Antique Commercial Coffee Maker/Urn - TJ Topper Co., San Francisco

[s102580]

Was hoping someone could give me some info on this commercial coffee maker. Such as: age, history of company, what it is worth, or anything else you think is important. It is approx. 42 inches tall from the bottom of the legs to the top handle, and 17 inches wide.

Any help would be appreciated. Pictures attached.

Thanks !

 

[tazzadiluna]

Your coffee urn looks similar to this one from Invaluable.com: Lot 655: Two Silver Finished Coffee Urns and One T.J. Topper Coffeehouse Urn

Photo 3 description: "Filed with the patent office in 1929, Thomas Topper designed an adjustable water feed system for coffee making, eliminating the need for an attendant to manually control the flow of water, allowing the operator to dial in the quantity of the coffee desired, with the machine handling the rest. Measuring 41" tall on a set of legs and roughly 18 inches wide, with external feeds for water and gas, a maintenance port for access to the heating elements, the water control valve (graduated from 1 to 6 gallons), a 15 1/2 inch tall glass gauge and a pair of spigots, also set up for gauges. The water control knob is marked as "PATENT PENDING", indicating early production."

Looks like the auction was in 2009, but it says you need an account to find out the price data. You can create an account here.

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This is one of the patents on your urn: US D59135 S

Here are other patents I found under T.J. Topper's name: US 1468527 A, US 1601987 A, US 1840985 A

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On Feb 29, 2012, I believe a similar one was sold on Ebay. The pictures are no longer there. It was sold for $1,250.

Here is the description on Ebay:
Offered here is an ANTIQUE RESTAURANT COFFEE TEA MAKER/URN!
Made by T.J. Topper Co., San Francisco
Made of mixed metals
Wood handles
From the condition of the interior, it appears that this unit was lightly or never used
Original "hook up tag" for gas burner
Metal is pitted from storage
Includes original "coffee baskets"
Missing one sight glass protection rod
#20078

HTH!
Angela

 

[s102580]

Hi Angela,

Thanks so much for your help ! I really appreciate it !

 

[tazzadiluna]

Figurati! <- my pleasure!

 

[terracotti]

Have to admit, that is really a nice find. Could not readt the date but that seems really old. Does it still work??

 

[s102580]

They applied for the patent in 1929, and it was approved in 1932. My Dad owned it and used it at the San Jose Speedway in San Jose, Ca in his food concession business. It worked up till the day they closed the Speedway in 1977, but hasn't been used since. I am trying to sell it, but have no idea what it's worth. Just listed it on EBay but no takers yet.

 

[tazzadiluna]

The seller "not2bright!" on Ebay sold his for $1,250. Scroll to the bottom of his about page and email him. Maybe you could ask him about the one he sold. You could also ask him to tell his buyer there is another one available, then have him direct them to your page? You never know, the buyer might be looking for another one. Worst case, you can sell it to "not2bright!" if you don't get a buyer.

 

[z28summit]

I have a similar one like this I am trying to find information on. Except it is a dual urn one. Anyone know where I can find some info on it?

 

[z28summit]

PS the metal tag on it says Terminal Sheet Metal Works Limited Vancouver Canada