Toaster, Toastmaster
- Designed by
- Unknown
- Material
- Chromium-plated steel, Bakelite, rubber
- Produced by
- Toastmaster Products Division, McGraw Electric Co., Elgin, Illinois
- Dimensions
- 21.5 x 29 x 32 cm
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, gift of Eric Brill, 2010.1304*
This unornamented pop-up toaster in shining chrome was intended for commercial use but could also be used at home to toast four slices at once. It used the current technology and configuration that allowed the toast to be cooked on both sides and popped up according to a timer set for preference of light or dark toast.
Previous generations of toasters required the user to turn the bread over by hand to brown both sides. Chromium-plated metal was popular for use in toaster design for most of the twentieth century, until plastic replaced it as the favorite material. The pure rectilinear form made this an object of good design.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, photo: Denis Farley.