Do you know NuTone?
by Robert Lavoie
For most, NuTone is a household name you find at your neighbourhood renovation centre. From range hoods to bathroom exhaust fans and heaters, and probably more in between, Broan-NuTone (that’s what it is called today) is a brand we are still buying with confidence.
But… do you really know NuTone? What lies behind the brand name is more than you can imagine. Interested?
Keep reading.
The beginning
The NuTone company was founded in 1936 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by J. Ralph Corbett. Mainly, NuTone focused on musical doorbells and chimes. At the time, NuTone revolutionized the doorbell market by making them musical instead of using the usual door buzzer. The two-tone doorbell was born. NuTone was able to make a doorbell capable of producing two distinct sounds. One ding-dong for the front door and one single ding for the rear door. Right after the Great Depression, a man approached Corbett with an invention of his. Corbett liked the idea and loaned him $5,000, but the inventor went bust. Corbett took over what was left of the operation and moved it to Cincinnati where, in partnership with his wife Patricia, he founded NuTone Chimes Inc. As his investment soared past $50,000, Corbett realised he had to narrow the wide price range of $16.50 to $125. A simple buzzer cost 25 cents in those days. With help from an acoustics expert from the University of Cincinnati, a new line of chimes costing $1 to $19.50 was produced by a workforce of four at a 600-square-foot factory. In 1940, the manufacturing operation moved to Third Street and Eggleston Avenue. After the war, NuTone had grown to more than 400 workers, with sales surpassing $1 million. During the 1930s and 1940s, Corbett hired designer Evan G. Evans to design timeless doorbells and chimes. Evans also filed numerous design patents for NuTone.
Like most companies during the Second World War, NuTone participated in the war effort by manufacturing anti-aircraft artillery fuses and signal devices. Production resumed right after the war with the addition of long tubular bells. The pre-war doorbells were still in high demand.
The rise of the home products empire
In the early 1950s, the economy and population were booming. The need for housing and goods exploded. The suburbs rose from the dust, and demand for new products and ideas skyrocketed to a level never seen before.
NuTone noticed and delivered.
Thanks to highly coloured and lively ads, NuTone heavily advertised in leading home magazines.
New home products and ideas emerged from NuTone. It is said that Corbett had the idea to develop a ceiling-mounted heater after he bumped into his wall heater while shaving, burning two holes in his robe.
The first products to come out of the NuTone factory, besides doorbells and chimes, were ceiling ventilating fans and NuTone’s Heat-a-lite, which was advertised as a revolutionary new electric ceiling heater and overhead light.
But they didn’t stop there.
1953 saw the first recessed door chime, meaning you could buy a chime that was built into the wall or flush-mounted. Also, for 1953, a new twin-blower kitchen fan and the highly collectable NuTone K-35 recessed chime and kitchen clock were available for purchase at your friendly local NuTone dealer. By the end of the year, NuTone came out with the now-classic round kitchen fan with a chrome bezel.
With the “NuTone makes a house a home” campaign, these were the bread and butter of the early decade, but more was to come.
For 1954, a brand-new hood fan made its first appearance, with a design that is still with us today, as well as a brand-new ventilating fan made just for the bathroom.
In 1955, NuTone was so confident that every product was backed by the new $500,000 guarantee bond. Despite the low prices, quality was never compromised, and NuTone guaranteed its products against service callbacks. All this was possible because of NuTone’s outstanding record of trouble-free performance and triple factory inspections. I guess it worked!
A world premiere happened in January of 1956 with the unveiling of the amazing NuTone Food Centre. It consisted of a motor built into the kitchen countertop, with a mixer, pink blender and sharpener. This multifunction motor revolutionized the appliance world by saving space and cutting meal preparation time. They didn’t stop there, as more attachments were added by 1957. It now consisted of a mixer, blender, sharpener, meat grinder and fruit juicer.
Then, in January of 1958, NuTone entered the intercom business. And not in a small way… It was an all-tube Intercom-Radio-Music System, all in one, with a one-year warranty. You could wire intercom speakers throughout the whole house to the main amp and voilà, family communication at your fingertips. You could speak to a stranger without opening the door, talk to the family inside and outside the house, use it as a babysitter, enjoy radio and recorded music in every room, and have a night watcher while you… sleep.
The golden age
In the 1950s, NuTone put the brand name in a more than comfortable position. NuTone was basically in millions of homes in the US and Canada. With innovations and new ideas, NuTone established itself as an essential part of everyday life in the home.
But… there was more to come and in a BIG way.
Throughout the 1960s, NuTone would push the brand into surprising new ventures with great success and a few flops.
It is interesting to note that, in the late 1950s, NuTone advertising switched from illustrated ads to photographic ads. It would remain that way.
Enter July 1960.
NuTone introduced, in a three-page ad, its brand-new Stereo + High Fidelity + Intercom + AM-FM Radio. Or as I call it: the mighty Model 2400.
The system consisted of four built-in wall cabinets with visible wood trim in rich walnut. There was one amplifier, one intercom system, one record changer or turntable and usually one storage box for records. Or, if you had deep enough pockets, you could have ordered the now super-rare reel-to-reel tape recorder. There were two different speakers with the same wood trim: one speaker-only version and another with the intercom controls built in. There was also the rare, larger Hi-Fi built-in speaker. There was a special record to demonstrate the stereo advantages of the 2400 system. Don’t forget, stereo sound was new in those days.
