Vintage things that have REAPPEARED in your lifetime?

^^^^^
Which is why I never took seriously the notion that preserving (and reproducing) cultural artifacts ever did much to preserve the culture itself, as was once suggested by certain powers around here. It’s not a thing to be put in a jar and preserved indefinitely.

I’ll always remember the news photos of the Amish people in the days following that terrible schoolhouse shooting several years ago. I was struck by the Amish youngsters carrying bright plastic “Playmate” style coolers as lunch boxes. The incongruity was almost jarring initially— the showy colors and the decidedly modern materials in that context. But then, those coolers were in some ways quite in keeping with Amish sensibilities — inexpensive, durable, practical, and, because all the kids had one, egalitarian.

^^^^^^
Which is not to say that artifacts aren’t reflective of the cultures that produced them. Of course they are. How could they not be? But the ways in which they are reflective is a matter of interpretation.

I collect artifacts myself, some of it “Golden Era,” some older, some more recent. But those ’40s and earlier radios of mine don’t make me a man of my grandfather’s era any more than that mid-century modern console stereo makes me Don Draper.

We’ve been over much of this territory before. I participate in several online “communities,” some of which are devoted to MCM stuff — architecture and furniture and housewares and whatnot. Inevitably there are people in those groups who police what is authentically MCM and what ain’t. Many of those arbiters acquired their knowledge of that era in much more recent times. And some are pretty well studied up on the matter. But most of them weren’t around in that time, and what they know of it is secondhand at best. If they’re of the opinion that what is found in the pages of Atomic Ranch is reflective of the “atomic era,” well, they’re quite mistaken. They can identify the trees, but they’re blind to the forest.

The problem with interpreting artifacts is that, divorced from an understanding of the society that produced them, they're just that -- artifacts. You can own a radio of the 1940s and enjoy it because it's an interesting piece of industrial design that also happens to sound pretty good, but even that item has a deeper story to tell. Why does it have, or not have, the ability to receive shortwave bands? Why does it have, or not have, one FM band or two FM bands? Who made it? How was it assembled, and by whom? Why does it look the way it does in the first place? How was it marketed and sold? What did it mean to the people who bought it? All that stuff is context that matters in understanding what that artifact was and what it meant to the people who created and used it.

It's the same with any physical object or creative work from any period. Even if the artifact itself is preserved in a nitrogen-filled hermetically-sealed impermeable glass case, it won't have any meaning without an understanding of its context. And too often the vacuum created by the lack of that context is filled by misinterpretation that says more about the era that the artifact has survived into than about the time it came from.

The Era was also the Golden Age of Time Capsules in America -- during the 1930s there were a number of comprehensive efforts to systematically preserve the artifacts of "Modern Civilization" for future generations -- the Westinghouse Time Capsule at the World's Fair, the Crypt of Civilization at Oglethorpe University in Georgia, things like that. But if these collections do end up surviving 5000 years -- will they actually make any sense? What do we really understand about the daily lives of Bronze Age humans from their tools and trinkets we've excavated in our own time? If it's possible to lose so much of the context of a society over less than a century -- just look at how badly misinterpreted so much of 1930s popular culture is today -- how can we have the hubris to think any future civilization will be able to make any more sense of us?

I find period newspapers and magazines and the like more telling of the daily lives of the people of that era than most accounts produced in more recent years.

Historical perspective can be of great value, and this is not an argument to the contrary. Sometimes things are seen more clearly when viewed from a greater distance. But seeing it all in its original context lends a greater sense of how it was to have actually been there, keeping in mind that I’m looking at it through 21st century eyes and that I bring my own more recent history to that reading.

The more original newspapers you read and absorb the more you realize that people never really change all that much. They might apply a glossier polish to the thin veneer of civilization in which they wrap themselves, but deep down, things don't really change. Only the way we express those things does.

LizzieMaine said:

The more original newspapers you read and absorb the more you realize that people never really change all that much. They might apply a glossier polish to the thin veneer of civilization in which they wrap themselves, but deep down, things don't really change. Only the way we express those things does.

