Vintage stoves will always have a very special place in my heart, because the first story I ever wrote about homes was about vintage stoves, for the (now defunct) Ann Arbor News in 1995. My neighbor Dave had salvaged a 1940s Magic Chef from his grandmother’s barn and sent it to Macy’s Texas Stove Works for restoration. My story was about why folks were starting to treasure vintage stoves — and where you could buy them. Hey, even then, 17 years ago (gulp) I was all about the where-to-get-the-stuff and where-to-get-it-restored. Do you think that after all this time I ended up right where I should be — writing this blog? I think so! Last uploader, when readers shared 234 pictures of their vintage small appliances, readers also asked to share their vintage large appliances. Above: A photo that came in early from reader JoAnn. Pretty!
This uploader is now closed — check out the 208 photos that readers submitted — they’re pretty darn amazing!
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image:
Want to buy a vintage stove? See this story – 26 places to buy restored vintage stoves. Or, do you want help finding parts, service or advice to fix old stoves and appliances? See this popular story (click photo to get there):
Rickie in Texas says
I am so very, very jealous!!!!!
Heidi Swank says
Ooooo! Vintage appliances. My absolute favorite category of vintage! I wish our Philco Citation oven was a completed project and installed. Hmm…. I’ll have to look around for pix of our fridge or partio cart.
Jay says
What a great collection of photos. I had a cooktop like the Westinghouse when I moved in but the condition was poor and 1/2 the burners did not get hot. I replaced it with a new GE coil burner cook top to maintain the vintage look. Junk made in China! The temp numbers are wearing off – just sprayed on. I still have the Westinghouse wall oven, not in great condition but still works good. I just don’t touch the knobs for auto cook for fear it will go on and not know how to stop it. People always comment on the oven because they are not accustomed to seeing “old” kitchens anymore.
ChrisH says
Will,
That looks like a Crosley radio on top of your Philco. Nice.
Will says
It is a modern (well 10 year old) crosley repro (with cassette in the side). I’ve got a few vintage radios around the house, but I wanted FM for the kitchen. They still make them in black and based on my experience I’d recommend it to a friend.
Janet in CT says
First off, thanks, Pam, for all the hard work reorganizing the photos! I like the colored appliances all together at the end. I do have a question for all of you with your 40″ or double oven/drawer sized stoves. I noticed alot of them stand alone or are at one side, with no cabinets on one or both ends. I believe back in the early fifties, GE made their stoves in 39″ wide, not 40″ wide which came later out in the late fifties. Did anyone not realize this and pick up a stove that didn’t fit in the intended space? Or vice versa, and get an early one for a 40″ space that meant a gap between the counters? And some of these look to be other sizes like 36″ wide. I thought I would bring this up in case someone is looking to replace an older stove and picks up a slightly newer better or different one, only to find it doesn’t fit. Darn that one inch! And to those of you with other makes, are they true to the 40″ wide or are some others also 39″ wide and this was unique to GE. They also made those drop-ins at 27″ wide which really messed people up when replacing them years later. GE still made them but charged quite a bit more, knowing people had no choice. The original intention was not just stylish, but space saving in small ranches with small kitchens, but people had to stick with them or rip out and replace their kitchen cabinets. I also noticed some stoves, like these drop-ins, really work the best with plain and simple squared front counter tops, no fancy rounded fronts or tile would work well. But it is all so interesting to study these stoves, and thanks so much to all who submitted. It amazed me how we had few duplicates and so many different ones to see.
cheryl m says
Our Kenmore is exactly 41.25″ wide (white chrome top “Super Deluxe” model) – not sure if that is typical or an odd dimension? We were told ours is probably from the early 50’s, but we don’t really know anything specific about it (found on craigslist). It is free standing, there was previously a contemporary “normal-width” stove in the same location when we bought out house, so the conversion to vintage was not traumatic to our cabinet configuration.
Old/vintage Kenmores don’t seem to be as “collectable” today as brands like Wedgewood or O’Keefe & Merritt, there is not much to be found online about the old Kenmores, or we are not looking in the right places, wish we know more about ours, or even just what year it is from.
Will says
Try the first three digits of the model number. Search “Who made my kenmore?” My ’58 (pic #50) was made by Roper. You can see it’s got the same clock face as the Roper (pic #87). Use that information and search vintage ads of both Kenmore and the maker. You can usually find enough information to give you a year or pretty close to it. You also might try vintage Sears catalogs too, some websites post them online. I found out mine was a ’58 though trial and error. I hope that helps.
jeanne says
The featured turquoise & red kitchen with the dining room, George Nelson Bubble light and fireplace in the background is gorgeous!! MAJOR eye candy!
