Category Archives: Vintage Electrical Appliances

I love Lucy Props, Little Ricky, Mid-century, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Vintage Tape Recorders

Ricky Ricardo’s 1953 Webcor Tape Recorder

Ricky's Webcor Tape Recorder on I Love Lucy
Ricky’s Webcor Tape Recorder on I Love Lucy

The I Love Lucy episode titled “Sales Resistance” opens with Ricky using a new Webcor tape recorder to record his song “There’s a Brand New Baby in Our House”. The tape recorder was the must have gadget in 1953, the year Little Ricky was born. Ricky is  seen  using a 1953 Webcor Reel to Reel tape recorder from Webster-Chicago.

webcor210reeltoreel
Webcor Model 210 with 2 hour tape and microphone $197.50

According to the ad  pictured above the Webcor Model 210 with 2 hour tape and microphone sold for $197.50 in 1953,  which calculates to a buying power  of $1,765.21  in 2015 dollars.

A closer look at a Webcor 210 as seen on eBay
A closer look at a Webcor 210 as seen on eBay

Pictured above is a vintage portable Webcor seen on eBay this week (Click Here to view) selling for below the 1953 price although not in 1953 condition. Continue reading Ricky Ricardo’s 1953 Webcor Tape Recorder →

I love Lucy Props, Sewing Machine, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Westinghouse

Lucy’s Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine

lucy-sewingmachine
Lucy Uses a Westinghouse Sewing Machine

In the I Love Lucy episode “Lucy Wants New Furniture” Lucy tries to economize by making her own clothes. Lucy’s uses a Free-Westinghouse sewing machine like the one pictured below which is currently for sale on eBay, except the one on eBay is attached to its own table, whereas Lucy’s was portable. The price for the cheapest model in 1950 was $69.95 per the ad below.

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Vintage Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine – Click Picture to view on eBay
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1950 Free-Westinghouse Sewing Machine Ad

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Find Free-Westinghouse sewing machines on eBay

Kitchen, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Westinghouse

1952 Prices for Westinghouse Appliances

Use the Inflation Calculator below to see what Lucy Ricardo would have to pay for her Westinghouse refrigerator, range and vacuum cleaners in today’s money.  These are 1951 appliances on sale in 1952 – the regular pre-sale  price may have been closer to the 1951 price.

1952Westinghouse-sale
Source: 1952 Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 16,1952

Inflation calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Continue reading 1952 Prices for Westinghouse Appliances →

I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Vacuum Cleaners, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Westinghouse

Lucy’s “Handy Dandy” Westinghouse Vacuum Cleaner Ad 1952

Westinghouse
Tank Cleaner
With Floor Polisher

$89.95 Regularly $113.20

lucy-vacuumcleanerIts the famous Dyna-matic Tank Cleaner with a twelve-piece set of attachments to make all your home cleaning easy. And with all this you get the speedy floor polisher to keep your floors shiny and protected. All this at one remarkable price. ( Source 1952 Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 16,1952)

Lucy's

Prices in Today’s Money:

Using an inflation calculator the full price of $ 113.20 in 1952 has the same buying power as $1,002.66  in 2015 and the sale price at $89.95 comes out to $796.73 in 2015.

I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Vacuum Cleaners, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Westinghouse

Lucy’s “Handy Dandy” Westinghouse Vacuum Cleaner


lucy-vacuumcleaner1b 
In the I Love Lucy episode Sales Resistance Lucy falls for a slick sales patter and ends up with her “Handy Dandy” vacuum cleaner which is really an early 50’s  Westinghouse  Dyna-Matic tank vacuum cleaner.  The Westinghouse Dyna-Matic tank sweeper had a throw away inner bag and a set of attachments as seen on the show.

See another similar one on eBay HERE

Westinghouse Vacuum Cleaner 1950's
Pictured above is a well preserved  Westinghouse tank vacuum cleaner with attachments found  at http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?3848 looking very similar to the one seen on the show – even the paper tag looks the same.
lucy-westinghouse-vacuumcleaner-c

A 1950 newspaper ad gives the price as  $49.95  which is equivalent to almost $500 in 2015 so Ricky’s reaction is not surprising. Incidentally Lucy is seen using the upright model vacuum cleaner in The Black Eye episode.0_0_3020_4320

According to this NY Times article ” Hoover executives saw an episode of ”I Love Lucy” in which Lucille Ball peddled vacuum cleaners door to door. Hoover cut a deal with the show’s producers to have one of its products, and especially its brand name, displayed whenever a vacuum appeared in the plot, Mr. Kravitz said.”

