COPPER KETTLE, 1920's

A fine example of an early electric kettle made in the UK by Cimflex Conduits Ltd. Faster boiling was achieved by Swan in 1922, by placing the element in a metal tube, directly into the water chamber.

Most electric kettles of the 1920s and 1930s retained the traditional look of their non-electric ancestor, usually being made from copper with the option of nickel-plate or vitreous-enamel finish. Some lighter aluminium kettles were made in the 1930s and a few chrome-plated streamlined designs with Bakelite handles appeared in the late-1930s.

Bruce Hammond Collection

Your comments:

• The first immersed electric elements date back to 1895, (please see my website www.oldelectrickettle.co.uk).
  Swan's claims to fame were spurious to say the least, but this was never allowed to stand in the way of good advertising material. (And it should be mentioned that Swan are not alone in this. Look at all the current websites claiming the electric kettle as an American invention of the 1920's. Ah, "Shell Book of Firsts" you have a lot to answer for.
  .......... Dick Saunders, Amberley, England, 6th of February 2012
  
  

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