Dazey Electric Can Opener and Knife Sharpener
date: label: date made
content: ca. 1960
name: label: maker
content: Dazey
notes: label: Description
content: Introduced in 1958, the freestanding electric can opener represented modern kitchen conveniences and the type of shortcut cooking that was becoming more popular in many American households. This Model 552 combination electric can opener and knife sharpener was manufactured by the Dazey company around 1970. Its avocado green housing with chromed metal accents reflects a popular color scheme for kitchen appliances of the time.
label: Description
content: This can opener was sold with an operating manual that described the device’s special features including its “Snap Kleen Lever,” which allowed the cutting wheel to be removed for easy cleaning. The “Power Pierce Action” could be used to puncture the can for “effortless” opening, while the magnetic lifter held onto the lid after the can was opened. The knife sharpening groove, located behind the opener, used a special shaping stone to sharpen knives. The booklet also included a list of Dazey approved service stations, important safeguards, and graphics of other Dazey products.
label: Description
content: The original Dazey Churn and Manufacturing Company, of St. Louis, Missouri, was well-known for manufacturing glass butter churns at the turn of the 20th century. As more Americans began purchasing butter rather than making it themselves, Dazey launched a wider variety of home appliances including sharpeners and can openers. They developed the wall-mounted can opener, a design that found later application for ice crushers and juicers. In 1945 the company was re-named the Dazey Corporation, but by 1954 it was a subsidiary of Landers, Frary & Clark. In 1965 the General Electric housewares division acquired Landers, Frary & Clark and inherited many of its popular trade names such as “Universal” and “Dazey.” Dazey was the property of General Electric at the time this can opener was manufactured.
topic: label: Subject
content: Technology
label: Subject
content: kitchen
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Food
label: Exhibition
content: Food: Transforming the American Table
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2013.0100.01
label: catalog number
content: 2013.0100.01
label: accession number
content: 2013.0100
objectType: label: Object Name
content: can opener
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 19 cm x 16.5 cm x 14 cm; 7 15/32 in x 6 1/2 in x 5 1/2 in