I'm attenpting ro restore an old home to it's former glory. I'm having trouble finding out what was typically used on/as kitchen countertops in the 1930s and 1940s other than metal/enamel which is hard to come by and extremely pricy to get someone to custom make. Can anyone help?

This is more speculation than known facts, but I suspect that common where tile and linoleum.

Here is one reference to that.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/laminatecomeback

"Laminate has been a surface of choice for more than 50 years. It came into its own after World War II, when America's housing boom was in full swing and it was the "cool" new alternative to linoleum countertops. In fact, these installations are now "cool" again, with a new generation of consumers seeking out original laminate countertops and dinette tables to re-use in their retro-schemed homes."