Mystery Mixer--Princess Portable Hand Mixer Northeast Electric

[justsewca]

  I'm hoping you can help me solve a mystery.  I recently found a mixer NIB at an estate sale, and cannot find out anything about it or the company that made it.  It is a small mixer, and appears to be from the 1950's.  The paperwork with the mixer says it was made by the Northeast Electric Company in East Hampton, Ct.  The mixer has three speeds, and is white with gray handle.  The box says it has 2 speeds, but it does in fact have 3.

From my research, this items looks very much like a larger IONA hand-held mixer of the same Princess Deluxe name.  The IONA Mfg. company started in East Hampton in 1947, and moved to Manchester in 1957.  It was founded by William Sleith.  I did contact the author of a piece on the dedication of Sleith Hall at Western New England University, and he was also intrigued.  He copied an archivist on his reply to me, but as of yet I've heard nothing more.  I also did research on the IONA Mfg. company, thinking maybe I could work backwards and find that the NEC was a predecessor.  No luck.  I discovered that Grant Dept. stores sold some items made by IONA under their own name, but I could not find an association with NEC and IONA.  I've tried searching on the NEC name, and even did a business search with the state of CT.  I have also emailed the historical society in East Hampton.  Obviously I've done the simpler searches too (eBay, Etsy, etc.) along with asking fellow vintage kitchen collectors in my group.

If anyone can provide me with additional information on this mystery mixer or the company that made it, or point me in a direction I might look, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thank you!

[icedgold10]

Well, can't find them either.  I remember my aunt had one though.  Must have had a parent company.

[mart]

I remember that label !!  Can we see the part that gives the Northeast name ?? Should be on the outside of the box somewhere !!

[justsewca]

Here's the pic of the manufacturer.

[icedgold10]

I think the Northeast place might be a distributor.  From what little I have found I am leaning towards a division of Sunbeam products.  Send them an email and ask them if they produced these.  The artwork is right inline with there image.

[mart]

https://www.needco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10701&catalogId=10151

I think your Northeast electric has just evolved as many companies did !! They may have made small appliances at one time but found other venues more profitable !! Look under general products, they still do flashlights and some small stuff !! Its not unusual to run into this !! You can also contact them and see if this is the right one !!  The link here is for Northeast Electric Distributing !! Several others for "electric" but they are mostly power companies !!

[justsewca]

Thanks for the replies.

I have not been able to connect any Northeast Electric(al) company to this mixer, but I will keep checking.

I like the idea of it being a part of Sunbeam (even if it turns out to not be true); I found this when looking for a Sunbeam Mixmaster.

Here is a link to a picture of an IONA mixer with box that sold on eBay a few years back.  As you notice, the box and pamphlets are very similar.  This is what lead me to IONA.  http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/princess-deluxe-pink-hand-kitchen-130616644

[mart]

http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/asc/dodda2z/subjectarea.cfm?Area=2

Here is the UCONN Business History Museum,, try emailing the curator !! Link at the bottom of the page

[justsewca]

I emailed Laurie Smith earlier today before posting here (UCONN Business).  Glad to know I'm at least thinking along the right lines.   
I also tried the UL website, wondering it they'd have a list of companies they had approved devices with.  No luck there.

[mart]

Sometimes they are hard to track down !! Another option is the East Hartford Historical Society !! They usually have info on all local businesses !!

[justsewca]

Mart, you and I think alike.  I did email the Historical Society!  No reply . . . yet.

[KC]

Is this you on collectors weekly?
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/106903-princess-hand-mixer?in=920

[justsewca]

Yes, that's my little Princess. 

[KC]

Sunbeam (originally the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company)  did produced a "Princess" !  BUT it was the very first product that Sunbeams produced and it was an electric iron and later became known as the Ironmaster!  http://www.jitterbuzz.com/indmix.html

[justsewca]

"Princess" seemed to be a theme of the time . . . anything to make us feel like "royalty" while doing everyday chores, lol.  As I mentioned, I blame Sunbeam for this mystery.  I have recently begun buying older Sunbeam Mixmasters, and was looking for one of those when I found this NEC hand mixer.  I didn't think much when I bought it on impulse, then when I got it home and tried to figure out what I'd bought I started scratching my head.  I also realized I didn't want to use it (as I'd planned) until I learned more.