Pressure Atomizing Oil Burner Equipment and Systems – Other Components and Parts
Two inch air filter for winter air conditioner, in black heavy card board frame with decorative grill patterning and oil treated steel wool filler, set of four, Howard Furnace Company, Toronto, circa 1939.
Features: Decorated and imprinted in silver on black; With self contained user instructions for cleaning and replacing
Technical Significance:
Winter air conditioning was new for the Canadian home, in the late 1930’s. It was for the Canadian consumer, seen as one of the “big’ technologies of the day, like the radio and the automobile, for it would come to change the lives of people, what they did in the course of the day, the way they lived and went about there lives, as well as their expectations of the comforts, amenities, which life had in store for them
From the perspective of the early 21st century it would be difficult to imagine the euphoria with which these technologies were viewed, by those who could afford to dream about the joys and benefits they held for life and life’s ways.
The air filter was front and centre in the promotion of the winter air conditioner technology, an important component of the hyperbola used. What was new was not so much the promise of a warm home for a cold Canadian winter, but filtered, dust free air, circulated through the home at 1000 cubic feet per minute. See sales material by Howard furnace reference below
See also ID # 222 and 223 for companion technologies, targeted on improvements in air quality, humidification for the winter air conditioner in Canada
Industrial Significance:
The Howard Furnace Company of Toronto would be a widely acknowledged Canadian market leader in the field of winter air conditioning in the 1930’s through 50’s, setting industry design and innovative development standards.
The promise of filtered air would open up a massive market segment in Canada that would continue to grow, part of the promotion for both winter and summer air conditioning equipment, through to the early years of the 21st century.