ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Electrical Nostalgia Antique Outlet Stand

(posted for Frank DeWitt)

Interesting! Now,what purpose was that originally intended?

That is what I would like to know. I do know that at this time table outlets were sold. I have seen a number of small china dogs with a felt base and a couple of outlets in them.



I have also seen a "Table outlet"


I can only assume that wall outlets were few and having AC power was something to be proud of.

Frank

Frank:
Those are some really nice items!!

FWIW, my wife would have a fit if I had the stand & plugged my laptop (or anything else) into that. She hates to see any cords!! She would prefer a receptacle by everything that she has to plug in!

The dogs are sharp.

Frank:
Those are some really nice items!!

FWIW, my wife would have a fit if I had the stand & plugged my laptop (or anything else) into that. She hates to see any cords!! She would prefer a receptacle by everything that she has to plug in!

The dogs are sharp.

John,

I think that receptacle stand would work just fine for a coffee pot on a table or that new fangled invention the TV set. The plugs were set down low, but with the stand, you can have an outlet right up high by the table.

Frank,

Those old electrical items are really neat. Where did you ever find them?

Thanks, I spend WAY to much time on Ebay. Actually I didn't buy the table outlet in the box, I just saved the picture. Believe it or not, there was a bidding war. People are collecting this stuff.

BTW one of those dog outlets is on ebay almost continuously if any of you would like one

Frank

When retail electricity was first brought into homes -- existing homes -- the common practice was to remove the base boards right at the floor line -- and BX it in.

The studs could be drilled/ notched -- balloon construction was often to hand -- and you'd be shocked as to how many homes eighty-years ago had no insulation. Everyone just wore a lot of wool clothing -- and thought nothing of it.

The crazy idea of waking up to a warm house -- is about as modern as Romex.

With power only available right down at the floor, short runs to a switched pole lamp made perfect sense. (BTW, the VERY first receptacles used Edison screw type bases. He had the patent -- and was installing his invention at every location possible.) As you might imagine, screwing into a wall socket fell out of favor the second the straight blade plug entered the market.

Now these gadgets had two uses. They could be powered by an ancient Edison screw type receptacle -- still sometimes found -- typically found in 'old-rich' homes -- while providing a sweet transition to the new straight blade receptacles -- now at a table top height -- or whatnot.

Or, they could be powered by a base board straight blade receptacle. In so doing, they'd eliminate the repeated need to bend clear down to the floor to remove this or that plug -- pretty hard on the elderly.

And the first electric appliances came into use... starting with the old hot plate. No-one wanted to leave such a beast plugged in when they were away.

This also extended to coffee makers.

Since old kitchens were never wired -- these gadgets were the perfect stop gap. You'd set them near the breakfast table -- and power up the coffee maker right there.

Dog type extension cords would be DIY'd from the base board up to a kitchen counter. The users were instructed to NOT leave appliances plugged in when not in use, to NOT use extension cords as permanent wiring.

This logic is still in the NEC. This is when and where it got started. These are the original extension cords -- which for most did represent quasi-permanent wiring.

As time went by, BX and Romex retrofits made the very need for these -- under gauged -- DIY wiring methods dated.

( Having routed the BX, the installers could tack the base board back in place -- repairing, painting as needed. They could get in and out in no time... if hand augering was your idea of high speed.)

BTW, the VERY first electric drills were introduced in the twenties. (Metabo in Germany -- a contraction of "to drill holes" in German -- and Black & Decker in the USA) Both firms came out with electric drill motors at almost the same instant. These were huge tools -- with lousy performance. But, lousy beats zero anytime.

(Porter Cable came out with the first electric side winder saw -- with gear reduction, IIRC, at about the same time. The very first efforts went with direct drive -- off of a universal motor.)

The mass production of universal motors changed the world -- and no where more so than the construction trades.

Actually it's "Metallbohrdreher", a quaint phrase that roughly translates as "rotary metal drill". Metabo didN't invent the power drill either, they only made a very successful one. The machine itself was actually invented by Emil Fein as early as 1895.

Boy, you just can't trust salesmen's ad copy.

Multiply all Engineer's claims by .5
Multiply all Salesman's claims by .25

Thanks for the write up. I get asked how this stuff was used when I am at old engine shows. the info will be useful. I have some Edison socket outlets with brass hinged covers. I am looking for the combination that was sometimes used of a Edison socket, a large red jewel and a switch, so the socket could be turned off. I am also looking for some of the competitors that didn't make it like this one
https://www.electrical-contractor.n...e_Electrical_Plug_Identi.html#Post204771

Inre the history of electrical introductions:

A century ago, balloon construction was as common as dust. You'll still find the occasional old home -- still standing -- constructed in this manner.

It features no bottom or top plates as known in Platform Framing construction, the style that is almost universal today.

It took advantage of the extremely long, straight, virgin growth lumber so commonly available in that era -- and the drastic reduction in saw cuts required. Said saw cuts would have to be performed by hand -- in the field. It also used less lumber -- at least for the frame. (the missing plates) Without plywood, dimensional lumber was used at every turn -- else, shingles, which could be hatcheted and planed to fit.

Balloon construction left open stud bays from attic to the basement. (No fire stops! The exterior sheathing provided the lateral rigidity along with the floor joists.) So the usual drill was to drop down BX from the attic to the basement/ under floor cavity. (The latter would be typical in the South and where the water table made it impossible to have a proper basement.)

Again, it was extremely common for 19th Century homes to have absolutely no insulation of any kind. Even the idea of tar paper (to stop drafts) was recent -- ninety years ago! Until 1900, most homeowners expected to merely keep the rain and some of the wind out.

As ever, America was addicted to caffine. When electric coffee makers and hot plates arrived on the scene -- everyone had to have one. The alternative was to wait until the wood/ coal stove warmed up -- in a house that was as cold as all outdoors.

Old habits die hard: everyone was accustomed to walking away from a dying fire with a pot of coffee on it. It took more than a few house fires (coffee pots/ hot plates) for Americans to get the new drill: you must un-plug these appliances when you left... if you wanted to come back to your home.

(Appliance switches were VERY dodgy back then, they'd fail in a closed position all of the time. Some, el cheapo stuff had no switch at all -- plugging in turned it on.(!)

All of this explains why electric power was so rapidly adopted. Fast coffee in the morning -- drastically quicker than firing up the wood stove -- had everyone lining up.

Power rates, compared to today, were in ORBIT. You'd have to pay $ 1.15 per kWHr in todays money to scale up to the rates paid ninety-years ago. These rates plunged with each passing year as the industry scaled up and the Pocos stopped wasting so much coal. (Heat rates were four and five times what's considered normal, now. Edison's original generator was a fuel glutton. Steam turbines were the NEW thing ninety years ago.)

This epic drop in power rates caused an explosion in popular acceptance. We're seeing a repeat in our own time with digital products. And in the same manner, our low voltage cables are drapped all over the house -- until they can be integrated into the walls -- during retrofit / new construction.

Such dynamic growth is exactly what happened between 1921 and 1941 -- for the North American power grid.