Click to expand...

Our motivations don’t change much, I suppose. There’s always the push and pull between what we wish for our individual selves and our sense of duty to the greater good. Both impulses are innately human, although I’ve had the misfortune of encountering people who have had me questioning that.

Electric cars.
First introduced to a wider public in 1881 those first generation models had their efflorescence until approximately 1912.
In 1900 about 40% of registered cars in USA had steam engines, about 38% have been electrical powered and only about 22% had gasoline engines. A total of about 34.000 electrical cars have been registered only in the US at that time.

tonyb said:

^^^^^^
Which is not to say that artifacts aren’t reflective of the cultures that produced them. Of course they are. How could they not be? But the ways in which they are reflective is a matter of interpretation.

I collect artifacts myself, some of it “Golden Era,” some older, some more recent. But those ’40s and earlier radios of mine don’t make me a man of my grandfather’s era any more than that mid-century modern console stereo makes me Don Draper.

We’ve been over much of this territory before. I participate in several online “communities,” some of which are devoted to MCM stuff — architecture and furniture and housewares and whatnot. Inevitably there are people in those groups who police what is authentically MCM and what ain’t. Many of those arbiters acquired their knowledge of that era in much more recent times. And some are pretty well studied up on the matter. But most of them weren’t around in that time, and what they know of it is secondhand at best. If they’re of the opinion that what is found in the pages of Atomic Ranch is reflective of the “atomic era,” well, they’re quite mistaken. They can identify the trees, but they’re blind to the forest.

Click to expand...

Born in the 1940's.....I grew up in a MCM house, had a MCM childhood. I sold the house and its contents (a time capsule) in 2013 and can say tangible things....homes, cars, toys, appliances are much better today. Granted they don't have the panache of the attendant nostalgia but based on utility are so much better now.

^^^^^
I find that generally but not universally true, especially in the case of automobiles. I love old cars, and clearly understand their appeal. But whenever I hear someone say “They don’t make them like they used to,” I typically reply, “You can thank the god(s) of your choice for that.”

But then you have stuff like kitchen appliances. The more recent ones have more features, which are convenient and all, but in my world a refrigerator and a stove and oven ought to last at least one average human lifespan. The old stuff did, and does. Lotsa not-young people use stoves older than themselves on a daily basis. When the glass-top electric stove that was in this house when we bought it goes south I’ll shop for a “vintage” replacement — not “retro” (new kitchen appliances in older styles are popular these days), but the real McCoy.

My views on vintage appliances are well known -- in the thirty-three years I've owned a 1945 Kelvinator refrigerator, my mother has gone thru, now, four modern units. In no world I would ever care to live in should that kind of shoddiness be acceptable. I'm more than happy to live without water-thru-the-door, side-by-side freezers, and automatic defrost if it means I don't have to shell out hundreds of dollars I can't afford every eight years.

My stove is slightly more modern -- it was made in 1959 -- but it's still pretty solid, and when an element needs to be replaced I can do it myself with a flat-head screwdriver in less than ten minutes. I don't see any advantage worth advantaging to something that doesn't allow that.

tonyb said:

^^^^^
I find that generally but not universally true, especially in the case of automobiles. I love old cars, and clearly understand their appeal. But whenever I hear someone say “They don’t make them like they used to,” I typically reply, “You can thank the god(s) of your choice for that.”

But then you have stuff like kitchen appliances. The more recent ones have more features, which are convenient and all, but in my world a refrigerator and a stove and oven ought to last at least one average human lifespan. The old stuff did, and does. Lotsa not-young people use stoves older than themselves on a daily basis. When the glass-top electric stove that was in this house when we bought it goes south I’ll shop for a “vintage” replacement — not “retro” (new kitchen appliances in older styles are popular these days), but the real McCoy.

Click to expand...

