Category Archives: Cocktails

Weekend Finds, Two by Two

In an unusual turn of events, I felt like Noah and his ark with my weekend finds, two-by-two. I never know what, or even if my hunts will be successful. But in this case, I was seeing double. Depression glass and chrome and aluminum ware – oh my!

Depression Glass:

First off, we are not collectors or experts in depression glass. But we do dabble occasionally. I purchased a similar vase to the one pictured below years ago for $1.00, because it was cute. But that’s another story.

Small Bedford Vase made by Bagley (photo via 20thcenturyglass.com)

Depression glass is a catch-all term for massed produced, inexpensive glassware popular from 1929 through the early 1940’s. And mostly produced in glass factories in the Ohio River Valley.

In 1929, household incomes dropped an average of 40% due to the depression. And this left families with little spare cash for luxuries.  Glass factories, use to producing higher end hand cut glass, struggled with lost sales.  And in an effort to keep their doors open, they started to produce attractive, machine-made household goods in clear and colored glass to brighten the home. More efficient to make, factories could produce upwards of 1000 items per day.

The goods were so reasonable priced, they could be given away as premiums. For those of you not old enough to remember premium giveaways, you could get a piece in boxed goods (cereal boxes or oatmeal containers, for example). And each week a different item was offered.

Sometimes, you would get a set as a prize at your local movie house! And for larger services pieces, you could go to your local 5 & 10 store and buy them for around $.50.

Even appliance manufactures joined in. With the purchase of a refrigerator, Frigidaire would give you a complete table service set consisting of plates, cups, saucers, a sandwich tray and a sugar / creamer set.

Selection of depression glass

Depression glass society show (photo by J Fuhrman via patch.com)

At the height of production, there were more than 20 manufacturers producing over 100 different patterns.  Common colors are clear, pink, pale blue, green and amber.

Less common colors are canary yellow, ultramarine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt, red, black, amethyst, monax (translucent white with a faint bluish hue), and white (milk glass). And, rarer yet are the colors lavender and tangerine.

Depression Glass

Varity of colors (photo via thenatroute66.com)

Some glass contains “trace” amounts of uranium and will glow under a black (UV) light. The “trace” amount varies from 2% to 25%!  (And you’re worried about using your red Fiestaware!?)

Uranium Glass glowing

Glowing Uranium Glass (photo via decorativecollective.com)

After WWII, the economy rebounded. With more disposable income, many house-hold threw out their old, cheap dishes to upgrade to something better, generally China.  Silly people!

Fortunately, much of it was equally cherished and passed down through families. By the 1960’s, depression glass became highly collectible. Rare pieces can sell for hundreds of dollars.

,,,

Some of the original manufacturers continued to produce their popular patterns as well as introduce similar and new patterns post WWII and through the 1950’s.

But be careful. A lot of what is for sale online is newly produced in Asia.  If you see the terms, “Depression era-style” or “Depression style”, they are new items.

I found these two glass pitchers at the local GoodWill for $3.99 each.  And I believe they fall into a depression sub-category called “Elegant glass”. Both are in excellent condition.

Elegant glass was sold in department stores and it is better quality. Seams are polished, the glass is heavier, and they are usually hand decorated with painted and / or etched decorations.

Depression Glass Pitcher (author's collection)

Depression “Watermelon” Glass Pitcher (author’s collection)

Above it is an example of “watermelon” glass. It gets the name from the combination of pink and green glass. Though hard to see, this has a hand cut band of stylized flowers and leaves around its belly. Unfortunately, it is missing its matching lid.

The second, obviously, is green glass, a popular color. And, its complete with its lid! Though undecorated, is has an interesting shape.  Neither has a manufacturer’s mark.

Depression glass pitcher

Green Depression Glass pitcher with lid (author’s collection)

Depression Glass Pitcher

Green Depression Glass pitcher with lid (author’s collection)

Unfortunately, I don’t have a UV light.  Therefore, I don’t know if either of these is uranium glass.

Two in One:

Now this next weekend find is a bit of a stretch considering the title of this installment. But go with me, here.  This is a wonderful little Depression Glass powder or trinket box from around 1935. And in my research, is attributed to L.E. Smith Glass Company.