The Hoover that appeared on the show was possibly a Hoover upright model 62.

I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Vintage Electrical Appliances, Westinghouse

Lucy’s Westinghouse Waffle Iron

Westinghouse-Waffle-Iron1
Lucy uses a Westinghouse Waffle Iron on an episode of I Love Lucy

In the I Love Lucy Season 4  episode The Business Manager the show opens with Lucy making waffles for breakfast on her Westinghouse “Grill-n-Waffler” Waffle Iron.  Unfortunately these waffles don’t get cooked because Lucy has not been paying the electric bills on time.  You may notice the studio audience laughing while Lucy is pouring the waffle batter, but at this point  in the story line  we don’t yet know the power has been cut – apparently the audience knew the plot, or perhaps this was not the first take . On eBay this week is a  Westinghouse Waffle Iron model HW 40-1  pictures below or Click Here to view the listing . I also see a very similar model SGWB-521 with original booklet.
Westinghouse-Waffle-Iron

Westinghouse-Waffle-Iron3

Click Here to find one on eBay

Coffee Pot, Handyhot percolator, I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Mirro-Matic Percolator, Vintage Electrical Appliances

Lucy’s Automatic Coffee Percolator

i love lucy coffee percolator
Lucy pours Ricky’s morning coffee from her Automatic Percolator

Here is a typical breakfast set with Lucy in her apron pouring coffee for Ricky in a scene that is representative of the typical 50’s housewife, although Lucille Ball with her heavy work schedule had little time for domesticity in her personal life. She is holding an electric coffee percolator, an affordable aluminum model that could be found in an average American home, at a time when the percolator was ubiquitous, well before dip coffee makers came along to dominate the home market. Continue reading Lucy’s Automatic Coffee Percolator →

50s Retro, I love lucy, I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Vintage Electrical Appliances

Lucy’s Westinghouse Commander Super-Corox Range

Kitchen Range on I Love Lucy
A 1950 Westinghouse Kitchen Range seen on I Love Lucy

Here we are looking at two different models of the Westinghouse Commander Range seen on the show.

1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove also seen on I Love Lucy
1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove was seen on a later season of I Love Lucy

A 1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove Model was seen on a later season of I Love Lucy, it looks similar to the 1950 model but the controls have a different layout.

1954 Westinghouse Commander Range offered on eBay
1954 Westinghouse Commander Range offered on eBay

There is a working 1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove Model BD-74 offered on eBay this week like the model that was seen in a later season of I Love Lucy. Click HERE to see details.
Continue reading Lucy’s Westinghouse Commander Super-Corox Range →

I love lucy, I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Mid Century Lamps, Vintage Electrical Appliances

Lucy’s Nautical Wheel Wall Lamp

Ships Pilot Wheel Wooden Wall Lamp on I Love Lucy Kitchen Set
Ships Pilot Wheel Wooden Wall Lamp on I Love Lucy Kitchen Set

After the Ricardo’s move to the bigger apartment we can see a wooden nautical style ships pilot wheel lamp in the kitchen next to the door. I saw a very similar one on eBay and discovered that the arm of the lamp rotates so it can also stand independently as a table lamp with the wheel at it’s base.

The lamp pictured below is marked “Leviton”on the metal section

Ships Pilot Wheel Wooden Wall Lamp on I Love Lucy
Similar Ships Pilot Wheel Wooden Wall Lamp – swivels to convert to a desk lamp

To see more pictures on the listing on eBay click here

Example of the lamp adjusted to stand as a table lamp
Example of the lamp adjusted to stand as a table lamp – seen on eBay recently

More details here on the eBay listing

CLICK HERE to Find more like this on eBay

C.N. BURMAN CO, NJ
Similar styles from C.N. BURMAN CO, NJ

I have not seen examples of the lamp shade paired with it on the show. If you have information to share regarding the lampshade please comment below.