Years ago, when I parked appliances on my countertop – and very seldom used them – I’d buy those colorful fabric covers to keep them cozy. Since appliances don’t get cold and shiver, I suppose I also used them to add color to my kitchen.
I have no appliances on my counter these days, and so the cozies are gone. Because they were covered, I had a hard time figuring out what was under them. That apparently was not an issue for the woman who used the clear plastic covers I came across recently among some 1950s-era kitchen items at auction.
Back then, clear plastic was in vogue, so women could not only see their toasters and mixers but could protect them from dust and dirt as well (like covering your living room sofas and chairs in plastic, as some people may still do.) People were looking for a relaxed and convenient way of life, and plastic was among the elements that contributed to that lifestyle. Soon, though, vinyl covers with poodles, kitchen utensils and other designs were used on appliance covers.
The covers from my auction were still in their original packages, indicating that someone had likely bought them, put them aside for later and forgot them. The family apparently threw them in with the rest of the no-longer-wanted items at auction, where they ended up in my box lot.
So, how can I creatively use them now – not as covers, though – since they’re still in good shape?
I have a Marjane bread bag, a lettuce bag and four assorted bowl covers with elastic around the edges. The bags show a little yellowing with age but they are still sturdy. The lettuce bag, by the way, worked almost like our present-day salad spinner: “Wash and place in bag. Hang bag on faucet. Bottom openings will drain off water. Then place bag in ice box. Vegetables and greens will stay fresh.”
There’s also a Marday mixer cover and toaster cover, both made of the “new miracle Vinylite plastic fabric (developed by Union Carbide Co. An impenetrable product that was so tough it was even used on doll faces).” These are also in the packages, with the staples still attached. On the flip side were other Marday items you could buy: milk bottle covers and platter covers.
Although the two brands appeared to be competitors, they were actually made by the same company, Bland Charnas Co. Inc. of New York, which a decade later was making Batman masks and costumes.
Thrown in among my box lot were two non-kitchen items: a Kristee Sponge Face Cloth that “replaces old-fashioned washrags” and Shampoo Goggles for covering your eyes in the shower. They were in their original mailing packages, so these were apparently ordered through the mail.
I love these old items because they tell you a lot about how people lived and what was considered important to them. And it’s amazing what was made and sold, and what people paid money for. That hasn’t changed, though. Now we have the internet, which allows us to conveniently buy even more stuff that we’ll never use and our families will toss.
Finally, there were hand mitts for polishing silver (put one on both hands and polish your coffee pots and silverware) and a nifty kitchen baster.
The baster was the best of the lot because it was still useable (I even found an ad for one in a McCall’s magazine from 1949). It looked practically new, still in its box with the large rubber bulb and glass (not aluminum) tube very clean. This one might be worth keeping – and actually using.
