Household Items

Today's post is a collection of 3 household items from the Boulton house in the 1950's and 60's.  

The first is the Five Year Guarantee and receipt for a Philips Chatelaine Vacuum Cleaner, purchased in June of 1964 for $79.  Edwin must have done some negotiation to trade an old one worth $14 to bring the total to $65.  There are lots of examples of vintage Electrolux, Kirby, Hoover and even Filter Queen vacuums online but not many Philips but maybe it looked like the one below.

The Simpson-Sears Home Pasteurizer operating instruction sheet likely dates from the 50's and the picture of the one below that was found on Etsy is likely similar to what it looked like.  The seller of this one includes this description:

In the fall & winter of 1951-1952 the Sears catalog warned customers of the dangers of raw milk and explained how the pasteurizer works. The milk is placed in the one gallon capacity removable bucket made of aluminum construction light to handle and easy to clean. After plugging it I and setting the timer the milk is heated by A 300 watt ring-type element

The receipt for the Marconi TV and antenna in 1957 shows Uncle Frank spent $288 to have the newest fad in the Boulton home.  Using the Cost of Inflation calculator, in today's money that would be over $2400.00!  

Ads From 105 Years Ago

Some of the old advertisements that survived over 100 years in the Boulton house are fascinating and give another view of life on an early Manitoba farm home.

The Case Gasoline Engine Tender advertised above held 16 barrels of gasoline at a price of $120.00 plus delivery and they promoted a 6% discount for cash.  An online source says this ad may be from 1912.

On April 12 of 1912, the Boultons received this advertisement for the International Harvester Kerosene-Gasoline tractors that ranged from 12 to 45 horsepower.

A  I H C tractor never tires - pulls as steadily at 6 o'clock at night as it did at sun up; never needs to be unharnessed, rested or fed.  It will work through the noon hour, supper hour, and all night, twenty-four hours a day, and if necessary, every day in the week.  

You often hear farmers say that the most serious thing to contend with is a short season.  Seasons are never too short when you have a tractor.  Poor crops usually result from late planting- - which gives the frost a chance to get in its destructive work.  You plant late because you could not get into the fields to plow them at the proper time.

We have in mind conditions last year, where frosts soon after harvest did not give farmers a chance to plow.  When spring opens up it will be necessary to do in a very few days the plowing that should have been done last fall.  How are you going to do it with horses?  How are you going to seed at the proper time?  The farmer who relies on horses will get his crop in late or have a short acreage.  

Francis Cook Caldwell M.D. representing the Blair Remedy Co. from Chicago sent this letter in November of 1912 "to the one addressed"...

I am informed that you have been suffering from the effects of Uric Acid poisoning, frequently manifested by Rheumatism, Kidney, Bladder, Stomach or Skin trouble or Catarrh and as a test, am willing to send you free to try, a full size $1.00 box of my KO-TI-OSH.

In case you are wondering what it was, the letter goes on to state:

IN A THOUSAND BOXES THERE IS NOT ONE GRAIN OF MORPHINE OR ANY DERIVATIVE OF OPIUM, no Codeine, no Cocaine, no Acetanilid, no Iodine of Potash, NOR ANY OTHER ELEMENT which depresses the action of the HEART, upsets the Stomach, or causes dizziness or faintness.  

On the second page the letter says:

Feeling sure that you will want to try my remedy, I am enclosing an application form showing you are entitled to the free trial, also my return envelope, and it requires only a two cent stamp for mailing.  State your conditions fully, enclose mailing expenses and let me know how you are afflicted, so I can give you valuable suggestions, simple home rules, etc., and help you get well quickly.  I will be glad to answer your questions without any charge.

The application form is not with the letter so maybe one of the Boultons tried the cure!