Category Archives: Chase Brass and Copper Company

Coffee, Tea and Sugar & Creamer Sets from The Chase Specialty Line

Chase Brass & Copper logo.

Chase Brass & Copper logo. Image from a 1934 advertisement.

 

No 1930s hostess would consider her service set complete without a coffee set. And the Chase Specialty line offered several coffee and tea sets from 1932 – 1942.

 

Diplomat Coffee Set

1932 – 1941

 

Here is an aid to brilliant entertaining. Of marked individuality in the design by Von Nessen, the coffee pot, sugar and creamer come in polished chromium or polished copper with white tinned lining inside. The handles and knobs are of composition in a highly polished black finish. – 1933 Chase Catalog.

 

The 1933 Diplomat Coffee Service, designed by Walter Von Nessen.

Walter Von Nessen’s 1933 Diplomat Coffee Service. From the collection of the author.

Shortly after the Chase Specialty line began, their first coffee set hit the shelves in 1932. A Walter Von Nessen (1889 – 1943) design, the Diplomat Coffee Set is one of the most sought after Chase sets. Legend has it that Von Nessen’s inspiration for the set came when he spotted some fluted pipes lying around the Chase plant. Out of this came the Diplomat Coffee service, the most elegant of the Chase coffee set.

 

Diplomat Sugar and Creamer.

Diplomat Sugar and Creamer. From the collection of the author.

At the introduction of the set in 1932 the handles on the coffee pot and creamer were wood. But soon thereafter they were changed to black Bakelite.

 

The Diplomat Coffee Set.

The three piece Diplomat Coffee Set. From the collection of the author.

Retailing at a hefty $15.00 ($316.51 in 2021) for the three piece set, it must have sold well. The Diplomat Coffee Set remained an inventory item until 1941. But even with its nine year production life, this set is not easy to find today and will cost a collector a fair bit of change to acquire one. And sets in copper are even harder to find than the chrome ones.

 

Breakfast Set

1934 – 1939

The Gerths designed this three-piece set of semi-spherical design, one of the most popular of Chase Specialities. The brilliance of the highly polished sugar bowl and creamer is set off by the black handles. An etched design decorates the tray. – 1934 Chase Catalog.

 

Chase Specialty Line Breakfast Set. Designed by Gerth and Gerth.

Gerth & Gerth’s Breakfast Set for the Specialty Line. From the collection of the author.

The Breakfast Set with its semi-spherical shape and “Saturn Ring” was the modern way to serve sugar and cream in the mid-1930s. And with a retail price of $3.00 in 1934 ($61.92 in 2021) this must have been a popular wedding, house warming or hostess gift, judging how many can be found in flea markets and antique malls today. Starting in 1937 the set was available with white as well as the black handles.

 

Individual Coffee Set

1936 – 1942

This charming three-piece set will appeal strongly to those who breakfast in bed and it is a convenience for the invalid. The cream pitcher fits on top of the coffee pot, and the sugar bowl fits on the pitcher, saving space on the serving tray. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

The Individual Coffee Set with the chrome pieces stacked. Designed for the Chase Specialty Line by Russel Wright.

Russel Wright’s Individual Coffee Set, stacked. From the collection of the author.

Russel Wright, designed pieces for convenience and ease of living, and this set certainly provides that. Everything is here for a single cup of morning coffee, with the sugar bowl and creamer stacked on top of the coffee container. Retailing for a reasonable $3.00 in 1942 ($50.91 in 2021) the Individual Coffee Set had a relatively long production life. But it is not too easily found today at prices lower than $50.00 and they often go for over $100.00. Unlike the white plastic used on the Coronet and Comet Coffee Sets the Individual Coffee Set features handles and a knob made of Catalin. These have darkened to a pleasing butterscotch color but were white when new.

 

The components of the Chase Individual Coffee Set, unstacked.

The Individual Coffee Set’s components unstacked. From the collection of the author.

One thing to note when buying an Individual Breakfast Set, is to check for stress splits on the sides of the components. These cracks will definitely decrease its value.

 

Sugar Sphere

1937 – 1941

Sphere Pitcher

1937 – 1939

Sugar Sphere and Sphere Pitcher, designed by Russel Wright.

