Vintage Thermometers

Hello, Gold Country Sis Tina here. I am going to share one of my collections which I use every day. Vintage Thermometers. Since it is February and winter, and cold, I am always looking at one of my old thermometers to see just how cold it really is. I have a dozen of them, made of plastic, glass, wood, and in many different shapes, sizes and forms. One of the most common is the advertising thermometer, so a lot of mine are advertising various businesses around California.

I just added a thermometer which I forgot to photograph for this post. It is from the Bank Cafe on Main Street Placerville and is a great print of a wagon train crossing a lazy river. I didn't want to leave this lovely thermometer out of my post so I decided to add it in.

Next, I will start with my most uncommon thermometer, which looks like a bath scale. Where your weight would be is the temperature. It is about 7 inches high by 6 1/2 inches wide. I have it hanging in my dining room. I thought perhaps the humidity of a bathroom would make it rust, since the back is metal, and I want it to last. The area around where your feet would go is gold colored metal, and surrounding that is plastic.

The next is a combination thermometer and compass. The compass is on the top of an anchor made out of silver colored plastic. The little illustration at the bottom is of a sailboat and it says San Diego, California. There is a little area at the top where a small card would have fit, and it could have been a little advertisement for a business or even a small calendar. It was missing when I found it so I don't know what it held. I use this in one of the upstairs bathrooms.
The thermometer below is one of my nicest, with a lovely watercolor print of a windmill. It advertises DeVon's Jewelers "Your quality jeweler" Sacramento Marysville Stockton Woodland Oroville.
I have decorated with a Dutch theme in my kitchen, so the above and below thermometers fit in well. The one below is also of a windmill, and is some kind of chalk ware. It also has an indicator for the weather: Rain, Snow, Change or Fair. It says it is going to rain today and so does the weatherman, so I guess it works.
This thermometer below is about 3 1/2 inches square and is made of Bakelite type plastic. It also has the humidity. The humidity is supposed to be ideal today. That sounds good. It advertises E. E. Richter & Son or Emeryville, California. I don't know what kind of business that was.
This is one of my favorite thermometers, because of the scene and also because of the advertisement. It is a silhouette of a cowboy making his meal. The "Power Inn" on Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, California, and the Perkins Service Station are advertised. There is still a Power Inn Road, and also a Folsom-Perkins Road. On the back it says it was made in Newton, Iowa.
This round example below is from my collection of Placerville, California items. I believe it is from the 1950s, since the phone number listed is in the older form. It advertises the Geo. Ritchie Union 76 gas station which is no longer in business. It is made out of red white and blue hard plastic.
The hard yellow plastic key below advertised for a very popular music store once in Placerville, which was run by Mr. Eberle. He taught music lessons to many of Placerville's citizens, and sold and rented instruments. We once rented a piano from Mr. Eberle. I hang this thermometer near my piano, which I inherited from my mother.
Just East of Placerville, between Camino and Pollock Pines, is the little hamlet of Cedar Grove. This somewhat worn wooden thermometer is from the gas company which once was located there. Notice the old phone number. This is probably from the 1940s.
The two thermometers below are very dear to me, since they advertise Dillinger's Furniture Store, which is where the Gold Country Girls Daddy worked. It is no longer in business. These are both made of metal. The one on the left is the older design. The old phone numbers were National 2, and in the Camino area, Niagara 4, which later became 622 and 644.
One last example. A lovely print of a sturdy buck about ready to eat all of my flowers, I'm sure. But first he will tell us the temperature. He is advertising the George Maclin Shell Oil Station. The Shell Station is still in business in Placerville, though it has gone through a few different owners.
I hope you enjoyed my display of my vintage thermometers. And in case you wondered, the temperature here at Lori's house, where I am working on my blog since my computer monitor has decided to go on the fritz, is 68 degrees.