This 19th century apple peeler, painted green, has a flat plank base and a crank handle. It sold for $649. This early apple peeler is very rare because of the fragile all-wood construction.
Between 1803 and 1900, approximately 250 U.S. patents were filed for designs of apple peelers. One of the first designs was in the late 1700s.
Apples were a major crop in the U.S., and the evolution of kitchen tools like apple peelers significantly sped up fall harvesting chores. Apple peelers were taken to neighbors’ houses for annual “paring bees,” where men operated the hand-cranked machines, an…