We have a new(ish) Bosch induction cooktop/stove and I would not trade that in for anything. It is a marvel and my wife can relax as it is near impossible for me to set the kitchen alight with it.

LizzieMaine said:

My views on vintage appliances are well known -- in the thirty-three years I've owned a 1945 Kelvinator refrigerator, my mother has gone thru, now, four modern units. In no world I would ever care to live in should that kind of shoddiness be acceptable. I'm more than happy to live without water-thru-the-door, side-by-side freezers, and automatic defrost if it means I don't have to shell out hundreds of dollars I can't afford every eight years.

My stove is slightly more modern -- it was made in 1959 -- but it's still pretty solid, and when an element needs to be replaced I can do it myself with a flat-head screwdriver in less than ten minutes. I don't see any advantage worth advantaging to something that doesn't allow that.

Click to expand...

The switch from my old electric coil cooktop to a new induction cook top was like going from the frontier directly to the space age. The induction cook top is a brilliant piece of engineering and would not trade it for anything. It would be like going back in time to cooking with an open fire.

^^^^^

LizzieMaine said:

My views on vintage appliances are well known -- in the thirty-three years I've owned a 1945 Kelvinator refrigerator, my mother has gone thru, now, four modern units. In no world I would ever care to live in should that kind of shoddiness be acceptable. I'm more than happy to live without water-thru-the-door, side-by-side freezers, and automatic defrost if it means I don't have to shell out hundreds of dollars I can't afford every eight years.

My stove is slightly more modern -- it was made in 1959 -- but it's still pretty solid, and when an element needs to be replaced I can do it myself with a flat-head screwdriver in less than ten minutes. I don't see any advantage worth advantaging to something that doesn't allow that.

Click to expand...

Among the virtues of the old stuff is the cheap and easy availability of the pieces that might need replacing every couple decades or so. And just about any idiot can do a bang-up job of it. You can find living proof of that right here.

Our fairly recent fridge has an automatic ice maker but it sprung a leak so I just turned it off. Don’t wanna monkey with it.

Had to replace a kitchen faucet last week. I’ve had to do that too many times. A faucet is at base a very simple thing and can be made to last longer than I ever will. But these newer ones with their plastic innards just ain’t worth fixing. So under the sink I go.

Oh, by the way, Sister, should you find yourself at Blowe’s, you might wanna swing through the appliance department and see how little territory mere hundreds of dollars will cover these days.

One of the Kids moved into a new home recently, and it came with an enormous regrigerator with a screen on the door, displaying a lovey-dovey photo of the couple that used to live there. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or howl in terror. I honestly had no idea that such monstrosities existed.

LizzieMaine said:

One of the Kids moved into a new home recently, and it came with an enormous regrigerator with a screen on the door, displaying a lovey-dovey photo of the couple that used to live there. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or howl in terror. I honestly had no idea that such monstrosities existed.

Click to expand...

Sounds like quite the appetite suppressant.

belfastboy said:

The switch from my old electric coil cooktop to a new induction cook top was like going from the frontier directly to the space age. The induction cook top is a brilliant piece of engineering and would not trade it for anything. It would be like going back in time to cooking with an open fire.

Click to expand...

We tend to like the more contemporary ranges as well, although we prefer natural gas. My wife does 95% of the cooking and baking, and if she insists that 18,000 BTU burners allow her to prepare meals easier and faster, that's good enough for me. Myself, I'm just happy to get my corn popped in a fraction of the time.

We're currently viewing a series on television about a delightfully eccentric (but undeniably talented) British couple who purchased and restored a French chateau as a destination wedding venue. They've renovated one space as their events kitchen, and the gentleman bought a high end range that was so large he could barely get it into chateau. Spectacular looking appliance: evidently among his other talents he's quite a chef. Did a little checking and the price tag is easily above $25,000. Not for their family use-- but they're often serving multicourse dinners for over 100 guests, so that makes it a prudent decision.

They also have a family kitchen for their own use (family of four) that I believe has one of those on 24/7 AGA cookers that are so popular in the UK. Fascinating technology- but I can't see how it could ever be an efficient use of energy.

