This list of "Christmas Gift Suggestions" from another time of economic difficulty, 1930, offers a poignant portrait of the humble items then considered to be suitable as a special gift. First up in this Ypsilanti Daily Press ad is a 1930 Atwater Kent radio (pictured). As big as an icebox, this massive console style radio would have dominated a room. In 1930, one could tune this baby in to such shows as Fibber McGee and Molly, Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, The Green Hornet, Amos 'n Andy, and Burns and Allen.
You could buy this model at Hopkins and Augustus, 30 N. Washington, near Pearl St.The next suggestion, a car battery, like many items on the list is a purely functional gift. Wiedman Auto was right down the street from Hopkins and Augustus, located where the downtown AATA bus terminal is. Dusty Diary wonders if the big parking lot there is a relic of Wiedman's, or if it was on the opposite side of Pearl. This car battery seems incongruous, even for the Depression. One wonders if Wiedman's just threw it in there just for a bit of publicity in this prominent ad--who knows.
The Victor Radio mentioned was another giant console model for sale a block over, on Michigan Ave. Dusty D notes that there are no fewer than 3 separate shops advertising radios--this was clearly the hot new home appliance!
Further down is one of the new *electric* Singer sewing machines (1930 model pictured). This must have seemed very modern to women who grew up seeing their moms use a treadle. By this time, electrics had only been around for about a decade, and, as we have seen, electricity itself had only been around in Ypsilanti for 23 years, since 1907, just about one generation.
The humblest item on this gift list is a "Speedo" jar opener (pictured). This bolted onto the wall and had a faucet-like crank for positioning the jaws over the jar. Dusty D imagines that many families in Ypsilanti were thankful to have any jars of food to open at this time--during the Depression in Ypsi, there were many huge community canning drives to put up food that was then distributed to those who needed it.Seeing this extremely humble and modest list is a good reminder to DD to be thankful for the many good things she has.
"a Sparton Jr. Radio... $74.05"
ReplyDeleteWow. The "Jr." was around $750 to $1000 in 2009 money.
WHAT?! Good heavens! You're right! I missed that! WOW!--that's pricey! No wonder they're listed as Xmas presents.
ReplyDelete(checks online 'inflation calculator'):
Yep, about $930 today. Jeez Louise.
But analogous to modern computer gaming equipment systems, so far as cost, I suppose. But still--wow, what an expense, during the Depression!
On second glance, I also note the sewing machine ad is advertising "easy terms"--which I believe means that people bought it on time. Singer is also taking in old machines as trade-ins, like cars today. Wow. Perhaps it too was fiendishly expensive.
ReplyDeleteThere is something even more poignant about such simple and humble household machines, ones we take for granted today, costing such a huge amount of money.
I bet I'd listen carefully if a radio cost a day's pay.
ReplyDeleteOoops. A week's pay.
ReplyDeleteA week's pay. Wow. No wonder they designed radios as elegant pieces of furniture...the new technology was so expensive. I imagine it was the vacuum tubes that took up so much space in there.
ReplyDeleteI can remember when television sets had vacuum tubes. I can also remember the times we went in search of the right tube to replace the one that had burnt out. Each tube in the set was one of a kind, and had to be replaced with just the right one, or the set would not work. I guess it was the same with old radio.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that about different tubes in one set.
ReplyDeleteBack in the good old days when household appliances were actually fixable and not just discarded because the repair would cost more than the replacement.