Salt and Pepper Shakers: My Collection

Part 2: My Salt and Pepper Collection 

     My salt and pepper collection began with a “figural pair” of poodles from a garage sale.  A pair is obvious of course, it’s two.  A figure is what it looks like.  Salt and pepper shakers also have a “form,” which is how they are formed, what their structure is.  Do they sit one on top of another, or do they sit on a tray, hang on something separate, or perhaps they are tallboys (very tall shapes, often necks) or longboys (think exaggerated dachsunds)?   Some other forms are bench sitters, hangers, condiment sets, huggers, kissers, and one-piece sets.  More about some of those forms later. A novelty shaker is figural of people, animals, fruits, etc. often anthropomorphic.

     The poodles were made in Japan in the 50’s.  The cork stoppers are usual for that age.  Like most shakers, these have a wide range of prices online, right now between $5 and $30.

    My one pair turned into a collection in late 2021 with two I bought at Res-Q-Ranch.  My rule, one is one, two is a coincidence, and three is a collection. These are 1950s Carvelite, made from Tenite plastic, which was developed by Kodak.  I also have a pair in red.  You push the buttons on the top to dispense the seasonings.

     In for a penny, in for a pound!  My collection snowballed.  I would find a pair here and there.  St. Vincent de Paul.  Garage sales.  Goodwill.  Two by two, they started filling my hutch!  The figural dog pairs are displayed with my ceramic dog collection on a bookcase.

     Some of my favorite pairs from late 2021 through spring 2022 are these four below.  The red are figural towers, made for the 1939-1940 Golden Gate International Exposition (World’s Fair) on Treasure Island, in San Francisco, CA.  The Expo is the reason Treasure Island was built.  They are my oldest shakers, followed by the 1949 strawberries (below), from Goodwill for $1.16.   Both pair of birds were purchased at the same thrift store on separate occasions.  They are a finish called lusterware.  The pelicans were made in Germany; the kingfishers are Japanese and are considered miniature shakers.  Both date to the ‘40s or ‘50s.  

     Then, the summer of 2022 arrived, bringing with it garage sale season and a shaker mother lode.   Fourteen sets!  I kneeled on the ground unwrapping shaker after shaker from brittle old newspaper.  I should have bought them all, for when I went back the next day (for part of a set, the duck, I’d seen but didn’t know went with the part I did buy, the eggs) they were all gone, including the missing part.  In January 2023, I found the duck, without the egg shakers, for sale on eBay!  I wasn’t even looking for it, just happened to look up Victoria Ceramics, and there it was.  The duck is a hanger form.  It is also a 3-piece form.  In a hanger one or both shakers have a hook part that hangs from a base piece.  The shakers must not touch the table or shelf. 

     This hanger form is also from that sale.

     This is a holder, with a pair of lusterware chick eggs.  It overlaps into the 3-piece form.  It's one of my favorites. 

     This hand-painted pink milk glass Victorian castor set is also a carrier.  A castor is simply a condiment carrier. Castors holding just salt and pepper were used in the 17^th century, and most collected today are the American Victorian castors of silver plate.  This castor holds salt and pepper shakers, and a mustard pot.  It is missing its serving spoon.  Castors may hold many more condiment jars, and there are even specific castors for pickles!  Pickle castors are very collectible. 

     This three piece condiment set (with spoon!) of hobnail milk glass originally came on a wooden tray with a wooden toothpick holder in the center.  A complete condiment set includes a salt and pepper, another container with a lid and spoon for condiments, and a tray.  

     Go-withs are pairs of two different, but related items, such as these dog and fire hydrant shakers.  These are chalkware (molded plaster of Paris).  Chalkware is soft and easily broken.  This is definitely a novelty form! 

     Peppy and Salty, who seem to be modeled after the Campbell Soup Kids., or vice versa, are made of wood.  

     I have a very few glass, plastic, or metal shakers.  I used to include them in my collection, but they just are not as interesting to me, and I don’t have the space to display non-interesting items.  Most of my shakers are ceramic, and considered "vintage."  "Vintage" is between 20 and 99 years old.  100 and over is "antique."  I don't collect any shakers as new as 20 years ago, I disagree that is "vintage"!  "Retro" items are designed to look "vintage" or "antique," to bring to mind a specific time period or evoke nostalgia for times past.  

     Since that fateful day with the garage sale bonanza, I have bought several pairs from thrift stores, and one pair was given to me for a birthday present.  

     These plastic shakers date to the '50s and '60s, and are often referred to as "atomic" shakers. The space race and the atomic age influenced design of many household objects!  They have a ball-point tip, which press to release salt or pepper.

      My next to the latest is this 1950s donkey, which is the carrier for the fruit basket shakers, from Goodwill.  It’s a novelty figure (donkey), a carrier (donkey holds the shakers), as well as a three-piece set.  I included "next to latest" because the day before posting I found my first bench-sitter!

          These wooden bench-sitter salt and pepper shakers were made in Japan.  The tops, marked with drilled S and P holes, screw off to fill the shakers.  The painted man on the left wouldn't have that spot of black missing off his pants if Goodwill hadn't placed their sticker right over him.  Entirely over him.  There is no reason stickers can't go on the bottom or the back of items.  

     I don’t, as a rule, buy single shakers.  But, as they say, “Rules are made to be broken,” so I have bought a few single shakers.  

     One, this adorable dog.  I could find his mate online, however he just looks like he wants to be an “only” shaker!  

     

    Two other singles are a Hazel-Atlas Vaseline or uranium glass from the 1940s  (It would glow under UV light, if I had one.  That's on my list to add to my "thrifting kit" I keep in my purse.  It includes a tape measure and screwdrivers!)... and a lone Siamese cat with rhinestone eyes.

The shakers above are just a part of my collection.  I didn't think to count the pairs!

Next up: Collecting Salt and Pepper Shakers 

#saltandpeppershakers #saltandpeppershakercollecting #saltandpeppershakercollection #shakercollecting #noveltyshakers