Salt and Pepper Shaker Collecting: Three Posts

     Every now and then in my Tuesday Treasures posts I've shared salt and pepper shakers I've thrifted.  I thought it might be fun to write a little "article" about them, what I've learned about salt and pepper shakers (very little), about my collection, and a little about collecting them. 

     So, I've done just that, and even if no one else finds it "fun," I have enjoyed writing the three posts.  Today, part 1. 

Part 1: A Very Brief History of Salt and Pepper Shakers and My Recollections of Shakers in My Past 

*see below for details on these shakers

Salt and Pepper Shakers: History 

     Did you know salt and pepper shakers were invented in 1858 by the same man, John Mason, who invented the screw top Mason jar? They were. They didn’t take off right away; they weren’t popular until the early 1920’s.  Before this salt was kept in small bowls, or salt cellars, also called salt pigs (from pigge), and served with a spoon.  As the salt was open to the air, and humidity, it had a tendency to clump, so in 1911 Morton Salt began adding magnesium carbonate to its salt, and one or several anti-caking agents is still added to table salt.  

Heisey Crystolite condiment jar often referred to as a "salt cellar" 1937-1957

My Salt and Pepper Recollections 

     I used to take salt and pepper shakers for granted.  They were those kitchen staples, on the stove, or kitchen table, functional, but nothing special.  They were basic, clear or solid plastic with S and P on the sides.  They were, as my mother used to say, “Nothing to write home about.”  Funny thing though, her mother collected salt and pepper shakers. 

     When we'd visit, I’d look at my grandmother’s collection arranged in pairs on shelves in her dark wood china cabinet.  So many colors and such a variety of characters!  I never asked to see them closer, or take them out.  I think she’d have allowed it.  

     When she died, my youngest older brother got the collection. I don’t recall any discussion on who would get it!  I received my grandmother’s pots and pans.  Really.  In the will.  My oldest older brother (there are just the two), got my other grandmother’s bell collection (less one I took out of the collection as a teen and never put back), but that made more sense.  I was just a little girl when she died, and my father wasn't interested in them.

     There are various types of shakers, and different terms for many of them.  While that might have been a fit for this post, that information is in Part 2 so I can show examples from my collection. 

Next up: My Collection 

*Top row left: I'm Drip and I'm Drop are anthropomorphic onion and garlic faces made by CA pottery Vallona Star, the Winkie Line 1950-1953.  Top row right: Souvenir of Carmel CA (not my souvenir), age unknown, but I saw a similar pair in a '60s cookbook photo.  Bottom: Watermelon figural pair, flower on one side, appetite spoiling grasshopper on the other.   

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