Hobart model 410 meat slicer is a successful marriage of style and function

Just how many slices of Swiss cheese, pastrami and roast turkey were portioned out by the 1940s-era Hobart model 410 meat slicer now on view at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is anybody’s guess. This machine certainly played a central role in more than a few Reuben and Monte Cristo sandwiches.

Called the “streamliner” by those who have fallen in love with its look, the Hobart 410 slicer was donated recently to the Cooper-Hewitt’s Industrial Design collection in the museum’s Product Design and Decorative Arts Department. It will be on view through March 1, 2009, in the exhibition “Curators Select: Recent Acquisitions, 2003–2008.”

Why would a renowned design museum add such a common commercial kitchen object to its collection? This model is a classic example of the successful marriage of function and style, explains Cynthia Trope, an assistant curator at the Cooper-Hewitt. The Hobart 410’s curvaceous, tear-drop shape and smooth surfaces reflect the Modernist streamline style of the 1930s and 1940s, a style that originated in aerodynamics and efforts to reduce wind resistance on airplanes, trains and other moving vehicles. Even sitting quietly on a deli counter, the Hobart 410’s graceful, rhythmic form suggests movement and speed. Yet its simple beauty also makes the 410 easy to clean, Trope says. Its smooth aluminum surface and compact design are durable and easy to wipe down—a huge benefit for restaurant and deli workers.

Egmont Arens (1889-1966), designer of the Hobart 410, concealed the slicer’s motor and gears safely beneath a smooth-walled housing that looks “reminiscent of an airplane cowling,” Trope says. “The only exposed moving parts are the simple forms of the circular steel blade and the pivoting holder and sled-like bed that secure the meat to be sliced.” This was a revolutionary departure from the designs of earlier commercial meat slicers. Not surprisingly, Aren’s career included stints at both General Electric and Fairchild Aircraft. Among his other widely recognizable designs are the Hobart 1937 Kitchen Aid Model K stand mixer and the familiar package for Eight O’Clock Coffee. The Hobart 410 was in production from the 1940s until 1985.