Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 28 May 91 04:01:45 GMT From: Dave Levenson Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Did Western Electric Also Produce Sound Recordings? Message-ID: Organization: Westmark, Inc., Warren, NJ, USA Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 404, Message 8 of 10 Lines: 35 In article , telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) writes: > Most readers of telecom who know a little about the fascinating > history of AT&T know that the Western Electric subsidiary was into a > number of things besides strictly telephones, per se, as was the Bell > Labs. I saw a genuine Western Electric washing machine and dryer at an antique show a couple of years ago! The washer was electric, and contained neither a rotating drum nor a rotating agitator. It looked like a rectangular tank (with hot and cold taps to allow the user to fill it) containing a washboard and a brush. An electric motor apparently moved the brush back and forth accross the washboard, slightly below the water-level. I think the articles being washed were placed on the board and the brush was then lowered into place before the motor was started. The dryer was another machine placed next to the washer. It apparently used to dry the washed clothes by squeezing them between rubber-coated rollers. They apparently made wringers before they started making ringers! The washer and dryer were probably from the late 1800's and had the old WeCo trademark with the lightning-bolt. No mention of 'The Bell System' or AT&T. Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Warren, NJ, USA AT&T Mail: !westmark!dave Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857