At first glance, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the dishwasher. In the 1950s and 1960s, most middle-class American kitchens featured some version of the labor-saving device. In the 1930s, however, comparably few American families owned those conveniences. Most Americans would have considered items like dishwashers a luxury. Three decades later, the dishwasher was considered a standard feature in most middle-class kitchens. The story of the proliferation of such consumer goods draws together several intriguing threads of political and economic history and places the consumer culture of the mid-20th century in a new light.
Source:
Theodor Horydczak, “Electric Institute of Washington. Dishwasher I,” Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (accessed February 3, 2011).
Instructions
Click on each image below to learn about the object and its significance in American history.
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