4.02-18: Gilson 1954 Condensing Unit

HHCC Accession No. 2003.056	HHCC Classification Code: 4.02-18

Description:

Among the proliferation of refrigeration machine manufacturer in the explosive market years of the mid 20th century, a few uniquely Ontario, entrepreneurial, family companies stood out, including the Gilson and Woods companies of Quelph and Robert Elder of Toronto. This I/4 HP, unsophisticatedly engineered machine by Gilson would help establish them as a kind of venerated cultural icon of the period, in rural and small town Ontario, Gilson, 1954

Group:

4.02 Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Condensing Units - Commercial

Make:

Gilson

Manufacturer:

Gilson Manufacturing Co, Quelph, Ont

Model:

SC4-M

Serial No.:

C38524

Size:

18x 14x 12’h

Weight:

55 Lbs

Circa:

1954

Rating:

Education, and research quality demonstrating achievements of small Ontario entrances, companies with modest engineering resources, moving into the refrigeration machine and equipment business during the market boom of the middle years of the 20th century.

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Provenance:

From York County (York Region) Ontario, once a rich agricultural hinterlands, attracting early settlement in the last years of the 18th century. Located on the north slopes of the Oak Ridges Moraine, within 20 miles of Toronto, the County would also attract early ex-urban development, to be come a wealthy market place for the emerging household and consumer technologies of the early and mid 20th century.

This artifact was discovered in the 1950’s in the used stock of T. H. Oliver, Refrigeration and Electric Sales and Service, Aurora, Ontario, an early worker in the field of agricultural, industrial and consumer technology.

Type and Design:

crude, single pass, copper tube and fin forced air condenser 2 cylinder Chieftain compressor 1’4 HP, Capacitor start, high torque, rubber mounted motor by McKinnon Industries, St Catherines Ont, simple cast steel base plate in Gilson’s characteristic Blue/green, aqua tones

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Industrial Significance:

The mid 20th century, prior to the advent of increasingly complex closed-system, hermetic machines, was characterised by relatively simple system technology. It was a period that saw many new manufacturers who were largely assemblers of components provided by other OEM’s. This allowed small family companies many the offshoot of Canada’s early years of industrialisation, often with modest engineering resources, to move into the refrigeration machine and equipment business.