Art Deco Powder Box

Elephant powder box attributed to L.E. Smith Glass Company (author’s collection)

While I only picked up one at the GoodWill, it does have two elephants on top! Powder boxes are not exactly difficult to find.  However, the double elephants in good condition appear to be one of the harder ones to add to your collection.  Several sources state this particular style has a tendency to be cracked where the trunks join.

For the piece as shown in pink, prices vary greatly from a low of $50 to over $100.00 depending on condition. But mine only cost $2.99.

Glass jars of this type were quite popular and available in various colors. And also, a variety of animals and even human forms adorn the top.

Cocktails for Two:

The our next pairing, Art Deco cocktail shakers, is more up our alley. And both purchased at the Golden Nugget Flea Market.

Art Deco Evercraft Cocktail Shaker

Evercraft back stamp (author’s collection)

The first cocktail shaker is by Evercraft accented with navy blue stripes . You don’t see this shaker very often. They are more commonly available with black or white (cream) bands and sell in the mid $100’s. However, I couldn’t find any examples online with blue stripes.  I snapped this up for $15.00.

Art Deco Evercraft

Evercraft Cocktail Shaker with blue stripes (author’s collection )

Overall, the design is similar to the Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. However, Evercraft does not enjoy the general prestige of Chase. But it is quality giftware and worthy of collecting.

Kensington Coldchester Cocktail Shaker

Kensington Coldchester Cocktail Shaker (author’s collection)

This 1936 shaker, designed by Laurelle Guild, is an early version of the Kensington Coldchester Cocktail Shaker.  But how do we know it is the earlier version?

Glad you asked.

Early Kensington back stamp

Early Kensington back stamp

The mark on the bottom shows only the stag head shield.  In later versions, the word Kensington appears added under this mark.  This is another harder-to-find piece and you can expect to pay upwards of a $100.00. This was a bargain at $20.00, complete with the often-missing aluminum cap on the cork.

Thanks for joining me on my journey that had me seeing double!

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys)

How About a Chaser? Chase Gaiety Cocktail Set

 

The Chase, Brass & Copper Co. met the end of Prohibition with a number of stylish cocktail accessories. For this post Driving For Deco will take a look at the first of the Chase cocktail set that helped  lift spirits (figuratively & literally) during the Depression.

 

The Gaiety Cocktail Set

1933 – 1942

Cocktail Shaker

Entirely modern in its appearance, it retains the usefulness of old fashioned shakers.The top is fitted with a sleeve which fits snuggly into the pouring lip when shaking to prevent the leaking or spilling of contents. A strainer is also provided to hold back the mint, lemon or other solids. Finished in bright chromium with black enamel rings at the top and bottom. – 1934 Chase Catalog.

 

The typical Chase Gaiety Cocktail set, featuring the shaker with black painted bands.

Chase Gaiety Cocktail Set. Shaker, tray and cocktail cups. Image from ebay.

By far, this has to be the easiest of all the Chase cocktail sets to find. The cocktail shaker and cups are readily available in the collector’s market. The tray can be found with a bit of hunting.

 

The patent application drawing for the Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker.

Patent for the Reichenbach’s Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. Image from Google Patents.

The shaker, designed by Howard F. Reichenbach (1902 – 1959) in 1933, is classic moderne. Its most notable decorative feature is impressed, painted bands, on the body and lid. On the lid, two raised concentric circles lead to the finial. A Bakelite ring is at the base of the chrome finial.

The lid of the shaker sits snuggly on the neck of the body. Inside the neck is a removable strainer. The Chase centaur trademark is on the bottom of the shaker.

 

he Gaiety Shaker patent drawing showing the interior of the lid, the neck and the strainer.

Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker patent drawing illustrating the interior of the lid, the neck and the strainer. Image from Google Patents.

Cocktail Cups

Simplicity is an outstanding feature in the design of this distinctive cocktail cup, but it is the simplicity of line and decoration that suggests sophistication and good taste. – 1934 Chase Catalog.

 

Harry Laylon's cocktail cups for the Chase Specialty Line.

Chase Cocktail Cups designed by Harry Laylon. From the collection of the author.

