1966 American Standard kitchen sink with egg-shaped bowls and stick shift Aquaseal faucet

Yowza — today a real treat —  one of the most delicious looking vintage woddities in a while. Reader Tami spotted this amazing aqua American Standard porcelain enamel sink listed for sale on Ebay. The sink’s double not-quite-circular bowls… not-quite-square shape with not-quite-square hudee ring… luscious aqua color… and original faucet with dual built-in soap dispensers are unlike quite anything we’ve ever seen before. While basking in the beauty of this sink however, a realization hit me: How to turn on the tap? It looks like there is a… stick shift required? Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines… 

From the Ebay listing:

Very hard to find one of these anywhere. Double Bowl Blue Kitchen style cast iron sink with soap dispensers. This has round basin bowls as apposed to the square ones that you normally see, very unique. Kinda reminds as something that would be on the Jetsons.

–Sink dimensions & info–

• American Standard Industrial Original Porcelain Cast Iron sink Set from 1966
• This sink is in good condition with minor wear & tear

This sink comes with all following original & included

• faucet, I have not tried it to see if it works properly or leaks. It is also marked American Standard
• 2 soap dispensers, one has the pickup tube broken, missing bottles (looks like a standard size bottle threads) not sure if the pumps on dispensers work.

• cable pull knob with cable, does not move, maybe able to free it up or replace. I’m not sure what this was for but maybe a garbage disposer or drain closer.
• Trim ring chrome, it does have some dents/bends at both ends that should be able to be straightened.
• Stamped on the bottom it says 42 x 21 in. Width/Length
• The sink has been lightly cleaned.

Date Stamped 4-1-1966 Also stamped American Standard & American Sanitary Louisville Made In the USA
This was the last year & one of the only years they made this style of sink branded “Standard”– In 1967,the company changed its name to American Standard Corporation.This sink was made in America back when things were made to last-This company has changed hands so many times nowadays that Made in the USA by “Standard” is now a thing of the past.

• Original porcelain enamel finish has wear & tear -couple pings in dings but overall in good condition
• I did find a chip in the porcelain but it is not down to the cast iron, it is on the upper right of the left bowl between the bowls.
• It does have scratches and scuffs, maybe able to polish it out.
• Again this was only lightly cleaned and there is some dirt/build up around the chrome ring and faucet.
• Please view all photos as they are part of the description.
•  This sink weights probably 200-300 lbs.

American Standard Aquaseal faucet

I asked the Ebay seller if he knew more about the history of this sink, but all he could tell me was that it was originally from Iowa. With all of its built-in features, this sink must have been cutting edge back in 1966. If this sink were in my kitchen, I’m not sure I would be able to figure out how to turn on the water and adjust the temperature. The third knob on the faucet must have something to do with turning on the sink, but what function could the mystery lever serve?

Update: Thanks to reader Danita, who identified the faucet in her comment:

Yes, I have seen this type of sink before. The faucet is the American Standard Aquaseal – thanks to my husband – the plumber – who installed these types of faucets back in the 1960s. His parents had this type of kitchen faucet and contrary to what has been written, operates the same way as a normal single handle kitchen faucet. The only different is that you pull it forward instead of lifting the handle up. Push the Aquaseal handle to the left – hot, right – cold. You’d probably have to hunt around for the seats and stems, but could find and rebuild, as the faucet was one of the smoothest operating on the market at that time – better than todays!

Mega thanks to Ebay seller tomcturtle for allowing us to archive his photos of this amazing midcentury sink.

Want to see more unusual kitchen sinks? Read our story — 12 rare vintage kitchen sinks spotted in 5 years of blogging — now 13!

Readers — have any of you seen a sink like this before?