"Gadgets and Necessities: An Encyclopedia of Household Innovations" by Pauline Webb, Mark Suggitt

The title of this book implies that it is about things—gadgets and necessities within the twentieth-century home. In a way it is, but we hope that it is a little more than that. It is about people and their ideas, about their relationships with things and the value they placed upon them. It is also about people as the products of an industrial society that required them to be both producers and consumers.


The book's 190 entries range over a broad spectrum, from the lowly kettle and sandwich toaster to the Jacuzzi, modem, plastics, Pyrex, and Tefal nonstick surfacing. Entry length varies from two paragraphs on Trouser presses and five on Barbecues to more than two pages on Do-it-yourself and ten on Computers. Coverage is ample, although the absence of entries on water purifiers, icemakers, and bottled water is surprising in view of the inclusion of such low-priority items as Atari and virtual pets. Convenience foods should have included baby food and infant formula.

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
AEG
Aga Cookers
Air-Conditioning
Alessi
Answering Machine
Apple Computer, Inc.
Asahi Optical Corporation
AT&T
Atari, Inc.
Baby Monitors
Baird Television Company
Bang & Olufsen
Barbecues
Batteries
Bed Warmers
Belling Company
Bidets
Black & Decker
Blenders/Juicers
Bodum
Braun
Breadmakers
Brillo Pads
British Electrical Development Association (BEDA)
British Telecom
Broilers
Brother Industries
Calculators
Camcorders
Cameras
Can Openers
Carpet Sweepers
Casco Products Corporation
Ceramics
Clothes Dryers
Coffee Grinders
Coffeemakers
Compact Disc Players
Compasso d’Oro
Computer Printers
Computers
Consumers
Convenience Foods
Cookers
Cookware
Crate&Barrel
Crocker, Betty
Deep Fat Fryers
Defrosters
Design Council
Detergents
Dishwashers
Do-It-Yourself
A. F. Dormeyer
Drills, Electric
Dyson Appliances
Eastman Kodak
Ekco
Electric Fans
Electrical and Musical Industries (EMI)
Electrical Association for Women (EAW)
Electricity
Electrolux
Electronic Games
Ericsson
S. W. Farber, Inc.
Fax Machines
Food Mixers
Food Processors
Food Warmers
Freezers
Frying Pans
General Electric
General Electric Company
General Foods Corporation
Glen Dimplex
Glisdomes
Goblin
Habitat
Hair Clippers
Hair Dryers
Hair Stylers
Hamilton Beach
Heating
Hewlett-Packard
The Hoover Company
Hot Plates
Houses
IBM
Ice Cream Makers
Ice Crushers
Ideal Home Show
IKEA
Industrial Design and Designers
Irons
Jacuzzi
Jar Openers
Kenwood
Kettles
KitchenAid
Kitchens
Kmart
Landers, Frary and Clark
Lawn Mowers
Lighting
Loudspeakers
Marconi Company
Matsushita
Maytag Corporation
McGraw Electric
Microsoft Corporation
Microwave Ovens
MiniDisc Recorders
Mobile Phones
Modems
The Modern Movement and Appliance Design
Morphy Richards
Motorola, Inc.
Motors, Electric
National Electric Light Association
Nintendo
Obsolescence
Omelette Makers
Philips Electronics
Pifco
Piped Water
Plastics
Popcorn Poppers
Pressure Cookers
Presto
Proctor-Silex
Pyrex
Radio
Rawlplugs
Razors
RCA
Record Players
Refrigerators
Relationship Technology
Remote Controls
Sandwich Toasters
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Security Systems
Servants
Sewing Machines
Showers
Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research
Singer Corporation
Slicers
Slow Cookers/Crock-Pots
Sony Corporation
Sunbeam
Sunray Lamps
Synthetic Fabrics
Tape Recorders
Tea Makers
Tefal
Teflon
Telephones
Television
Texas Instruments
Toasters
Toothbrushes
Trash Compactors
Trouser Presses
Tupperware
Typewriters
Vacuum Cleaners
Videodisc Players
Videophones
Videotape Recorders
Virtual Pets
Vodafone
Waffle Irons
Wallpaper Stripper
Wal-Mart
Washing Machines
Waste Disposal Units
Water Closets
Water Heaters
West Bend
Westinghouse Electric
Whirlpool Corporation
Women and Housework
Workmates
Yogurt Makers
Zanussi
Bibliography
Technical Glossary
Index