Author Topic: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help  (Read 5245 times)

josh2086

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1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« on: May 25, 2012, 06:59:13 pm »
Hello,

I purchased this electric cup 1 week ago. Hopefully someone can help tell me exactly what this is and hopefully value it for me. I searched the whole week on the internet and could not find anything about it. The outer layer is made of porcelain and the inner layer is a darker metal. On the bottom it says GEN.ELECTRIC.CO, PAT.OCT.20.1908, JAN.19.1909, Type L-32 then the volts and amps. Hopefully someone knows about this. Thank you all for your time.

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2012, 07:20:53 pm »
I forgot to mention I have the chord for it and that it still does work.

mart

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2012, 07:55:53 pm »
How big is it ?? About coffee mug size ?? Does it come off the stand ??  Not sure,, but it could be for shaving !!  Water and or soap put in and heated to dip shaving brush before shaving !!  Presto hot suds !!!   Warm water makes the beard softer and less irritation from the razors used back then !!
That cord does not look like its from that date !! It looks much later !! Even though the patent was from that date it does not mean that what year it is from !! Only that the got the patent back then !!  I would guess late 40`s, early 50`s for it !!
« Last Edit: May 25, 2012, 08:03:54 pm by mart »

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2012, 11:14:50 pm »
 1908 was the patent date and the the 1909 date on it was when it was made. No it does not come off the stand. So I am 100% that is is from 1909.

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2012, 12:51:16 am »
Oh yes the chord is probably from the early 20s to 30s.

KC

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2012, 02:31:39 pm »
I seem to remember that they made mini vaporizers and/or humidifiers as well during that time.
I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2012, 05:08:38 pm »
They really made some unique things then and the amazing thing is that this heat cup still works. I keep researching some about it whenever I get a minute and no matter what I search for I cannot find anything except for a news paper advertisement about one.

mart

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2012, 08:05:53 pm »
If it doesn`t come off the stand,, why the handle ??  Could it be stuck ??

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2012, 09:12:09 pm »
From the picture from the newspaper ad that is the way it looked. I also talked to a historian today from GE and he said it was a shaving cup with heat. He said he would contact me back about it.

fancypants

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2012, 09:33:27 pm »
Cool little do-what'sit , josh2086 .

It sure would be nice to know what the water temp would hit , when fully electrified .....

1909 was the year 'instant' coffee hit the market in the U.S. .......

As KC mentioned , many types (some quite odd) of small electric appliances were being 'marketed' many for the 'traveling crowd' (such as sales , theatre folk & dust-bowlers - to name a few) who'd travel to/through destinations where electric power was available .

One could find table-top washing machines , hot plates , folding irons , coffee pots , curling irons , fans & all manner of sucessful & & failed devices ... not so much unlike today . Perhaps yours may be a tip-top-o'-the-science-o'-the-day 'hobo heater' (for boiling water in a container) ?

Having the patent #'s would be a good shot @ finding out more (like - what the heck did they call this thing?) .... maybe old GE has got a company historian kicking around that may know more ... I got nowhere certain with some amount of web-huntin' .

From the look of the inner surface of the item , I'd guess that something was regularly whacking the rim ... such as spoons , safety razors & maybe a ceramic-handled horsehair brush , etc .

As many of the living know , using such ungrounded appliances (which are somehow involved with water) has sometimes resulted in a smaller version of 'Old Sparky' to uninitiated users of such .
Sometimes the wiring was wrapped in quite high-quality silk & would remain durable for many decades ... other units were made with asbestos & other fiberous cloth/mat'ls which are rather banned items now-a-days ... old & crisp wiring should be replaced , should you find any , IMO , in the event you'd wish to use &/or sell your cool little item !
« Last Edit: May 27, 2012, 02:19:25 pm by fancypants »
" Methinks me the 'mental' in sentimental .... "

fancypants

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #10 on: May 26, 2012, 09:35:04 pm »
disregard my last post ... too slow on the typing draw !
" Methinks me the 'mental' in sentimental .... "

KC

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2012, 08:25:19 am »
Why disregard it?  I rather enjoyed it!  :)

I spent a good amount of time going through patents and couldn't find a thing on it!

I'm from the South - but please don't mistake my Southern Manners/Accent/Charm as a weakness!

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2012, 10:51:17 am »
Wow you guys seem to know what you are talking about. I am sure glad I found this place. Do you guys know where I would begin to value something like this. Thanks

mart

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #13 on: May 27, 2012, 11:14:51 am »
Heated shaving cup !!  Thats what I thought !! My Granddad used a straight razor and he had a round soap that fit in the bottom of his shaving cup and I remember him putting warm water in it before working up his lather for shaving !!

josh2086

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Re: 1909 General Electric Heat Cup...Please Help
« Reply #14 on: May 27, 2012, 12:28:42 pm »
I thought it was a heated shaving cup but I was not for sure. Thats what I orginally thought until I contacted someone from the NSMA which is the National Shaving Mug Association and they said it was not a shaving cup. So I am really torn on what to think it is or what to value it at. Hopefully soon I can find out because I am really anxious. This is my first antique item I purchased so I am really hoping I did well my first purchase.