student materials

Prior to the introduction of refrigeration, iceboxes kept food from spoiling; however they were time consuming, requiring ice replacement several times a week and emptying of trays of water. Food was maintained only at moderate temperatures. In 1921, five thousand refrigerators were manufactured in the United States. This beginning eventually led to the replacement of the icebox. However, early refrigerators were expensive and unreliable, often requiring repairs on the average of every three months. Costing about six hundred dollars in 1920, the price of a low-end model refrigerator dropped to ninety dollars within twenty years. By 1934 sales exceeded one million units, and that number was more than tripled by 1941. General Electric was the first manufacturer to design and market a hermetically sealed motor and to sell the box as an integral part of the refrigeration machinery. An author referred to the General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator, introduced in 1927, as “the Model T of the [refrigeration] industry.”

The refrigerator gradually evolved from being a luxury item affordable only by the wealthy, to being an affordable and reliable part of the modern kitchen. It was an invention that impacted many aspects of society, contributing to the transition to a consumer society. General Electric of Schenectady, New York, by introducing this enclosed and relatively inexpensive refrigerator, used science and technology to bring change to society. As a business corporation, General Electric produced vast amounts of historical documents that document this contribution.

Documents

Reproductions of documents in this resource kit are identified as follows:

1.     Cover page of U.S. Patent for Refrigeration Machines, issued to Christian Steenstrup of General Electric, 26 January 1932

2.     Photographs of the General Electric Monitor Top Refrigerator, from GE Refrigerator service manual, 1944

3.     “It’s Easy to Plan Meals Now,” advertisement from GE refrigerator advertising campaign, 1926

4.     “Entirely Different,” advertisement from GE refrigerator advertising campaign, 1926

5.     “Sunday Night Supper,” advertisement from GE refrigerator advertising campaign, 1926

6.     “An Interesting Proof of Food Preservation,” from GE Electric Refrigerator cookbook, 1927

7.     “Menus for Different Occasions,” from GE Electric Refrigerator cookbook, 1927

8.     “Menus For Afternoon Bridge,” from GE Electric Refrigerator cookbook, 1927

9.     Index of Public Acceptance, from Electrical Merchandising magazine, January 1940

10.  Sales By State of Refrigerators, from Electrical Merchandising magazine, January 1940

Each document has an overview sheet explaining objectives, materials, and procedures, and a worksheet for students to use when exploring the document. A final Summary and Evaluation worksheet is also included, in order to explore some broader issues raised by the documents.