Antique Oak Fireless Cooker has 2 stones and 2 containers – 1914

A fireless cooker made by The Toledo Cooker Co. Fireless cookers were an early version of the crock pot or slow cooker of today. Before electricity, food could be heated and then put into a pot in an insulated box or buried in the ground for several hours to finish cooking. Some early fireless cookers, called “hay boxes,” used hay or straw for insulation and heated stones to keep the food warm. They were advertised as economical because they saved fuel, and practical because they kept the kitchen cool during hot weather. There is a metal label that reads: Ideal manufactured by the Toledo Cooker Co. Toledo, Ohio. Patented July 7, 1914. Unusual to find still on the metal legs with castors. Measures 14″ x 29″ and 29 1/2″ height. (height of just oak box 16 1/2″)