Buying Electrical Equipment

Buying Electrical Equipment.  The State College of Washington, 1937.

The Buying Electrical Equipment pamphlet was distributed by an extension service of the State College of Washington in 1937 as a result of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 that established extension organizations of land-grant

universities for educational purposes. Specifically, this text was distributed to consumers as an envelope filled with individual cards that provide helpful information regarding the purchasing of new household technology such as an iron, a vacuum, and a waffle iron. Each card provides helpful purchasing information for consumers that highlights important aspects of each item. Because the information is distributed on cards they can be easily taken to shopping centers by consumers and used for referenced while shopping. Pamphlets and circulations like this one were intended to create more informed consumers in the wake of new technology.

This piece of informational text displays the new nature of household technology on the market and assumes consumers are able to purchase these non-essential items. However, it is highly improbable that eight years following the initiation of the depression that my great grandfather would be able to afford most of these innovative household products despite the circulation of this text. Due to the fact that the Smith-Lever Act was passed in 1914 it is possible that the content distributed was to continue the employment of the authors and encouraged consumers to spend their money responsibly to stimulate the economy.