May 31, 1987
by Susie Dewey
Vigo County Historical Society
Toys worked like real
Girls learned cooking by cooking
Any little girl seeing the Little Cook Electric Range at the Historical Museum could exclaim, “It really works!”
And, indeed, it does boil and bake with the best of the large ranges of which it is a copy. The range is 14 inches tall with 4-inch chrome legs. The width contains one large electric burner and an over for “doll-size” baking. In the 6-inch by 4-inch by 5-inch interior, the young homemaker could bake two small cookies, a cupcake, or one miniature pie.
No grease deposits or scuffed spots are evident. The blue enamel panels at the rear of the cook top and oven door shine and are unmarked.
The stove was presented to the museum by Ruth Lindeman of Vigo County. It was a present to her daughters in the early 1930s.
The electrical cord is the original and is in very good shape. Collectors’ catalogs, however, warn that such items as operable stoves, washing machines and irons should not be plugged in to modern outlets without careful checking. Often the toys are not compatible with 1980 outlets. The 115 watt, 700 voltage cord is thick and utilitarian looking.
Toys often helped children prepare for adults life. Little girls played near their mothers in the kitchen while the meals were being prepared. A pinch of cookie or pie dough, a cupcake, or a piece of potato would be given to the young cook so she could make her own treat. As the girl matured, she learned to make the dough, too.
Sears, Roebuck and Co distributed this stove. In the 1930s the same company also distributed a children’s cookery book.
The owners of this stove were fortunate because someone was keeping up-to-day with culinary trends. The old cast iron ranges used in rural homes in the 19th century were the models for children’s toy stoves until the 1920s. These early iron stoves were carefully made with every detail correct. Catalog pictures show them with kettles, pans, utensils and hot water holders. While the young cook could juggle her pots and pans, she could not actually cook anything. The lack of heat and smoke made imaginary preparation essential.
Germany, the leading toy-making country of the world, began showing electric toy stoves in the 1920s They were expensive and rare. The models were quickly copied in the United States, and Sears, Roebuck and Co. pictured models such as the Little Cook Electric Range in the 1930 catalog.
Electricity was expanding into the rural areas and mother, as well as daughters, greeted it with delight. In addition to eliminating smoke and wood chopping, the ranges provided uniform heat and a more consistent product.
The value of the new electric ranges was shown in a 1939 letter to Sears. A woman living on a farm in northern Indiana said she baked 60 loaves of bread, several pans of muffins, pies, cakes and sweet rolls a week. Imagine how much wood chopping and fire tending such a production entailed! But this toy stove would consider it unsafe. It probably would not meet national safety standards for toys today. The two manual controls can be twisted by tiny hands. The burner and cook top become hot enough to burn. The over does not have insulation, so the top and sides become very hot.
In the 1930s children were warned to be careful and suffered the consequences when they weren’t. Probably the loss of the toy for a few days as a punishment accompanied any burns or blisters. In the 1970s, safety regulations for toys were established after Ralph Nader listed the dangers of the playroom. The responsibility moved from parent and child to the manufacturer. Working models of household appliances and machinery became rare toys.
A toy stove was unearthed in old Abydos in Egypt. The stove and the utensils with it were bronze. They belonged to a family called Atai, and their purpose was the same as the 20th-century stove: to tech little girls the skills of housekeeping and food preparation.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.