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Antique Kitchen Sales Archives

            

The Can Opener Collection  I have been buying and collecting these little marvels for a number of years, and should have been looking for antique corkscrews at the same time, but that came later.  I have built up and sold parts of this collection a few times over the years, and basically just concentrate now on the earliest and most elaborate or unusual combination ones, usually dating from well before1900, and certainly made of cast iron as opposed to sheet or formed steel. (There is one steel one in here that I have never seen before---the heart shaped one.)  They are fun to find and can still be found, although not with the regularity of a few years ago.  The "100 year rule" is coming into play with this category of collectible and it will not be much longer before the supply of these earlier mechanical ones is gone completely and you are left mostly with the newer advertising or wooden handle variety that typically are 30 to 50 years newer than most of those pictured here.  The one in the back and the one closest to it on the right ( "The Champion" ) are my favorites, but all are unusual and very hard to find these days.  

A late addition to this collection that was screaming for a place to be with something related, and not just thrown into a box or back into a dark corner on a shelf, is the Jiffy Can / Jar and Bottle Opener shown here on the right and as the last picture.  It is really a neat device, and I am sure that the designer / inventor of this one was associated with cars and hubcaps somewhere in his past.  Take a look.                       Sold as a Lot Only....$1250.00      SOLD 

 

Child-size Wagnerware Cast Iron Waffle Iron  Measuring a mere 3 1/4" across, or 4 3/4" with the base, these child-size waffle irons are a favorite of the forgers, and you see far more of the fake ones with the short stubby handles than you do real ones like this example.  The condition is very nice with smooth castings and clearly marked with a patent date of Feb. 22, 1910 Wagner and Sidney, O.  The other telling feature of the fake ones is the way the bale is done.              Very Good.....$95.00   SOLD 

 

Patented Folding Cast Iron Pie Rack  This is one of the nicest and most unusual patented pie racks we have ever seen.  The decorative casting is wonderful and all 6 of the racks fold up.  The look & feel of this piece is super.  We have several of the more typical twisted wire varieties for sale elsewhere on this site, but this is a piece that you are not likely to run into again.    Excellent ....$395.00   

SOLD 

 

The Triumph Patented Pie Lifter   The condition of this early pie lifter is superb, and the name Triumph and the patent info of April 14th 1868 stamped on the handles is clear and strong.  A collection of pie lifters showcasing their seemingly infinite variety of styles and designs makes for a great display hanging on a country kitchen wall!   Very Good..........$65.00     SOLD 

 

Patented Wood and Tin Mechanical Nutmeg Grater  Nutmeg graters are certainly getting harder and harder to find, so we are happy to be able to offer this one which came directly from a New England estate.  This example is in excellent condition and works perfectly---just pull back on the spring loaded wooden knob to insert the whole nutmeg, then grate away!  I cannot make sense of the numbers "1882" that are neatly painted in gold on the tinware body---it looks to be a date, but the grater is stamped with the actual patent date of Dec. 25 '77, so the 1882 number must refer to something else.  And I have never seen this grater with a black painted body so I assume that was done by the previous well-intentioned collector.  It too was done very neatly and does not detract in the least.                Excellent........$145.00         SOLD 

 

The Pot Lifter / Multi-Tool Collection  Here is an interesting collection of early tools that could be found in the kitchen of yesteryear.  We have been buying such things for many years, and they are genuinely hard to come by after you get the first one or two more common varieties.  These are another example of the 100 year rule of collectibles in action, as we use to see them out and about, and now have not added a new one to this collection in several years.  The last came with a collection of trivets we bought a while back.  I do not expect to ever find one in a shop or at a show anymore.  They just do not come out at the garage sale for those dealers to buy so they can offer them up in their wares.  They are one of the most graphic and yet simple of all the types of tools found in the early kitchen.  I love the way today we are offered devices for the kitchen that will do a host of jobs, i.e. radios with can openers, coffee grinders, knife sharpeners etc all rolled up into one package, and all designed to last no more than a couple of years if actually used.  Well that was not the intent or purpose when these devices were introduced, they were built to last and they have.  It was truly a matter of space and convenience that these were developed and offered to the lady of the house back then.  People simply did not have 500 sq ft kitchens and 60 ft. of upper and lower cabinets to store all their possessions.  There was one cabinet and 1 stack of drawers and a limited amount of space available in that top drawer in most kitchens from that era.  Some of these have so many intended uses that you can lose count trying to figure it out.  Devices such as these made sense, sometimes, and even if they didn't, today they sure make for a great collectible to hang on one of those empty spaces in that oversize kitchen you have.                       SOLD

 

 

The Ice Shave Collection  Here is an interesting collection of pretty unusual ice shaves that we have gathered over the last few years.  We use to buy these for their being part of Kitchen collecting, and then we met a couple of collectors who specialized in buying them and we fed them to them until we parted ways because we stopped doing shows in the east.  Over the years we have sort of lost contact with the first two, and the third guy from this neck of the woods doesn't like to pay much, so they started to pile up in a box in the basement.  We kind of shied away from the standard versions that we typically saw and just bought those we had not seen before, and here is the result of that effort over the last few years.  For the uninitiated, or for those that care, the two in the front with flip tops are pretty unusual.  The nickel plated enterprise is different from the norm as well.  In the back row is an obscure one from CA, and a Griswold which has more meaning and a following in the cookware / cast iron world, and is pretty unusual.  We have had a few other good lookers and as time passes we will add more if we find them, but for now this is it and the price is for the package.     SOLD!

