Roper stoves

George Roper started the company in the late 1874 as a manufacturer of wood and gas stoves and grew to be one of the largest appliance manufacturers in the US. This 1925 ad highlights a gas stove but they were already a large supplier of both gas and electric ranges. Town and Country models from the 1940s are still popular among vintage stove aficionados. 
In a bitter fight for the acquisition of Roper in the 1980s, GE acquired the appliance and lawn equipment company but Whirlpool acquired the brand name. Roper- under GE- then produced appliances for Whirlpool which was a major supplier to the then massive Sears Roebuck chain.