Russel Wright’s Sugar Sphere and Sphere Pitcher. From the collection of the author.

Here are two pieces that are not that easy to find in today’s collector’s market and not designed by Walter Von Nessen, but by Russel Wright. These pieces are typical of Wright’s Chase aesthetic using spherical shapes, like his cocktail ball or corn and pancake set. The Sphere pitcher features a ribbed handle made of Catalin.

 

Comet Coffee Maker Service

1938 – 1942

The “Comet” is a beautifully designed coffee set consisting of an electric percolating coffee maker, and a matching sugar and creamer and tray. The shape of the electric coffee maker is a pleasing change from the ordinary cylinder types. The quick-heating Coffee Maker starts the coffee “perking” a few seconds after it is plugged in. It holds about 7 cupfuls, and it makes its full capacity of coffee in about 12 minutes. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

Chase Comet Coffee Service.

Chase Comet Coffee Service. From the collection of the author.

A complete Comet Coffee service (Coffee pot, sugar & creamer and tray) retailed in 1942 for $14.50 ($246.05 in 2021). While costly, it was on the more reasonable side of expensive. The Comet Coffee pot as a stand alone or the entire set seems to have been popular, judging by the relative ease it is to find it in antique stores, flea markets and online today. The spherical coffee pot is another Von Nessen creation. The white plastic handle is striking against the chrome and the flared base and the etched lines along the bottom half gives the coffee pot a streamlined appearance. The entire set comprised  of the coffee pot, the Kent Sugar and Creamer and the Ring Tray. The Ring Tray, designed by Harry Laylon (1911 – 1997), introduced in 1936 stayed in their inventory to the end of the line. There is no designer credited for the Kent Sugar and Creamer (1938 – 1942). They match the Comet Coffee pot exactly. It is possible that Chase used an in house employee to design them to complete the set.

Comet Tea Kettle

1938 – 1942

Along with the Comet Coffee Pot, Chase also offered two versions of the Comet Tea Kettle, an electric one and a standard one. The tea kettle had the same style etched lines around the lower half of its body, but no flared base. Its white, plastic handle arched over the top of the pot, unlike the coffee pot’s side handle.

 

Electric Comet Kettle, Spherical Creamer and Sugar Shaker.

Electric Comet Kettle with the Spherical Creamer and Sugar Shaker. From the collection of the author.

 

Coronet Coffee Service

1938 – 1942

 

Chase Coronet Coffee Urn and Kent Sugar and Creamer.

Chase Coronet Coffee Urn and Kent Sugar and Creamer. From the collection of the author.

When many cups of coffee are needed for meals, buffet parties, bridge or club meetings, this beautiful percolating urn will make 18 cupfuls. And with the percolating basket removed, it will store an additional 7 cupfuls, and server 25 people. The urn has a well-type heating unit that gives “high heat” for making coffee, and “low heat” for keeping it piping hot, so it can be served at any time later during the party. A switch is simply tripped to change from one heat to the other.  – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

Eliel Saarinen silverplate tea urn.

Eliel Saarinen Tea Urn loaned to the Cooper Hewitt from the Dallas Museum of Art for 2017 Jazz Age Exhibit. Image from cooperhewitt.org.

It seems that some of Von Nessen’s design for the Coronet Coffee Urn derived from Eliel Saarinen’s Tea Urn of 1934. Both feature spherical containers and side handles, but Von Nessen made his design practical and easy to mass produce. Non tarnishing chrome replaced the silver plate and a solid fluted base, similar in look to the Diplomat Coffee set, was used instead of a vented one. And the Coronet Coffee Urn featured an electrical heating unit and not an open flame alcohol burner.

 

The complete Chase Coronet Coffee Service.

Complete Chase Coronet Coffee Service, with urn, sugar and creamer and tray. Photo from the Art Institute of Chicago.

A complete Coronet Coffee Service featured the urn, the Kent Sugar and Creamer and the Festivity Tray. The Festivity Tray, a Harry Laylon, design joined the Chase line in 1937. While Walter Von Nessen’s Coronet Coffee Urn and Kent Sugar and Cream became available in 1938. These pieces stayed in production until the World War II brought and end to the Chase Specialty Line.

