl). I love the inventive improvised towel rack made of twisted wire strung out between the stove and the door frame and nobody told her there would be picture-taking so she should wear her cocktail dress and high heels. Halloween was on a Wednesday in 1917, my father was eight years old. Would love to know what he did that year. My imagination is running wild as to what mischief kids got into in 1917.
Above the door, on the right, seems to be some sort of device to, perhaps, alert folks when the door opens. My aunt used to keep little bells on her outside doors just for that purpose. In the old days, of course!
Looking through the census records, I find two possibilities for the identity of Mrs. B: the first is one Lena Beuchert, a German immigrant born in 1862, making her about 55 at the time this photograph was taken. Her husband William and their son ran a bakery, which may explain these photographs. The second match is also a Lena Beuchert, a widowed German immigrant born about 1851, making her about 66 at the time of this photograph. Which one is it? Perhaps someone with better investigative skills than mine can provide an answer.
Is anyone old enough to know what the device right of the door closer is?
Is that an automatic air freshener at the top of the door? Looks like something would shoot out every time the door closed. Maybe it was insecticide. A commercial-type door closer also, unusual for a residential kitchen.
What is the device with the six holes at the top of the door, right side?
I never would have thought there would have been a door closer mechanism in a residential building in those days.
The stove matches the psychedelic ceiling!
Wow! I started as a plumber's helper in 1956, and haven't seen one of what we used to call "sidearm" water heaters in many a year. There is a coil of copper tubing in the coal stove that would heat the water, which would very slowly rise into the large riveted tank on the right, providing about thirty gallons of hot water. Gradually both the stove and tank were replaced with gas fired appliances.
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