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"Woodward & Lothrop kitchen." A display at the Washington, D.C., department store circa 1926. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size.
I just love this photo! When I was a child in the early 1940s, my grandmother's kitchen looked just about like this, including the stove. However, at that time, I believe they had an icebox, just as my parents did. I particularly love the old soap dish perched atop the sink faucets, with the little drip spout.
If, and when, i finally get my golden dream come true and start renovating a 1920s-era house to spend the rest of my life in it, I know where to look for excelent graphic references for the decoration. Love the furniture, the boxy refrigerator, the electric fans, the plastered ceiling! Fantastic!
[The ceiling looks to be of the pressed-tin variety. - Dave]
I agree with Cactus, I'd go retro in a second, only I'd take the potted palms too.
Try as I may, I can't figure out what the brand name of that refrigerator is. The letter on the escutcheon appears to be a backward "Z". I sort of think it's an arty "S". If so, could it be a Servel Gas Refrigerator?
[Servel refrigerators in the 1920s were electric (Servel = "Serve Electrically"). Another possibility is Seeger. - Dave]
Can someone please tell if that is a small water heater to the right of the sink?
[Garbage can. - Dave]
Thank-you Dave.
I love the sink. I had a more modern version of it when we lived in an old farmhouse.
I'll be happy to take the potted palms.
Wren, shall we wrestle? Two falls out of three for the wall clock!
The vase is a great demonstration of edge distortion from using short focal length lenses on large format view cameras. It looks as if it could be a flat picture of a vase with a real palm plant magically sprouting from it. It's curiously incongruous looking.
Any moment now, Dagwood is going to climb through the window.
The only things in this kitchen I do NOT jealously covet are the potted palms. Everything else -- the porcelain tables, the bigger wooden table, the stove, the wall clock, the dishes, even the linoleum -- please bundle up and ship to me at your earliest convenience.
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