A.M.C.O. 1953 - 1961

This business only will interest the ones of you owning a Martian electric express.

For the other ones... this Blog entry never happened... it is just an illusion.

The Business was created in Rome in 1953 by one engineer from Napoli and 2 students and closed in 1961.

Arrivederci amici!

Vintage leaflet from the Bon Trading Co.

I am missing these leaflets, If anyone have them, i would be very pleased to post them on the blog:

THANKS!!!!

In this last leaflet, the "Harris Filter Coffee" is recommended... more about Robert Harris here

Maybe...

Maybe one day, on my death bed... i will tell you how many of these were produced by the Brevetti Robbiati business... maybe...

USA 1957

I repeat myself and i like it... no (A) size, no (B) size... just different models in 3 , 6 to 9 cups!!!

New Zealand - The Kiwi side of the story.

Mr. Robert Harris from Hamilton (New Zealand - marked on the Map as (A) ) paired great business vision and a passion for coffee.

Although Instant coffee was the new trend back in the 50s in New Zealand, Mr. Harris built a roaster and started to sell his Coffee Brand under his name in 1952.

The market was pretty small in those time... although there was strong Italian and Greek communities in Wellington (marked on the Map as (B)), something to build upon.

The business got more and more successful as Mr. Hamilton's passion for blending and roasting grew fonder.

Mr. Harris died in 1979... but a new generation was motivated to keep up to Mr. Harris's reputation and business vision.

The rest is history...


... But why on earth am i talking about Robert Harris?

Well, Thanks to Mr. Tony Richardson who did his jolly good part of researching in New Zealand, the Kiwi side of the Brevetti Robbiati (or S.T.E.M.A.C. ) / Bon Trading Co. history didn't go lost.

It is unnecessary for me to reformulate what he wrote so here it is:

Tony Richardson tells us:

"It seems that most of the Atomics brought into New Zealand in the 1980s. About 150 were brought in by R L Bowden Ltd, most of them in three shipments, sourced partly direct from Robbiati in Europe and partly from Bon Trading in Sydney. Spares were purchased as necessary. The machines were sold to Robbert Harris coffee shops, Belaroma and other boutique establishments over a three-year period. The retail price then was $AU70"

Note: R L Bowden Ltd is/was an Import-Export kitchen utensils business based in Auckland. (north of (A) on the map)

(how many do you see?)

Mr. Richardson goes on:

"The folks from Robert Harris were still selling the machines as late as 1992 - i have an invoice from that era for an "Atomic body, clamp handle, basket and strainer" for a total of $AU92; No mention of a jug!"

Mr. Richardson finishes with:

"Undoubtedly a few machines have also made their way to NZ with private owners, just as some have migrated back to Australia and the USA as interest in them has grow."

There is only one thing left for me to say (not just for this great information but the great conversations we had in the last 2 years):

Thank you Mr. Richardson!

CHAOS

The only GENUINE © ® ™ Atomic coffee machine - 1969

In 1946, The Mound site (Dayton, Ohio - U.S.A.) construction began under the Manhattan Engineering District of War Department.
In 1949, it started to produce Polonium and thus was the first Post-War Atomic Energy Commision site in the U.S.A.

The site was run by Monsanto Research Corp. (Yes, the same Multinational company that produces herbicide)

Our interest turns now to Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators or RTG.
(They also researched and produced explosives weapons among others.)

The researchers John Birden and Kenneth Jordan invented the first RTG in 1954-5, it was fueled with Polonium-210 which decay produces heat (see patent below).
A generator (called SNAP for Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power) was used as soon as 1959 in Space on a Transit mission (launching a satellite for military navigation system).

The second and most successful SNAP generation used Polonium-238. Its research started in 1961 at the Mound site.
The shielding used for the Polonium-238 is very low - just 2,5mm of lead can stop its radiation. This makes it easier and lighter to wrap up.
The Polonium-238 will be used for generators on various spatial missions like Voyager 1 & 2 (Outer Solar system) or Cassini (Saturn).

If you are interested in the use of RTG in Space, read this: pdf

Such a practical energy source that its use in household was considered.

I am very proud today to present the one-and-only Atomic coffee machine:

I have no idea how many of you are interested in this, but here is the patent for the first Radioactive battery:

Take a holiday trip and improve your kitchen!

Well... it just has anything one needs... in this "small" 1977 australian kitchen!
I lived 2 1/2 years in England in 22 square meter (240 square foot)... this kitchen must be double the size!

Hi Mate!

Greetings from an austrian sorcerer to a wizard of oz!

Autunno caldo

On the 25th of October 1969, Mr. Robbiati writes to Mm. Notaras.

He was not able to produce anymore coffee machines.

Why?

In the north of Italy, it was "L'autunno caldo".

Pretty much everyone was on strike... or demonstrating for better working condition, better pay...

From the telephone company workers to the airport personal, from the taxi drivers to the chamber of commerce...

Not to forget the Pirelli workers...

The prisoners... the metal workers... the public housing tenants...

... the bank workers... the tailors ... the agricultural workers and the fishermen...

as well as the electricity workers, the nurses... and of course the students.

and on the other side of the world, Mm. Notaras was waiting for her coffee machines for the Christmas business.