Staff Writer| The Columbus Dispatch
The 20th-century inventions of microwave and convection ovens and packaged foods have made it possible to make a 30-minute dinner. But 18th-century American family meals required hours to prepare.
Food was caught or harvested and canned, smoked or carefully stored. The fireplace was used for cooking.
The cookstove was introduced in the early 1800s and was used throughout the country from the 1820s into the 1870s. The black iron cookstove usually had four or six openings with lids and a stovepipe for fumes.
Wood and coal were the favored fuels, but later kerosene and natural gas were used.
In 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the first electric kitchen was displayed.
By the early 1900s, stoves were being made with an enameled porcelain finish.
By the 1920s, enameled stoves had long legs, an oven with a pull-down door and a top with four to six burners.
It was not until after World War II that kitchens featured built-in ovens.
The countertop microwave appeared in the 1960s, and within a few years a microwave that matched the oven could be built in.
Children's cookstoves were made in every era. You can find toy Victorian iron stoves, 1930s toy enameled models and toy microwaves.
Current prices
Prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States.
• Thanksgiving postcard, "Here's just a little card to say I wish you a bright Thanksgiving Day," harvest fields scene, sickle and cornstalks, wicker basket with apples, 1920s, $5.
• Royal Doulton character jug, Mr. Quaker, D6738, 1985, large, $270.
• Brass hunting horn with mouthpiece, fitted heavy leather case, stamped "John Brenand Esq.," 1915-16, 27 1/2 inches, pair, $515.
• Lanier Meaders face jug, stoneware, mottled olive glaze, ceramic teeth, White County, Ga., 9 1/2 inches, $1,150.
Terry Kovel, an authority on collectibles, writes for King Features Syndicate. Write to her in care of The Dispatch, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, N.Y. 10019 or visit www.kovels.com