 

Unusual and Ornate Victorian Era Cast Iron Nut Cracker   This exceptional piece of cast iron is unmarked as to maker or patent info.  It has a great look and feel with the cut-out base design it has, and it is a wonder that the manufacturer did not want this info to be a prominent feature of the piece.  It is set up to either be set on the table or mounted on the wall.  A  beautiful, damage free example of a very tough piece to find.            Excellent .....$495.00           SOLD  

 

Patented "George Washington" Lemon Squeezer    This is by far the most presidential and most graphically appealing of all lemon squeezers! George's face is prominently cast into the top, as are 13 stars and the patent info. It took me a while to find the 13th star, but there it is right over his head. The patent date is July 15, 1873, which may or may not have anything to do with George's birthday, or wedding anniversary, or some important date having to do with the Revolutionary War. Perhaps it commemorates the battle of something, or the birth of one of his many offspring! Or the first time he had lemonade....... Or maybe it was simply that the fellow who manufactured it, one G. A. Williams of New York, patriotically identified his own initials with those of the father of our country.  But all joking aside, this freestanding lever-operated lemon squeezer is a great piece of cast iron and is in excellent condition with no casting problems or other defects, and still retains a good portion of its original black japanned finish.           Good+ ..... $295.00          SOLD 

   

 

The John Ladd Clover Ice Cream Scoop / Mold     This rare and unusual piece of ice cream memorabilia did not make it into Smith's book on scoops.  I'm not sure how many different shapes or forms these came in, but in addition to the pictured club, I also own the spade and diamond along with some totally different shapes having nothing to do with the symbols on decks of cards.  As can be seen in the pictures, there are identifying marks on the top of the handle and reference to a patent pending.  I will sell any or all of them for the same price.            Good+ ..... $495.00           SOLD              

Here is an update, I was sent an ad out of a magazine for this device, which pictured those offered, and it appears that they were made special for use in fraternal and social organizations such as the Elks, Moose, Masons and others.  In the picture in this ad there was not a heart shape shown, thus explaining why no one has found one as yet. 

 

The EZY Raisin Seeder    Patented on July 21, 1895,  this unusual version of a raisin seeder is one of the most dainty and fragile of designs.  The patent information, along with the sage advice "Scald The Raisins",  is cast into the curvilinear lever arm.  The idea with these devices was that before the era of the Thompson Seedless, you literally had to squeeze all those pesky little seeds out of your raisins before use.  There were a number of different versions and variations produced, with this style being one of the harder-to-find and certainly one of the most graphically appealing.  There were many patents pulled for various seeders up until the advent of seedless grapes, at which point the lucky housewife got to throw these devices into the back of the drawer, where I found this one last year.  Countless Yankee inventors could now redirected their attentions, searching for the next wave of labor-saving kitchen inventions.  Those that embraced the next new technology of electricity were destined to succeed and prosper, while the gear-and-crank guys got left behind and invariably were soon forced out of business.  Kind of like what's happening in today's world.  This example of yesteryear's necessity has nearly all of its original black japanning, and also has the receiving cup which is often missing.  It is all original and in very nice condition.  Three of the seeding wires have come undone or are broken, but this is merely cosmetic to the overall condition.       Good +......$325.00      SOLD

 

General Electric Hotpoint "Gazelle" Toaster    Often called the Gazelle by collectors, this Edison GE toaster has the great looking 1930's design that combines the flair of Art Deco with the class of Arts and Crafts.  If you look closely at this toaster you'll see lots of subtle details that contribute to its great look.  In addition to the obvious, like the graceful gazelle image, note the stepped design of the side handles, the diamond-shaped cutout vents, and the stepped design of the little feet that lift the base ever so slightly off the table.  Functional features include an automatic timer (which seems operational---when cocked, it ticks), a manual lever to operate the tip-out feature, and a pull-out crumb tray.  This example is sure to be one of the highlights of any early electric appliance collection!   Very Excellent.......$295.00    SOLD

 

 

 Early Patented May 7th 1896 Raisin Seeder  We call this one the running horse seeder, and while it may not be the most mechanically involved of these unusual devices, it is certainly one of the most graphic and interesting designs that was introduced.  Devices such as this were necessary back before the  Thompson Seedless Raisin was developed, and the need to accomplish such a task was finally and I assume thankfully put to rest. Variations on the theme abound, and in the end designs such as those put out by Enterprise that literally squeezed the seeds out between rubber rollers won the day as they are as common today as a bunch of grapes are.  Ones such as this, and the Magic by Antrim, and a few others are a different story though, and are very hard to find.              Excellent .....$795.00           SOLD

 

Quincy Hardware Mfg. Co. Mechanical Popcorn Popper   Designed with an eggbeater-style geared wheel to keep that basket moving back and forth, this super unusual mechanical popcorn popper was granted a patent on May 24, 1892.  More than likely this great invention was thought up by someone who had developed a bad case of tennis elbow from shaking those typical non-mechanical type ones over the fire.  It hails from Quincy, IL and the same company also manufactured a slightly larger model, which I have heard referred to as a coffee bean roaster.  If you need that larger sized one let me know, because it is also available as well.  This one is in nice condition with two very old small repairs to the wire basket which do not detract--if anything they add to the charm and remind me of a darning repair stitch but using fine wire instead of thread.    This is a rare piece at a price that will leave you enough money to buy bagfuls of that spendy "kettle corn" they are selling at all the shows these days---but hurry because I think it's on it's way out already!   Very Good..........$595.00  SOLD

 

 

The Spaulding Food Chopper    This is a very unusual chopper and far rarer than the Starrett that is typically found.  Mr. Spaulding took out several patents for this device, and the action is so much more refined than what Mr. Starrett came up with.  First of all it not only goes up and down, but the arm also moves in a sweeping or slicing motion.  In addition it also incorporates a scraper inside the tub to help feed the material back toward the cutter.  Graphic, fun, and a highly unusual form, all that is missing is the hygienic sterilizer feature.    Excellent.......$975.00          SOLD 

 

 

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