At a retail price of $27.95 in 1938 ($543.76 in 2021), this set was expensive. The urn alone cost $19.95 ($388.12 in 2021). But it must of sold fairly well, judging how many seem to be in the collector’s market and in museum collections today. One thing to be aware of when buying one today are cracks in the plastic base. These stress fractures were probably caused by heat. The cracks do not detract from the value unless there are many of them or if they are severe.

 

Chase Coronet Coffee Urn.

Chase Coronet Coffee Urn, with heat stress crack in the plastic base. From the collection of the author.

These sets certainly brightened many a breakfast, tea time or dinner party during the dark days of the depression. And they certainly add a nice touch to a present day Art Deco style kitchen or  dining room.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys).

 

SOURCES

The Complete Chase – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

The Chase Era 1933 and 1942 Catalogs of the Chase Brass & Copper Co. – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Chase Catalogs 1934 and 1935 Catalogs – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Art Deco Chrome Book 2: A Collector’s Guide Industrial Design in the Chase Era – Richard J. Kilbride

 

Table Electrics – The Chase Speciality Line

Chase Brass & Copper logo.

Chase Brass & Copper logo. Image from a 1934 advertisement.

“It’s eaiser. . . it’s cleaner. . . it’s more fun. . . to cook at the table with Chase electrics!”  –               Chase Promotional Brochure, early 1930s.

The arbiter of good taste and mores, Emily Post said this:

     The present enthusiasm for every variety of buffet party would seem to be at least one happy result of the depression, which in shortening the purses of all of us, has brought appreciation of the simpler hospitalities. But whatever the cause, it is certainly true that among the nicest parties possible to give, the buffet luncheon, dinner or supper is far and away the most popular and smart.

 

Vogue Magazine Chase Advertisement featuring Emily Post from 1933.

October 1, 1933 Chase Advertisement from Vogue Magazine featuring Emily Post and the Electric Buffet Server. Image from proquest.com.

The Chase, Brass and Copper Company response to the changes the Great Depression brought to home entertaining was to introduce a series of products for informal dinner parties.

Electric Buffet Server

The Chase Electric Buffet Server.

The Chase Electric Buffet Server. From the author’s collection.

       The Chase Electric Buffet Server, designed for Chase by Lurelle Guild, is an electrically heated dish that it possible to keep four kinds of food hot on the buffet table without over cooking. Late guests do not worry the hostess because food stays hot and attractive for hours if necessary. For hot buffet supers and lunches, for late Sunday breakfasts, and late evening entertaining, the server is invaluable. Up to twenty people can be served from it. In the summer the server can be filled with cracked ice for salads, cold soups and desserts, etc. – 1935 Chase Catalog.

 

Patent drawing for the Chase Electric Buffet Server.

U.S. patent drawing for the Chase Electric Buffet Server. Image from Google Patents.

 

Chase Electric Buffet Server.

Chase Electric Buffet Server. Photo from blackrockgalleries.com.

Introduced in the fall of 1933, it stayed in production until 1940. And selling at $40.00 in 1934 ($815.00 today) it was expensive. For consumers just emerging from the worst of the depression the high price must have been daunting. So sales of the Electric Buffet Server were probably not that great. In an effort to boost sales Chase reduced the price to $30.00 ($580.00 today) in 1935. It is also a very large item, measuring 18 inches long, 11 inches wide and 5 inches high. So finding a place to store it in a 1930s home or apartment would be a challenge. Because of this the Electric Buffet Server is not an easy piece to find on the collectors market today.

The Electric Buffet Server is basically a modern version of a chafing dish. The base is filled with water then heated. But instead of using fire it heated the water by electricity, just as the name says, and maintained a constant temperature of about 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Filling the base with ice to chill salads and soups provided a summertime option. Four removable porcelain casserole dishes held the food in the chrome stand.

 

Leg and handle detail of the Chase Electric Buffet Server.

Chase Electric Buffet Server, leg and handle detail. Photo from blackrockgalleries.com.

Guild’s design with its black composition handles and lid finials contrasted against the shining chrome, the fluting on the legs and along the top edge and the octagonal design of the base, porcelain dishes and lids was very handsome. But Chase knew it needed a less expensive alternative.

