The Holy War at Mama’s Treasures I am fascinated by housewares of any kind, and I’m especially fascinated by the
marketing strategies of different companies. Who can forget the Supermarket Promotions, Tupperware Parties, Trading Sta
News-Antique.com - Aug 07,2008 - I am fascinated by housewares of any kind, and I’m especially fascinated by the marketing strategies of different companies. Who can forget the Supermarket Promotions, Tupperware Parties, Trading Stamps, and Dish Night at the Movies. However nothing has given me as good a giggle as what has become known as the Holy War of the iron manufacturers.
In terms of scoring a significant victory in the electric housewares market, the advent of the steam iron might well be called a Hole in One. The first steam iron only had one hole, or possibly two or three holes, in the soleplate. Later a few more were added. This seemed to satisfy the homemaker for a long while.
In the 1950s competition and ingenuity in the marketing strategies of companies asserted themselves in a greater degree. Proceeding on the theory that if four holes were good, eight holes must be twice as good, the iron Manufacturers began what has been aptly called The Holy War. In 1952 Westinghouse came out with a fifteen hole iron. This was followed in 1958 by Proctor-Silex with a seventeen hole iron. The war escalated in 1964
when Sunbeam introduced a thirty six hole iron and the holes were spread out over the entire soleplate. By 1971 Westinghouse had gone to sixty five holes. Sears not to be
outdone and never one to do things in a small way, produced a seventy hole iron. However, if one includes the holes in the spray vent, by 1973 Presto was the clear winner with eighty holes. If you’d like to know more about the history of irons, I recommend “The Housewares Story,” Earl Lifshey, 1973, National Housewares Manufacturers
Association.
After reading about this though I was so intrigued, I ran laughing to count the holes in my Proctor-Silex iron. It had thirty six including the spray vent. As the owner of Mama’s
Treasures I have to admit that I have hated to iron anything since I was a young girl. You won’t find a vintage iron in my shop, but you will find vintage ironing and laundry aids. At Mama’s Treasures we specialize in Kitchen Collectibles of the 1940s through the
1980s. I am especially fond laundry sprinklers and detergent boxes. We’re proud of the quality kitchenware we carry and would like you to come and browse our products. If nothing else, they’re sure to bring back a memory or two. Right now prices have been reduced 15%-40% on over 900 items in the store. So why not take a break, grab some coffee, and take a stroll to a less complicated time at Mama's Treasures.
