Category Archives: Vintage Barware

Chase Specialty Line – Cocktail & Drink Accessories

 

For this installment about the Chase Specialty Line, Driving for Deco will look at some of the company’s cocktail and drinking accessories.

 

A Variety of drinking accessories made by the Chase Brass and Copper Company.

Chase Iced Drink Cups, Old Fashioned Cocktail Cups, Muddlers and the Cocktail Mixer and Spoon. From the collection of the authors.

 

Liqueur Set

(1935 – 1939)

The Chase Liqueur Set with six cups designed by Lurelle Guild and the chrome and blue glass tray designed by Russel Wright.

The Chase Liqueur Set. From the collection of the authors.

This  attractive set consists of six gleaming chromium Liqueur Cups and a small round tray with a deep English blue glass bottom. The small cups 2 3/8 inches high, hold just enough and will not tip over easily. Furnished in polished chromium.  – 1935 Chase Specialties Catalog

The Liqueur Set is another Chase marriage of two items by different designers. In this case the cups are the work of Lurelle Guild (1898 – 1985) and the Coaster Tray by Russel Wright (1904 – 1976). Originally retailing at $4.00 for the complete set and $0.50 for each cup.

Chase Liqueur Cups designed by Lurelle Guild.

Lurelle Guild’s Liqueur Cups for Chase. From the collection of the authors.

These days this set is becoming hard to find.

 

The Chase hallmark on the bottom of the Liqueur Cup.

The Chase hallmark on the bottom of the Liqueur Cup. From the collection of the author.

Because the tray was originally designed for the Pancake and Corn Set, it is seen much less often with the Liqueur Cups.  Currently on line, the cups have been selling from $45.00 – $200.00 for a set of six. Expect to pay between $45.00 and $75.00 for just the tray online or at antique malls. But with luck one can find a complete set for as little as $45.00 and $120.00 on the high end, which is still quite a reasonable price.

Chase chrome and blue glass Coaster Tray.

Russel Wright’s Coaster Tray for Chase. From the collection of the authors.

Condition is important when considering purchasing Russel Wright’s Coaster Tray. Check to that the chrome is not pitting and the glass in the tray does not have excessive scratching.

Chase Liqueur Set.

Chase Liqueur Set. From the collection of the authors.

Stirring Cocktail Mixer and Spoon

(1934 – 1937)

The Stirring Cocktail Mixer and spoon, designed by Walter Von Nessen for Chase, 1935.

Walter Von Nessen’s (1889 – 1943) Stirring Cocktail Mixer and spoon. From the collection of the authors.

Some cocktails should be stirred – not shaken. This graceful mixer was designed for us by Walter Von Nessen. It holds one quart and has a guard which holds back the ice, but does not prevent perfect pouring. Beautifully finished in gleaming chromium outside, satin silver inside, Complete with long handled stirring spoon to match the mixer. – 1935 Chase Specialties Catalog

This, very modern looking, cocktail pitcher is another Chase piece that is not easy to find in the wild, especially with its spoon. Selling in 1935 for the pretty hefty price of $5.00, the equivalent of $109.00 in 2023, and only in production for about three years, are factors why this is difficult to find today.

 

Chase Stirring Cocktail Mixer and spoon.

Stirring Cocktail Mixer and Spoon. From the collection of the authors.

And when one comes across the Stirring Cocktail Mixer, expect to pay a high price for it. As of this writing there are several selling online ranging in price from $125.00 (with dents and surface scratching) to up to $450.00, and none these come with its original spoon.

 

Iced Drink Cups

(1936 – 1942)

A graceful cup for long, cool drinks, such as mint juleps, planters’ punch, lemonade and ice tea. – 1942 Chase Specialties Catalog

Chase chrome Iced Drink Cups.

Chase Iced Drink Cups a Harry Laylon design. From the collection of the authors.

 

Trademark on the bottom of the Iced Drink Cup.

Detail of the Chase trademark on the bottom of the Iced Drink Cup. From the collection of the authors.

Harry Laylon’s (1911 – 1997) design for the Chase Iced Drink Cups is simple but captures the streamline aesthetic popular in the late 1930s. Tall, shiny and tapered toward the bottom with a flare lip at the top, the only decorative feature is a set of engraved lines on its bottom quarter.

Iced Drink Cups and Iced Drink Mixers.

Iced Drink Cups and Iced Drink Mixers. From the collection of the authors.

While the Iced Drink Cup is not too easy to find today, prices vary greatly. Online these are selling for less than $40.00 for a set of four to $179.00 for eight. If buying them, just make sure that the surface does not have deep scratches. Because of being stored stacked together, the surface chrome can become very damaged.

 

1936 newspaper advertisement for the Chase Iced Drink Cups and Mixers.

