Material

iron
wood
tin

Purpose

Through a series of rotating gears, the tin cylinder (pail) would revolve on a ratchet underneath as the chopping blade rose and fell within the pail to chop meat or vegetables.

Creation Date

1850 – 1899

Date Details

According to Forgotten Household Crafts (Seymour 22), hand operated chopping and mixing machines, analogous to this model, were available after 1850. In addition, 300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles (Franklin 32), refers to the Athol Machine Co. food chopper created by Leroy Starrett, and patented in 1865, that appears to be almost exactly the same as the device seen above. Thus, it may be correct to presume that this machine probably dates back to the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Kitchen Artifact ID

K022