The item shown with me is a GE "Toast-R-Oven" manufactured in late-1956
early-1957 (Cat No. T83, 120 volts, 1200 watts, AC only, tested by U.L.
Inc.). Growing up in KY, I must have toasted literally hundreds of Lender's
bagels in my parents' Toast-R-Oven, which was unfortunately upgraded to an
under-the-counter Black & Decker model around 1985 or so. Their toaster was
received as a wedding gift in October of 1957 for their wedding and put in
more than 25 years of faithful service before being replaced. It was still
working when my Mom upgraded, but I think she got tired of sticking a knife
down the top to retrieve those extra thick bagels. Of course I have many
fond memories of peeking down the top of the toaster to watch the glowing
nichrome wires. It's really amazing that I never electrocuted myself growing
up......
The item shown with Paula is a National Brand "Rice-O-Mat" (Model No.
SR-15FGH, 120 volt, 550 watt, 60Hz, AC only) 1.5 liter automatic rice cooker
and vegetable steamer made by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. in
Japan. I bought the appliance at a garage sale for $3.00 just in case our
smaller Panasonic rice cooker ever broke down or if we ever needed to cook
boatloads of rice. While the Panasonic is nice, the National has a much more
streamlined look and is generally more aesthetically pleasing. This model
also has a see-through glass window on the lid for checking your cooking
progress.