No bait & switch Ma'am

On March 5, 1929 a Mrs Grosser of June Street Hollywood, California had a new stove delivered.

She had waited impatiently for this top of the line appliance with a blue star proudly emblazoned on one of the oven doors.

It arrived, but with no blue star.

Mrs. Grosser was distraught and sought some answers.  Letters were exchanged.  One from Mr. Robertson, of the Reliable Stove Company, quelled her concerns about the quality of her new stove.

Mrs. Grosser was assured there was no bait & switch and that in fact she received one of the "Heavy Angliron Ranges, which are considered, even by our competitors as being the very best gas ranges made in the United States today".

She was satisfied with the explanation & happy to have her stove even without the star.

~~~

July 18, 2016 I removed yet another batch of cookies from that same stove.

The state of the art Reliable Stove purchased by Mrs. Grosser 87 years ago makes me very happy too.

It was built to last & to my eye, is a beauty.

One of the perks of buying an old house from a nostalgic hoarder is you end up with lots of cool stuff.

Not only did the stove come with the house, but also the paperwork.  The original delivery slip, letters regarding the missing blue star & the cooking chart.

Dean, the prior owner of my house, bought this stove from Mrs. Grosser herself in 1972.  She gave him the paper work.  He gave it to me.  I hope to give it to someone else someday.

I was greedily hoping for a manual too when I saw all those knobs, but turns out the Reliable (which it clearly is!) is remarkably easy to operate.

I LOVE cooking on it, in it and with it.

My girls swear my cookies taste even better now.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know my vintage things are much more than things to me.  I get utterly swept up in the romance of prior ages and the imagined lives of prior owners.  You too?  If so you'll love this post.

My stove has not escaped these thoughts ~ the letters add an irresistible layer to my imagining.

I imagine - no, I know Mrs. Grosser made delicious batches of chocolate chips too.

Maybe it's that little bit of her that is making mine taste even better.

** Kelly **