“Here’s a really, truly, little ELECTRIC stove that will fry eggs, boil potatoes, bake biscuits and make real candy.“
The toy stove was first advertised for Christmas 1915. See inside this booklet >
In October 1915 at an Electrical NYC Expo Western Electric had a booth. There were two little girls who baked, boiled, fried and stewed to their hearts’ content in front of an interested and admiring, ever-changing crowd. There were similar shows in Seattle, Denver, and, as an example, a show in Indianapolis where two girls age 6 and 7 presided over five little stoves, baked and cooked “…tenderly lifted from the oven, it is served on the table…and passed among the audience. Tea and coffee are also made and served by the diminutive housekeepers.” — Cincinnati Times Star
Ads ran in newspapers, and in the *November 1915 children’s magazine, St. Nicholas. Hundreds of store displays of these little stoves were in stores for the holidays. There were letter contests to win this junior stove, and there was a “moving picture film” showing the girls baking. The public schools got involved and children were ushered on field trips to see displays of the little electric stoves.
This free booklet was in the advertisements–hoping not just to convince a child to ask for this Christmas toy, but to strong-arm mother into getting an electric stove.
Electric stoves had just begun to make their way into homes in 1906, so most people still had wood-burning or coal-burning stoves. Many houses in the country weren’t even electrified until the 1930s.
Notice the electric plug so high up on the wall — this is about the height a candle, kerosene, or gas light would be hung, and the design or habit hadn’t changed yet.
*Anywho, here’s the 1915 ad–
Girls!
Here’s a really, truly, little ELECTRIC stove that will fry eggs, boil potatoes, bake biscuits and make real candy.
Western Electric Junior Electric Range
Just think! A beautiful, shiny stove, with a real oven and with a teakettle, skillet and baking pan. All you have to do is connect the cord to one of Mother’s electric light sockets and turn the switch. Then the heat comes up through the six little round holes in the top of the stove. No matches. No flame or smoke.
Tell Mother that this range will be just the thing for you to learn to cook on. She will know that it is all right because it is guaranteed by the big Western Electric Company, which makes all the Bell telephones. And tell her that it is probably sold by the big toy stores and department stores where you live, or by the electric light company.
Wouldn’t you like to have one for Christmas?
A Little Cookbook, Free. …ask us for the little cookbook written especially for this Junior range. Then we can tell you, too, where Mother can buy one of them for you.