Retailing at only $0.50 each ($10.75 in 2022), these simple cups, a Harry Laylon (1911 – 1997) design,  must have been very popular.  One can easily find these cocktail cups on the collector’s market today.

 

Cocktail Tray

This simple tray is ideal for use with cocktail cups, but may be used equally as well with other cocktail service pieces. It comes individually packed in either polished chromium or polished copper finish. – 1934 Chase Catalog.

 

The tray for the Chase Gaiety cocktail set.

Chase Gaiety Cocktail Tray. Image from thehourshop.com.

In the mid-1930s one of Kool Cigarettes offered premium coupons to its smokers. And the Chase Gaiety Cocktail Set complete or in individual pieces was a premium. 200 coupons for the shaker, 125 coupons for four cocktail cups and 125 coupons for the tray. 400 coupons would get one the entire set, not to mention a chance at smoking related diseases.

Mid-1930s Kool Cigarette advertisement.

Mid-1930s Kool Cigarette magazine advertisement, offering the Chase Gaiety Cocktail set as a premium. Image from ebay.

When purchasing any of the pieces of the Gaiety set there are a few things to keep an eye out for. Let’s start with the shaker. The Gaiety Cocktail shaker is so readily available, at flea markets, antique malls and online, there is no reason to buy one in less than good condition. Often the strainer that sits in the neck of the shaker is missing.

 

Strainer and lid detail of the Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker.

Detail of the strainer and the lid finial of the Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. Image from 1stDibs.com.

Make sure the Bakelite ring on the finial is not chipped or missing altogether. The paint in the impressed bands should be not be flaking off. And because of the shaker’s shape and lack of handles it must have been slippery when filled with ice and liquid, which means that a good number of the shakers have dents and surface scratches.

 

Dent on a Gaiety Cocktail Shaker.

Dent in a Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. Image from Ebay.

Detail of damage on a Gaiety Cocktail Shaker.

Detail of the dent and surface scratches on a Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. Image from Ebay.

 

Things to watch for with the cups are dents and splits in them along the sides. Issues with the tray can include bends and dents. Sometimes the chrome plating has worn away exposing the brass base metal. All these issues will affect the value of the pieces.

 

Split in the side of the Chase Gaiety cocktail cup.

Split common to the Chase Gaiety cocktail cup. Image from federalcoinexchange.com

 

And speaking of values, the prices for the Gaiety pieces are all over the place. The Shaker, alone, sells anywhere on the collector’s market from, $25.00 (sometimes even lower) – $450.00. In our opinion any price over $45.00 is too much for a shaker this common. But there is one exception to this rule, but more about that later. The cocktail cups can run in the $7.00 – $15.00 a piece range. The tray is so hard to find, that as of the writing of this article, we have not found one as a stand alone. And complete sets fall into the $150.00 – $450.00 price range, in online stores. Although sometimes they can go higher, one dealer, selling through 1stdibs.com is selling the shaker and four cups for $895.00. This seems high, but the pieces are in mint condition and come with their original packaging.

 

Gaiety Cocktail Shaker and Cups with their original boxes.

Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker and Cocktail Cups with their original boxes. Image from 1stdibs.com.

What is really rare regarding the Gaiety Cocktail set are shakers with colored stripes and Bakelite ring on the finial. They were only produced between 1939 and the discontinuation of the line in 1942. The available colors were red, green, blue and white. These are so rare that we have never come across one “in the wild”, only online. A set of three sold at 1stdibs for $3,900.00.

Gaiety Cocktail Shakers in green, red and blue.

Gaiety Cocktail Shakers in green, red and blue. Image from 1stdibs.com.

 

Gaiety in the Movies

The Gaiety Cocktail Shaker, to the best of my knowledge, made its movie debut in the 1934 film, Change of Heart (Directed by John G. Blystone for the Fox Film Corporation). Though the shaker is not one of the stars of the film, that goes to Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, James Dunn and Ginger Rogers. It is used by Ginger Rogers trying to woo Charles Farrell from Janet Gaynor. Below are some frame grabs showing the shaker in action.

 

So if you are into Chase items or into cocktail collectibles, the Gaiety Cocktail Shaker or set is a good way to begin. It is classic in streamline Deco looks and it is often affordable.

Cheers till next time.

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