Janet in CT says
Oh, Jeanne, bless your heart! You must be younger than us baby boomers. I could not figure out what fireplace you are talking about but then realized if you mean the turquoise charis with yellow topped table on the red rug, that is a “mangle” in the background, not a fireplace. You youngsters probably never even saw one, but our mothers used it to iron back in the day! You don’t see may around any more. I also loved the red table with the turquoise cannisters on it. I have that turqoise vinyl buffet and a similar table with red trim and chairs, and felt bad they didn’t match. Now I see two people used red and turquoise together and I love it!
pam kueber says
I need to do a story on mangles….
Diane in CO says
I believe she means the featured, large pic up top, with the George Nelson bubble light and the red fireplace in the background, turquoise tile behind the stove. That is indeed a fireplace.
You know, we need some means of ID-ing which pic is being referenced; I was thinking that earlier. I like it when the submitting person’s name accompanies the submitted photo. Or is there a way to number them? I have been confused a few times because I’m not well-versed in the various model names.
pam kueber says
the slide show IS numbered – click on image. however, the numbers will keep changing as i organize the photos
Jeanne says
Yes Diane you are correct, I meant the large “featured” photo at the beginning of the post up top. Sorry for not clarifying better.
Janet, I’m a baby boomer – born in 1957! 🙂
Janet in CT says
Oops! I went through the photos twice but I never even considered the featured one at the top. Duh, sorry about that! And the mangle DOES almost look like a fireplace! Speaking of baby boomers, what a wonderful group to be a part of! We certainly live in a special era in time!
Janet in CT says
Obviously, I didn’t know what a George Nelson Bubble light is! What a treasure! I thought it was the light hanging in the other kitchen, which is also to die for! Thanks for clarifying this!
Gail DeVore says
IKEA has lighting in a mid-mod vibe. Their FILLSTA Pendant lamp and a few others make me think of the George Nelson light…
Luann says
Totally lusting after the turquoise bi-level, I posted a picture of our white one. There are some beauties out there! Also just saw this listing if anyone is in the Calgary area
http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-home-appliances-stoves-ovens-ranges-McClary-Gas-Stove-Oven-Natural-Gas-Operable-W0QQAdIdZ416046890
pam says
Thank you Luann,
I don’t know what year it is, but I feel like I won the lottery. An elderly lady was giving it away on CL. I found it two days after she posted it & sent her an e-mail saying, “I know I’m too late, but that is my dream stove!” She was just getting ready to delete the ad when she got my e-mail. She phone interviewed me for 45 minutes, and decided that I was the one (out of about 40)!!! She was moving into senior living & said she couldn’t bare to see the stove get ripped out & dumped when her house sold. After we finished the kitchen, we had her over for lunch. I just cherish the story & the stove : ) I really like your white one too.
Pam
Luann says
Well the stove sure went to a good home Pam, I’m so glad the lady decided to give it away and that you got it! I absolutely love your kitchen too. Eventually, we’re going to have to refinish our cabinets or do something different and you’ve given me some great ideas, we love turquoise.
A neighbor down the road left a brown version in the back alley to give away and I don’t know what became of it, I hope it went to a good home too!
Pam from Nashville says
Thank you Luann,
Here is a link to my photo album with more pictures of the kitchen if you’d like to see them. The countertops are the boomerang aqua by Formica (discontinued, but you may still be able to find some!)..
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1958642407580.2119347.1288350145&type=3&l=eb96c2b41b
Luann says
Thanks Pam! I love the Youngstown cabinets (and the ones you made to look like them) and the countertops and sink are great too. It’s fantastic that you put together your kitchen piece by piece – that takes some serious patience and time. Great work! I’ve put a shot on my Pinterest page for later reference.
pam from Nashville says
: ) : ) : )
JoAnn W. says
I’m the ‘unidentified’ person who submitted the O’Keefe & Merritt with the red knobs at the top of the post. The person who restored it thought it was a 1949, but I’m not sure you can date these stoves exactly without a catalogue. We remodeled the kitchen to go with the stove and obviously were not afraid of turquoise & red! The rest of the kitchen does not show up in the photo. Keep the photos coming-such fun!
Meredith R. says
JoAnn W. – I LOVE your kitchen. You say you redid it to match the gorgeous stove….are your cabinets new? If so, can you tell me about them? And how big are those turquoise tiles? Love it all.
pam kueber says
Hey, note, everyone: I am “organizing” these photos into sections as they come in. This means their numbers in the slide show will likely keep changing until I close the uploader (likely Tues. morning).
Jane / MulchMaid says
Nancy, (#129) your LH double wall ovens look very much like my Thermador single wall oven (#127). I think they could have been made by the same company and just marketed as different brands – kind of the way they do it now!
Patrick Coffey says
The reason the L&H Wall Ovens in the picture above look like Thermador Ovens from the same era is because by 1950, Lindemann & Hoverson was owned by Norris Industries who were also the owners of Thermador