 

April 1, 1934 Chase advertisement, featuring the Electric Buffet Server from Vogue Magazine.

Chase advertisement from the April 1, 1934 issue of Vogue, featuring the Chase Electric Buffet Server. Image from proquest.com.

 

Electric Snack Server

Early version of the Chase Electric Snack Server.

Chase Electric Server, early version with only one heat setting and walnut handles and finials. From the collection of the author.

 

And the Chase Electric Snack Server, introduced in 1934 proved to be that alternative. Smaller and at $19.50 ($398.00 today) less than half the price of the Electric Buffet Server. Chase further reduced the price to $12.50 ($250.00 today) in 1935. Just like the larger Buffet Server, the Snack Server worked the same way by heating water to about 170 degrees to keep food warm. Or keeping food cool in the summer by filling the base with cracked ice.

 

Patent drawing for the Chase Electric Snack Server.

U.S. Patent drawing for the Chase Electric Snack Server. Image from Google Patents.

 

The Electric Snack Server is an electrically heated dish with three food compartments, or casseroles. It is designed for serving warm luncheons for small families or parties where four to eight people are to be served. The golf foursome, for instance, can return home after a late game and find a hot supper waiting for them. Bridge parties can continue at cards without the interruption for the preparation of “something to eat.” The Electric Snack Server is 13 inches in diameter and 6 inches high.  –  1935 Chase Catalog

 

November 15, 1935 Chase advertisement from Vogue Magazine.

Chase advertisement from the November 15, 1935 issue of Vogue Magazine, featuring the Electric Snack Server. Image from proquest.com

Judging by how relatively easy it is to find this piece today, it must have sold well back in the 1930s. Howard Reichenbach’s very stylish design for the Snack Server featured bands of ribbing along the top and bottom of the base section. The three “step down” lids covered the one quart, Pyrex food containers.

In production from 1934 – 1942, the 1935 catalog states it being only available in polished chromium with black fittings, but soon polished copper servers and servers with walnut fittings were on the store shelves.

 

Detail of the original electrical setting.

Detail of the original electrical setting of the Chase Electric Snack Server. Photo from the collection of the author.

Originally the Snack Server came with only one heat setting, but starting in 1938 the “high / low” setting replaced the original. Also that year white plastic handles and lid finials became another option.

 

Later model Chase Electric Snack Server with white plastic trim and adjustable heat setting.

Chase Electric Snack Server, 1938 – 1942, featuring white handles, finials and lids. Photo from the collection of the author.

 

Later model Chase Electric Snack Server.

Later model Chase Electric Snack Server, detail of the high and low setting, “step-down” lid and white plastic finials. Photo from the collection of the author.

 

Table Butler

Chase Table Butler, chrome with white plastic trim.

Chase Table Butler, 1938 – 1942. Photo from the collection of the author.

 

The Chase Table Butler is another piece that is not too easy to find on the collector’s market today. Chase introduced it in late 1938 and kept in production until the war effort brought an end to the speciality line in 1942. The Table Butler is another strikingly moderne piece, with its ribbed banding at the top of the lower section and concentric rings on the top of the lid. White plastic trim is set off nicely against the chrome.

 

Showing the Pyrex bowl detail of the Chase Table Butler.

Pyrex bowl detail of the Chase Table Butler.

Food placed in a Pyrex Bowl inside the Table Butler is kept warm, electrically, to one hundred and eighty degrees. Retailing at $10.95 ($212.00 today) it was even less expensive than the Electric Snack Server.

The Chase Table Butler is for use on the table to keep many kinds of food piping hot during long meals and buffet parties, or between cooking and serving time. It has a heat-resisting glass baking dish in which such food as creamed chicken, creamed vegetables, lobster Newburg, scrambled eggs, lamb stew, macaroni and cheese, soups and chowders, cereals, and many other dishes can be kept piping hot. Without the glass dish, the Table Butler is used to heat rolls and muffins, to keep toast hot, to crisp potato chips and crackers, and to keep hot such foods as sausages, hambugers, croquettes, and French fried potatoes. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

Lid, bowl and power cord detail of the Chase Table Butler.

Chase Table Butler lid, bowl and original power cord detail. Photo from the collection of the author.

 

Table Chef

Here is another Chase Table Electric introduced in 1938 and discontinued in 1942. With its gleaming chrome body, ribbing along the base and scrolled, white plastic handles it matches stylistically to the Chase Table Butler and the Fairfax Tray. Designed by Walter Von Nessen this piece served a number of cooking functions. Originally the Table Chef retailed for $14.95 ($290.00 today).

 

The Chase Table Chef, part of the Chase Table Electric line.

The Chase Table Chef, designed by Walter Von Nessen. Photo from the collection of the author.

The Chase “Table Chef” Chafing Dish is a modern electric marvel. With it, nearly all forms of simple cooking can be done right at the table. It can be used as a chafing dish, or as a double boiler, by filling the lower container with water, and by using the upper container for the food to be cooked. A double heating element gives the choice for high or low heat – the “high” for cooking and the “low” for keeping foods piping hot. The Table Chef is invaluable for use in informal entertaining, but even more so for the small family which has one maid or one, and for the small apartment. And for party use – after a bridge game, or a small super after the movies, or summer meals on the porch.  – 1942 Chase Catalog.

That the catalog description mentions that this is an item for a small family with “one maid” is telling. It’s obvious, even without knowing the prices, that Chase marketing was aiming for middle class or higher customers.

 

Chase Table Chef, lid detail.

Chase Table Chef, lid detail. Photo from the collection of the author.

 

Electric Buffet Warming Oven

 

Chase Electric Buffet Oven in chrome and walnut trim.

1937 Chase Electric Buffet Oven in chrome with walnut trim. Photo from ebay.com.

Here is another Chase Table Electric to help the hostess have a successful party in the years leading up to the Second World War. A Charles Arcularius design the Buffet Warming Oven had a production life of five years from 1937 – 1942. Available only in Chrome with walnut handles and feet for the first year. Starting in 1938 ovens in copper with walnut or white plastic trim and a chrome and white plastic version became options.

 

Chase Electric Buffet Oven in copper and walnut.

Chase Electric Buffet Oven in copper with walnut trim. Photo from worthpoint.com.

The Electric Buffet Warming Oven is a smart little oven to keep food hot at the table. And what hostess hasn’t longed for a portable warming oven in which such foods as hot canapes, toast, rolls, sausages, potato chips, or anything else that needs to be kept crisp, could be kept hot and appetizing through a long party, or family meal?

The electric heat in the oven is a dry heat that keeps food crispy. On the other hand it won’t dry out such foods as toast or croquettes because it is such an even heat and the tightly fitted cover prevents the loss of moisture by evaporation.

Now the hostess doesn’t have to keep an anxious eye on the kitchen oven, dashing back and forth from the dining room for reinforcements. She can relax and enjoy the party or her family, knowing that the buffet warming oven is taking over the responsibility for keeping food hot. – 1942 Chase Catalog.

 

Inside detail of the Chase Electric Buffet Oven.

Chase Electric Buffet Oven, inside detail. Photo from ebay.com.

At $10.00 ($194.00 today) the Electric Buffet Oven was the least expensive of the Chase Table Electrics. Even so $10.00 was still above the price range for the average household just emerging from the depression.

 

The Chase Electric Buffet Oven in chrome with white plastic handles and feet.

Chase Electric Buffet Oven in chrome with white plastic handles and feet. Photo from picclick.com.

 

Because of the relatively high prices for the Chase Table Electrics, these pieces are not that easy to find today on the collector’s market. But they are out there and with some patience and hunting they can be tracked down. And they make a nice moderne addition to any Deco style kitchen or dining room *.

* If you are buying these for use make sure the power cord and plug are in good condition and are not fraying or frayed. Also check to make sure there are no splits in the metal before you pour in water or ice. The buffet server and snack server are prone to stress cracks.

Anthony & Chirs (The Freakin’ Tiquen Guys)

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCES

The Complete Chase – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

The Chase Era 1933 and 1942 Catalogs of the Chase Brass & Copper Co. – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Chase Catalogs 1934 and 1935 Catalogs – Donald-Brian Johnson & Leslie Piña

Art Deco Chrome Book 2: A Collector’s Guide Industrial Design in the Chase Era – Richard J. Kilbride