Here we see again, how an average housewife of the era may only have been able to afford and purchase the  sink cabinet alone, with its porcelain-enamel-on-cast-iron drainboard sink-top… While the catalog is presumably about the full range of cabinets, it is principally marketing the “Modern Cabinet Sink.”  This would be the first piece a homemaker would buy — she would then integrate this into her farmhouse kitchen – which may have had homemade wood cabinets or not, or into her apartment kitchen to replace the old wall-hung kitchen sink. She could buy the rest of the pieces later. What a move forward: Built-ins, made in a material, steel, that was “vermin-free.”  Oh, also notice the stainless steel drainboard sink on p. 4 – a look you can replicate with Elkay aluminum drainboard sinks today.

 

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In response to Friday’s post on the patriotic 40s kitchen, Josh writes:I’m in love with that sink. Do they still make any like that? Thanks for the question, Josh. Unfortunately, not that I know of. But, I have some recommendations:

These porcelain-enamel-on-cast-iron or steel drainboard sinks were UBIQUITOUS in the postwar period, so you can find one if you are patient. Watch your Habitat for Humanity/Restore or local Re-Sell type place, Craigslist, my Postwar Steel Forum, and ebay. The one at the left (no drainboards, though, and in reality a ‘farmhouse sink) was recently on ebay – mint in packaging, never used and it went for about $400. Honestly, if I were looking for one of these – I would hold out until I found one in near-perfect shape.

In addition, watch historichouseparts.com, one of my favorite places. The first sink (below) was for sale on their site for $725, and count on a hefty shipping charge, too. Others shown are sold for the most part, check in frequently and I’m sure they’ll be glad to help:

I also recently found a site, thisoldtubandsink.com that says it specializes in vintage porcelain-on-cast-iron pieces, including refinishing. Honestly, I cannot vouch for the refinishing work – and from what I know about this, it can be truly tricky. But this merchant certainly also seem to have a number of as-is pieces in good shape such as this 42×25 double sink at $635. There are other pieces with drainboards as well:

Finally — I recently saw a couple of vintage drainboard sinks in Rejuvenation’s salvage yard, for those of you in the Portland, Oregon area.

And, don’t forget – that another very viable alternative, are the Elkay Lustertone stainless steel sinks made in the 50s and still available today. While they may not be as “sweet” as the white porcelain, they are probably in reality – more functional, as stainless steel does not chip, is very sanitary, and is easy to keep clean. I’ve done a number of posts on these in the past, click here for the most recent.

If you are looking for a vintage drainboard sink, be sure that the length and width will fit your space – and that the height of the integral backsplash will work for you as well. You’ll also need to “mate” the sink to the adjacent countertops, I don’t have any advice on this…

Again – there were millions of these made. For example, in the immediate (and less affluent) postwar period from 1946-early 50s, the sink cabinet/drainboard sink combo was marketed heavily as a standalone piece to be integrated into farmhouse kitchens — the Mrs. would keep her wood cabinets, only buy the steel sink base and complementary sink/drainboard. There were big names all over this action, too — Kohler, American Standard, Youngstown. That’s why you see so many sink bases ONLY (as in the photos from historichouseparts.com, above) for sale.

Finally, in further researching Josh’s question, I found two reproduction sinks that are made currently – both are very pre-war and are really meant as farmhouse style sinks to stand on legs or freestanding. Note, most cabinets today and in the 50s on, were 25″ deep.

Here’s the Nottingham Brass Sandford sink, it’s 42″x21″ and $969 free shipping from signaturehardware.com:


And here’s a Strom sink sold as Clarion by plumbingsupply.com (and others) at $1599 plus $175 shipping:

This Retro Renovation post was originally published on March 24, 2008.

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1946 American brand kitchen

Can you believe it? You can still get the exact faucet required for a vintage American-Brand kitchen drainboard sink. It’s available here from Locke Plumbing. The owners tell me they still sell quite a few of them, including to lots of folks in Europe. Click on the thumbnail of the faucet for sale – you can see it’s designed to nestle right into the backsplash of the sink top. I am told it does not fit other sinks, so no need to go there. Cool, huh? I just love having found this – thanks again go to Russell for turning us on to Locke Plumbing. Remember folks, they are also great if you want to fix a particular brand of vintage toilet.

The also are good go-to’s for:

• Hard to find toilet seats
• Bathroom lavatory faucet with pull-out shampoo sprayer
• Retro-style Delta tub and shower faucet set-up
• And remember, Russell raves about their system to connect you with hard-to-find toilet parts.

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