The stove of my youth, and one I fondly remember and dearly miss, was a Florence kerosene/LP gas range. (We don't have, and are unlikely to ever have natural gas here.) This was a spectacular piece of 1930s engineering with four burners, a fine oven, a bun warmer where my grandfather would toast his feet on cold winter mornings, and an oil-fired heater for the kitchen with a copper coil in it that ran hot water to the rest of the house. In a house with no central heating, a range like this was essential, and it was both an excellent cooker and a source of cold-weather comfort for three generations of my family.

I don't know where it ended up -- it went when we sold the house -- but wherever it is, I have no doubt that it its present owners love it as much as we did.

I may go with gas when the electric glass-top POS goes south, seeing how the spot in the kitchen for a 30-inch stove is directly above the basement utility room, where there's a gas-fired furnace and water heater. So running a line up to the kitchen would be an inexpensive proposition. Lotsa old gas stoves out there. There's really very little to them.

ChiTownScion said:

We tend to like the more contemporary ranges as well, although we prefer natural gas. My wife does 95% of the cooking and baking, and if she insists that 18,000 BTU burners allow her to prepare meals easier and faster, that's good enough for me. Myself, I'm just happy to get my corn popped in a fraction of the time.

We're currently viewing a series on television about a delightfully eccentric (but undeniably talented) British couple who purchased and restored a French chateau as a destination wedding venue. They've renovated one space as their events kitchen, and the gentleman bought a high end range that was so large he could barely get it into chateau. Spectacular looking appliance: evidently among his other talents he's quite a chef. Did a little checking and the price tag is easily above $25,000. Not for their family use-- but they're often serving multicourse dinners for over 100 guests, so that makes it a prudent decision.

They also have a family kitchen for their own use (family of four) that I believe has one of those on 24/7 AGA cookers that are so popular in the UK. Fascinating technology- but I can't see how it could ever be an efficient use of energy.

Click to expand...

We spent 6 weeks in Scotland in 2019 staying in a number of B&B's. Many had the AGA ranges and the owners were pleased to demo it for me. In the last one on Skye the owner cooked our breakfast eggs on it. I want one just because they are so cool but shoring the floor of our house to hold the weight would cost too much. We have a Bosch induction and I love it more than gas. It is so quick and the temp control is as immediate as gas with very fine control levels. It heats the milk for my morning coffee quicker than the microwave used to.

We went induction when we got our new hob last November. Less out of choice, more because it's what was available and we didn't want to risk going *another* six weeks without one during a lockdown. We did have to buy a new set of pans, but we were planning to do that anyhow. We got rid of the microwave about eight years ago. We've never missed it, but the speed of induction is really something.

I'd love to have an Aga for the pure aesthetics. That said, when my parents were building a house back in 1990, we stayed for a Summer in a rented house which had a wood-fired range. Nice as it was, I wouldn't want to rely on it to cook regularly. A gas-fired option (or, indeed, one with an induction tech hob) would be a nice balance of convenience and aesthetics for me. I'm not a big fan of the separate hob and oven set-up we've got on the one hand, though on the other it *does* at least mean that if one goes down, the other isn't automatically lost. Then again, I'm also attracted to the idea of a standalone which requires no more fitting than to be plugged in and rolled into place, avoiding any hassle and cost of paying a fitter... My washing machine works that way, and when it was delivered it was a joy - they had it plugged up and running in ten minutes. An absolute joy, especially as the old one died right at the start of the first lockdown and we ended up handwashing everything for six weeks!

LizzieMaine said:

One of the Kids moved into a new home recently, and it came with an enormous regrigerator with a screen on the door, displaying a lovey-dovey photo of the couple that used to live there. I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or howl in terror. I honestly had no idea that such monstrosities existed.

Click to expand...

Makes you wonder why they left it behind. I'm guessing they split and neither one wanted it... Could the photo be changeD?