It was an all-tube, handmade machine with point-to-point wiring that was made to last. But it came at a price.
Here’s a price list of all the items available for Model 2400 in today’s money.
(Source: NuTone 1961 sales catalogue)
NuTone Model 2400 Stereo System Prices
1961 prices and approximate 2026 purchasing power equivalents in US dollars
Item | 1961 price | 2026 equivalent |
AM-FM radio tuner — Model 2402 | $199.90 | $2,239 |
Amplifier with intercom — Model 2401 | $228.00 | $2,554 |
Record storage cabinet — Model 2404 | $55.00 | $616 |
Stereo record changer — Model 2403 | $120.00 | $1,344 |
Speaker with controls — #2411 | $39.75 | $445 |
Speaker without controls — #2412 | $22.00 | $246 |
Door speaker — #2413 | $13.00 | $146 |
Inside remote control — #2416 | $29.75 | $333 |
Outside remote control — #2415 | $24.75 | $277 |
Patio speaker without controls — #2414 | $17.25 | $193 |
50 ft wire, 8 conductors — #2421 | $5.95 | $67 |
60 ft wire, 2 conductors — #2422 | $1.80 | $20 |
250 ft wire, 8 conductors — #2424 | $17.50 | $196 |
Approximate values use an inflation factor of 11.2 and are rounded to the nearest dollar. These are inflation equivalents, not current resale or collector values.
Inflation reference: https://www.calculateme.com/inflation/1-dollars/from-1961/to-now
As you can see, you needed deep enough pockets to buy a Model 2400 system.
Fortunately, NuTone had budget-friendly systems to offer.
While NuTone was king in the kitchen business, the time was right to add new products. Starting in 1964, NuTone introduced the new Woodcarv kitchen cabinets. They were made from select northern birch and protected with mar-resistant Relval, which was described as the toughest clear finish known to wood… no less.
Also in 1964, NuTone introduced a line of range ovens. You had the choice of the Eye Level “Stack-On” or the Console “Slide-In” models.
Now it was easier than ever to do all your kitchen shopping in one stop by going to your friendly NuTone dealer. From vent hood to range oven, food centre to clock chime, and intercom system to kitchen cabinets, the kitchen was now the heart of the home with everything on hand. But NuTone didn’t stop there. For a brief period, it was even possible to buy a dishwasher bearing the NuTone brand name.
NuTone even had a campaign called “NuTone Total Kitchen”.
New for 1966 were lighted door chimes and an ice crusher for the Food Centre, but the big news was the new bathroom cabinets. Part of the WoodCarv cabinetry line, they were available in traditional or contemporary designs, in different styles and finishes.
NuTone spent much of 1967 telling customers how reliable their products were, with lab pictures and technicians working hard to test the products. It was pretty much a variation on the same theme, improving and adding options such as colours and personalized finishes to selected products. But the big news of ’67 was when the Corbetts sold their interest in the company to the Scovill Manufacturing Company. NuTone operated as a subsidiary of Scovill for nearly two decades. Although this usually means changes in the original direction, the operation stayed mostly the same as before.
For 1968, NuTone launched its “New Dimension Home” promotion. If you were a new home builder or contractor, all you had to do was fill out the coupon in the ad and send it in. NuTone would then provide a promotional package to display outside the house, showcasing its latest products and helping you attract buyers. TV commercials and radio spots supported the campaign. And to sweeten the deal, there were discounts on NuTone products as well!
The new Lightcraft products were added to the company roster. The Lightcraft line consisted of fixtures in the Mediterranean, Traditional, Colonial or Contemporary styles.
Probably the last notable product of the 1960s was the Heritage Hood series, introduced in March 1969. It was offered in twin or single versions with different finishes.
The 1970s also had plenty to offer, but the main focus of this article is NuTone’s remarkable growth during the 1950s and 1960s. What came next? That’s a story for another article!
Nostalgia… when you get us
The 1950s and 1960s saw an explosion in demand for home products, and NuTone delivered with a variety of products that made it the undisputed king of the field. Although the company was first sold to Scovill in 1967, the relationship lasted until 1985, when Scovill itself was bought out by First City Industries. This led to NuTone being spun off and sold to the British manufacturer Valor PLC in 1987. The brand was then acquired by Williams plc / Nortek in 1998 and subsequently integrated into the Broan Group (now Broan-NuTone LLC).
NuTone is associated with quality and long-lasting home products. The vintage NuTone market is still strong, as NOS finds sometimes command hefty prices. Since NuTone sold millions of home appliances throughout the golden era, it is still easy to find them on various online marketplaces. Just look around you and you will easily spot NuTone everywhere.
NuTone defined the home with innovation and a willingness to push ideas to make life easier and safer for millions of North Americans. You can find different groups on the web to help you if you are curious about vintage NuTone stuff.
With the higher cost of living nowadays, it makes sense to salvage old NuTone appliances and restore them. Some people already make a living just doing that.
That’s one option to think about . . .
Sources
Picture #1
Picture #17
Personal collection.
Web links
Wikipedia
Knock Doorbells.com
Personal collection.
About the author
Robert Lavoie is a professional musician based in Montreal, Canada, and a NuTone enthusiast. He collects used and new old stock (NOS) NuTone appliances, along with vintage NuTone literature from the 1950s and 1960s. Robert is also the administrator of the Mid Century NuTone Facebook group.
Visit the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/708209812125132
You can reach the author at fiftiesfreak@yahoo.com.
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