Newspaper ad for Chase’s Iced Drink Cups and Mixers. New-Journal, August 3, 1936, Pg. 23, Mansfield, Ohio, from newspapers.com.

Iced Drink Mixers

(1936 – 1939)

These attractive mixers may be used for all iced drinks, tea, highballs, rickeys. They are of polished chromium with gay jade green and lapis blue composition leaf decorations. They are 8 3/8  inches long. Each set includes four mixers (two green and two blue. – Chase Specialty Catalog, date unknown

Chase Iced Drink Mixers, Harry Laylon designer.

Chase Iced Drink Mixers, Harry Laylon Designer. From the collection of the authors.

Though the catalog only mentions jade and lapis Bakelite leaf decorations, some of these mixers exist with white (now darkened to butterscotch) leaves. Aside from the leaf the only other decorative feature of the mixer is the half ribbed ball at the bottom.  A set of four cost $1.00 in the late 1930s (equivalent of $21.50 in 2023). These command a hefty price on the collectors market, with an average selling price of around $100.00 for a set of four.

Detail of the Bakelite leaf on the Iced Drink Mixers.

Detail of Bakelite leaf on top of the Iced Drink Mixers. From the collection of the authors.

Old-Fashioned Cocktail Cups

(1935 – 1942)

The “Old-Fashioned” is one of the most popular American cocktails. It requires a special glass or cup. Each Chase Old-Fashioned Cocktail Cup is furnished with a muddler for crushing the fruit in an old-fashioned cocktail. – 1942 Chase Specialties Catalog

Harry Laylon's Old-Fashioned Cocktail Cups for the Chase Specialty Line.

The Chase Old-Fashioned Cocktail Cups, another Harry Laylon design. From the collection of the authors.

Like the Iced Drink Cups, Laylon’s design is simple, with only two sets of engraved lines. Even though these simple chrome cups had a relatively long production life, they are not too easy to come by today. Originally selling for $0.75 each ($16.30 today), complete with muddler, which seems like quite a reasonable price. Today, expect to pay a pretty hefty price to add these cups to your collection. Currently online, one seller is asking $328.00 for a set of four with their original muddlers.

Chase Old Fashioned Cocktail Cups and Muddlers.

Old Fashioned Cocktail Cups and Muddlers. From the collection of the authors.

Old-Fashioned Cocktail Muddlers

(1935 – 1939)

Chase Old Fashioned Muddlers, chrome plate and Bakelite.

Chase Muddlers for Old Fashioned Cocktails. From the collection of the authors.

Chase cocktail muddlers are 4 inches long and made in polished chromium finish. They are unbreakable and strong enough to stand the pressure exerted on them for crushing fruit in cocktails. The ball tops are finished in red, black, green and ivory composition. Four muddlers in assorted colors are packed to a box. – Chase Specialties Catalog, date unknown

Unfortunately, these sleek little sticks has no designer attribution. A set of four originally selling for $0.75 ($16.00 today), the muddlers are somewhat difficult to find today. Other than the Bakelite knob their only decorative features are concentric circles on the base and two sets of speed lines circle the stem near the top and bottom. When found today the Bakelite knobs has darkened considerably. The green can be almost as dark as the black. And what was once ivory colored Bakelite has turned into a pleasing butterscotch color. Buying a set of these on line will set you back anywhere from $50.00 (in our opinion at very good price) to about $100.00 and sometimes more.

 

Coaster Set

(Pre-1933 – 1937)

The Chase Coaster Set.

The Chase Coaster Set. From the collection of the authors.

Coasters that will not stick to the glass. They may be had in satin copper or polished chromium. Attractively boxed in sets of four. Also sold one dozen to a box. – 1933 Chase Specialities Catalog

With a production life of around five years, these coasters are not too easy to find today. And the satin copper ones much less common than the chrome variety. And that is reflected in the asking price by sellers, ranging from $100.00 for a set of eight on Ebay to $300.00 for six from a dealer specializing in vintage barware for the coasters in chrome. At the time of this writing, no copper ones are available.

 

Danube

(1936 – 1941)

Danube Coaster of the Chase Specialty Line.

Danube Coasters of the Chase Specialty Line.

If the Coaster Set is not easy to find today, the Danube Coasters fall in the difficult to find category. Like the earlier coasters the Danube also had a production life of approximately five years. These, too, were available in polished chrome and copper, with the copper ones being much harder to find today. And to add a set of the Danube coasters to your collection expect to pay a premium price. Currently online one set of five (consisting of 4 chrome and 1 copper) is selling for $300.00, while another set of eight (all chrome) is $250.00.

 

Squeezit Bottle Opener

(1936 – 1941)

Chase Squeezit Bottle Opener.

Chase Squeezit Bottle Opener, a Harry Laylon & Theodore H. Low design. From the collection of the authors.

