Still squeezing fruitely after 82 years

Terrywoodenpic

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Soon after the end of WW2 when oranges came into the shops again, my mother produced one of these”Instant Juicers” out of her cupboard. For the next few years up to the time I left home It squeezed my morning orange juice.


I did not see one again till the other day, when I bid for one on Ebay. The Aluminium body was perfect but the base was riddled with woodworm. Which I have since replace with a new white ash one.


I looked into the history of these things and discovered that the Patentee lived within a few hundred yards of my Grand father, and was a director of the producer. They were the leading manufacturer of very large aluminium food, oil and chemical storage vessels, but nothing else anything like this Juice press.


The one I found was marked with patent applied for and a registered design number, so I was able to trace the Patent. The patent was applied for in February 1933 and granted in April1934 to Ernest Stanley of the Aluminium Plant and Vessel co Ltd. ( still a very large company.)


From this it is clear that mine was made between those two dates probably in 1933 Two years before I was born so will be a rare survivor of some 82years. As domestic Items were not made in aluminium during the war and I can not trace any made after the war. It is surprising that so many surface on Ebay.

 
I like your story behind the juicer, and such a simple tool has been around for those years.
 
great story behind it and a wonderful looking item too.
 
To be honest, it's surprising that any/many survived the various "drives for aluminium" to be recycled and turned into spitfires...
 
Agreed interesting little story, wish there were more interesting little snippets like this :)
 
What a lovely story and a great design - it wouldn't look out of place in the V & A.
 
Super story and nice pic ,I find it amazing that all those years ago they had wireless gadgets ,surely there must be a battery somewhere or is it wi-fi or Bluetooth enabled .:beer:
 
We had one just the same, and my Mum may still have it somewhere - You must have spent some time polishing it up as I remember ours looking very dull even 40 years ago..

I hated it as the sight of it meant that I had to drink orange juice which I now love !
 
That's excellent.
I've got a mincing machine that clamps to the worktop/table that's of the same era. Date is stamped on it...1931. It was my Nana's, and lives in its original box (though the box is taped these days).

Still gets regular use here, and works great. :)
 
That's excellent.
I've got a mincing machine that clamps to the worktop/table that's of the same era. Date is stamped on it...1931. It was my Nana's, and lives in its original box (though the box is taped these days).

Still gets regular use here, and works great. :)
Bet it's made by spong ,worked there for a while in my teens making them
 
We had one just the same, and my Mum may still have it somewhere - You must have spent some time polishing it up as I remember ours looking very dull even 40 years ago..

I hated it as the sight of it meant that I had to drink orange juice which I now love !

Even after all that time I spent less than ten minutes polishing it with autosol. Aluminium cleans exceptionally easily. (Not at all like copper or brass)
 
A gorgeous piece of engineering, and a cracking story and restoration job too.
 
Should this title thread not be in the euphemism thread?:)
 
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