Androck Sale & History At Mama’s Treasures Ever wonder about that androck sifter and where it came from? Mama's Treasures has the answer and she's having a 20% Off sale on Androck and everything else in the store through March 18th.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - The company was founded by Charles Washburn in 1880 and moved from Boston to Worcester, Massachusetts. It was incorporated as the Wire Goods Company in 1882. A
division in Chicago, the Wire Hardware Company was started in 1911 and eventually merged with the Andrews Wire and Iron Works of Rockford, Illinois in 1917. These companies became the Washburn Company in 1922.
The Washburn Company began adopting colorful handles for their kitchen utensils in the 1920s. In 1934 they introduced a tear shaped handle in red, green, and yellow Catalin plastic. This line was successful into the 1940s. Production was interrupted during the war years, and when it resumed the handles were replaced with a two color styrene plastic that was lighter in weight and less expensive to produce.
Over the years the Washburn company put the Androck name on additional kitchen items such as onion and nut choppers and all sorts of gadgets. The most popular of these was the flour sifter. Their sifters were continuously improved and expanded. Not only were they among the best functioning , but their colorful designs made them an attractive addition to the kitchen. These designs included a series of three screen “pantry patterns”
which included a mom and kids in the kitchen. This sifter has become one of the most sought after by collectors today.
The Washburn Company was acquired by the Roblin Steel Corporation of Buffalo, New York in 1967. The Rockford plant was closed in 1973 and production was consolidated in Worcester, Massachusetts. this plant closed in 1975. However, various tooling and equipment went to several companies and the Androck name continued to appear on products after this date. If you’d like to know more about Ekco products, I recommend
the following books, “Spiffy Kitchen Collectibles” by Brian Alexander and “Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles” by C. Dianne Zweig.
All of us have fond memories of one Androck product or another. For many of us it was their colorful sifters. I can remember watching my grandmother and mama using those sifters for a variety of things. These older sifters have become quite popular with collectors or retro enthusiasts who want authentic vintage kitchens. Because they were used so much, they are not always easy to find in good condition but then a lot of people
don’t care about condition as much as they care about authenticity.
Mama’s Treasures specializes in kitchen items from Primitive through the 1970s. We have many Androck products for you to view and I’m proud to say they are all in very good condition. We've just added a Kromex Range Set, Ekco Pink Utensil sets, Anchor Red Stripe Barrel Shakers, a Pyrex Daisy casserole NIB and lots more. We carry Ekco, A&J, Foley, Skyline and many other lines that were popular during the 1940s, 50s &60s. Need some Pyrex, Federal, Hazel Atlas or Fire King, we may have just the item for which you are searching.
If the kitchen isn’t your thing, we have lots of Advertising,