This very clever bottle opener, designed by Harry Laylon and Theodore Low, works differently from other bottle openers. Standard bottle openers pull the ridge edge out and dent the top of the bottle cap, the Squeezit removes the cap without denting it, making it possible to reuse it. To use it, place the eagle head down over the cap with the beak over one end, then as the name implies, squeeze the handle towards the bottle, the cap lifts off, intact.

Selling for $0.50 in 1936 ($10.85 in 2023) the Squeezit was a bargain. Chase produced this bottle opener for approximately five years, so it must have sold reasonably well, yet it is not an easy piece to find today. But when it does turn up on the collector’s market, it is just as reasonably price now as it was in the 1930s. One can expect to pay in the $10.00 – $25.00 dollar range for it.

 

1936 newspaper advertisement for the Chase Squeezit Bottle opener.

Squeezit Bottle Opener advertisement. New-Journal, August 3, 1936, Pg. 23, Mansfield, Ohio. Image from newspapers.com.

Detail of the bottle opening mechanism of Chase's Squeezit Bottle Opener.

Detail of the opening mechanism of the Squeezit Bottle Opener, showing the Chase trademark impressed on it. From the collection of the authors.

 

Bar Caddy

(1939 – 1942?)

The Bar Caddy by Chase, in its original box.

Harry Laylon’s Bar Caddy for Chase, in its original box. From the collection of the authors.

The Bar Caddy is a combination jigger, bottle opener, corkscrew and ice breaker. The jigger is marked off for measuring 3/4 of an ounce, 1 ounce, 11/2 ounces and 2 ounces. The jigger bottom is extra heavy metal, so you can crack ice cubes with it. The handle is a crown bottle-cap opener. A corkscrew is concealed in the handle, when assembled. – 1942 Chase Specialities Catalog

The later version of the Bar Caddy in its original box.

The later version of the Chase Bar Caddy. From the collection of the authors.

This Harry Laylon design is available in two styles. The handle of the original style featured a smooth pointed end. The later variation featured a flat, ringed end which served as a muddler for making Old-Fashioned cocktails. Also the ribbed band on the handle / bottle opener is higher up on the modified version.

The two styles of the Chase Bar Caddy.

The two styles of the Chase Bar Caddy, the original on the right with the rounded end and the modified version with the muddler end. From the collection of the authors.

Christmas 1939 and the Bar Caddy is introduced.

Christmas 1939 and Chase has introduced the versatile Bar Caddy. Emery, Bird, Thayer advertisement from the Kansas City Star, December 12, 1939, Pg24. From newspapers.com.

The Chase Bar Caddy must have been a very popular and sold well, judging by how easily they are found today. Sales of it continued on into the mid-1940s, beyond the end of the rest of Chase’s Specialty Line. So, either Chase produced so many there was a large back stock or Chase kept making them.

The two styles of the Bar Caddy, one open showing the corkscrew.

The Chase Bar Caddy, the later version open showing the corkscrew. From the collection of the authors.

These days, the Bar Caddy usually sells between $10.00 – $20.00. If it is in its originally box, expect to pay a bit more. The corkscrew was a structurally weak point of the piece and tended to break off, make sure that is intact before making a purchase.

 

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen Guys)

 

Sources

  • Art Deco Chrome Book 2 – Kilbride, Richard J., Jo-D Books

  • Chase Catalogs 1934 and 1935 – Piña, Leslie and Johnson, Donald-Brian, A Schiffer Book

  • Chase Complete – Johnson, Donald-Brian and Piña, Leslie, A Schiffer Book

  • Chase Era, The – Johnson, Donald-Brian and Piña, Leslie, A Schiffer Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help identify our weekend find!

The Freakin’ ‘tiquen guys need your help identifying a weekend find!

 

Chris recently picked up a hallmarked, silver-plate wine / champagne bucket at a local Salvation Army Thrift Store. Very deco in style and very tarnished, it polished up beautifully.

 

 

The elusive silver plate champagne bucket.

The elusive champagne bucket.

 

Handle detail of the champagne bucket.

Handle detail of the champagne bucket.

The teeny, tiny hallmarks are a challenge to decipher. Unfortunately, we are unable to find any  information on them and hope that one of you can assist us.

 

 

We were able to locate the matching ice bucket, sold by Bentleys Antique Shop, London, online store. The description states it is circa 1935 and distributed by Mappin & Webb.

 

 

A similar champagne bucket designed by Luc Lanel for Christofle is a model called “Ondulations” and produced in France circa 1935.

 

 

Due to the similarity between the two, we aren’t sure if our find is English or possibly French in origin.

 

If any of you recognize, can decipher the hallmarks or can offer any additional information on our elusive treasure, we would be most grateful!

 

Thanks for your help,
Chris & Anthony (the Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys)