Ground to Perfection

 

QUESTION: I love a good cup of coffee and grind my own beans. Today’s coffee grinders are sleek and efficient, but antique coffee grinders had character. Who were the major manufacturers of antique coffee grinders? And when did coffee grinders first appear?

ANSWER: Unlike today, grocery stores in the 19th and early 20th centuries sold coffee only as beans that could be, freshly ground in the store. Originally, all general stores had some sort of coffee grinder sitting on the counter. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, always sold its coffee as beans which could be custom ground according to the customer’s preference.

The Enterprise Manufacturing Company, founded by John Gulick Baker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1864 near Independence Hall, was one of the leading makers of both large and small coffee grinders. The company quickly grew to a huge operation producing everything from barn-door bolts to seven-foot-high, motorized coffee mills weighing almost 500 pounds. The firm also manufactured juicers, tobacco cutters, and Mrs. Potts sad irons, as well as cast iron banks. In 1876, the company received the Centennial Medal for their outstanding contributions to the American public.

General store owners used the Enterprise Model No. 12-1/2 coffee mill for grinding larger amounts of coffee. Manufactured between 1886 and 1898, it stood 42 inches high, had 25-inch diameter wheels and weighed about 140 pounds. It’s main components were of cast iron. Such mills became status symbols for those general store owners who could afford them.

While many of these larger coffee mills sported bright red or green paint, some had other decorations in the form of decals. True to Victorian style, many had gold painted details added to dress them up and give them a more deluxe appearance. Some of these mills also had elaborate flower motifs adorning the wheels to make them attractive for women shoppers.

In the 19th century, coffee grinders made to be used in the home ranged from box-type grinders designed to grind coffee from one-to-four servings to wall-mounted grinders, some of which could hold a pound or more of beans at a time.

Box grinders usually had brass bowls mounted on top of a hardwood or cast-iron box. The crank perforated the bottom of the bowl and would be turned to grind the beans into a drawer below. Not all box grinders were square, but finding a round one, especially in cast iron, can be a challenge for a collector.

In England, Kenrick & Sons was a major maker of box coffee grinders—the oval brass nameplate on the front of Kenrick box grinders makes them easy to identify. Imperial, Favorite, and None-Such were important U.S. brands. And in France, Peugeot Frères made metal and cast-iron box grinders with wooden handles.

The most collectible type of coffee grinder is the wall mounted variety made of cast iron. Some were brass, with clear glass hopper for beans on top, a big crank handle on the side, and a wooden drawer at the base to collect the ground coffee. The Arcade Manufacturing Company of Illinois made a wall-mounted grinder called The Crystal, named for its glass beans hopper and glass grounds cup.

But the Enterprise Manufacturing of Philadelphia made heavy-duty grinders for grocers, retailers, and wholesalers. While many of these wall or table-mounted machines had side crank handles, its largest grinders had handles that attached to flywheels. Some grinders had one wheel, others two.

The most ornate examples of Enterprise grinders from the late 19th and early 20th centuries had eagle finials atop urn-shaped hoppers and a pair of flywheels, all of which would be mounted on a waist-high, decorative cast-iron stand.

Mounting a coffee grinder firmly in place was important enough that even small box grinders had tabs on their bases so the grinder could be secured to a surface. People held Turkish style coffee grinders in their hands. Usually made of brass or enameled metal, these slender, cylindrical grinders often featured detailed engraved designs on their sides. Unlike box or grocery grinders, Turkish mills produced a fine grind, producing a dense, full-bodied coffee, today known as espresso, suited to what many considered an after-dinner beverage.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Roman Arts and Culture" in the 2025 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

A Natural Air Freshener

 

QUESTION: While browsing a flea market a couple weekends ago, I discovered a strange sort of glass bud vase on one of the tables. It seemed to be made of pressed glass and instead of having a foot, it came to a dull point at the bottom. The dealer had no idea what it was. I supposed it could have fit into a wire stand. Can you possibly tell for what this vase would have been used?

ANSWER: The object you saw at the flea market was an auto vase, an early car accessory. Before auto manufacturers first installed air conditioners in their cars in 1939, driving down a road on a hot summer day with temperatures in the upper 90s could be a challenge. In early automobiles, the pungent odor of battery acid mingled with the stench of the sweat from the passengers.

Car owners had no pine-scented cardboard trees to dangle from their review mirrors, and many  desperately wanted a reprieve from the foul smell. The auto or car vase, a term coined by Henry Ford, seemed to be the perfect solution to the problem. As early as 1895, small vases, which held one or two flowers that emitted a sweet fragrance, became the first automobile air-fresheners.

The auto vase was a small bud vase with a bracket that attached it to the inside of the car, either on the dashboard or beside a passenger-side window. Vases came in many designs and colors, as well as in a various price ranges. Not only did they improve the smell, they also added a touch of elegance to the car’s interior.  Third-party glass manufacturers made them from pressed glass, cut crystal, metal, porcelain, ceramic, and even wood, They then paired them with brackets that were often fancier than the vases, themselves. The fixtures could be made of silver or even gold plated.

The porcelain “blumenvasen” first appeared in the U.S. as an optional VW dealer accessory in the 1950s. High-end German porcelain manufacturers produced auto vases that could be clipped to the car’s dashboard, speaker grille, or windshield. This provided owners with the opportunity to personally customize their cars and often displayed either real or fake flowers.

Car owners could purchase auto vases in jewelry stores, auto parts stores, and from catalogs from companies such as Sears & Roebuck. Henry Ford was so pleased with these simple solutions that he offered them in his parts department and added them to his system of mass production. The service these vases provided made them a desirable feature to add to any car. With improvements in car batteries, air-conditioning became standard in many vehicles. But the majority of standard automobiles had them as an option which middle and working class people usually went without. They continued in general use until the 1960s.

When Volkswagen introduced its new water-cooled VW Beetle, the vehicle could be ordered with an auto vase-dealer installed, and as with the old Beetle the auto vase was available through VW parts departments.

Early accessory catalogs illustrated many different types of auto vases that car owners could purchase for installation in their cars. 

Retailers only sold auto vases individually. If a car owner wanted a pair, he would have had to purchase two. It was common to install a single vase on a dashboard or center of the front seat back in open cars. 

Auto vases used in an early automobile needed to be securely mounted. The majority of them had a top end that was designed to minimize splashing out their contents.  Some even had lips that flared inwards providing an edge for water to safely splash against.

Separate brackets, screwed onto the interior of the car, held auto vases in place. To accommodate that bracket, auto vases had an area designed for the bracket to fit it. Most vases had a small "dimple" where a set screw attached to the bracket could be screwed tightly to the vase, securing them from road vibration. Some vases, produced without the set screw dimple, were designed for a style of bracket that held the vase tightly by simply gripping it tightly. There were also other styles of mounting the vases that included spring-loaded caps or something that firmly gripped the vase, holding it in place. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Roman Arts and Culture" in the 2025 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Improving Time

 

QUESTION: My grandfather loved old clocks and had quite a few. My favorite was a type of wall clock that looked like a banjo. In fact, he called it a banjo clock. It was one of my favorites, so when he died recently, I asked if I could have it. However, I don’t know anything else about it. Can you tell me more about banjo clocks and how I can tell the age of mine? 

ANSWER: Though it has become known as a banjo clock, it was first referred to as the Patent Timepiece, according to its inventor, noted early American clockmaker Simon Willard, who created the first one in Roxbury, near Boston, Massachusetts. Willard, originally of Grafton, Massachusetts, patented his clock in 1802. It was the first American 8-day wall clock, the first American wall clock to have the pendulum suspended in front of the weight in the case, and the first American wall clock to have the weight attached to a pulley. He reduced the brass clock mechanism to a much smaller size, thus saving brass which was in scarce supply in the early 19th century. 

He used the shape of a traditional wheel barometer for his clock case which he built by hand, to order. By 1805 the clockworks, as well as standard cases, could be produced in quantity, reducing the cost of the clock. Its small size meant a much lower price of $30, although this was still a large amount of money at the time. 

Because a banjo clock normally lacked a striking mechanism and indicated time only by its hands and dial, some horologists called it a timepiece rather than a true clock.

The banjo-style wooden case usually featured a round opening for a painted dial, a long-waisted throat, and a rectangular pendulum box with hinged door. Reverse-painted panels ornamented both the throat and door, and curved and pierced brass frets usually flanked the case. A finial mounted atop the case usually took the form of a cast-brass eagle or a turned, giltwood acorn.

Below, a narrow trunk, slightly wider at the bottom than the top, protected the weight, and at the bottom a wider compartment contained the lower part of the pendulum. Slender concave metal ornaments connected the three main parts of the clock. The design of Willard’s clock was perfect from the beginning. 

Willard's banjo clock was a lightly built, compact wall timekeeper, about 3 feet tall, accurate and dependable. It was economical to produce, graceful in appearance, and usually lacked hour-striking and alarm mechanisms. Weight-driven, it contained a small brass movement which further reduced its size and weight. The movement had been calculated so that a small drop of the weight—only 15 inches compared to about 6 feet for a tall case clock—would keep it running for 8 days. For ease of maintenance, Willard hung the clock’s pendulum in front of the movement, not behind, as in tall case or Massachusetts shelf clocks, an arrangement that American clockmakers soon widely adopted.

A typical banjo clock featured a white, circular face, painted with black Roman numerals, that flows into a long, tapered neck, which met at a square base. It also featured an elaborately painted hinged door of the base, often painted with a beautiful landscape, a naval scene, or an ornamental pattern. Thin pieces of curved brass often ran down the necks of these clocks, and brass sculptures, most commonly of an eagle, routinely crown their tops.

Willard’s Patent Timepiece revolutionized the clock industry, becoming the most popular clock in the United States. However, he didn’t apply for his patent until 1802, and by that time his competitors had already started to produce clocks similar to his. The clock became so popular that Willard didn’t even pursue these patent infringements. His company eventually produced over 4,000 banjo clocks. 

Willard permitted his numerous clockmaking relatives, former apprentices, and other clockmakers to produce banjo clocks following his original design. Variants of the banjo-style clock made by others include examples with square or diamond-shaped dials, and the extremely opulent, heavily gilt "girandole" style. 

Gideon Roberts, a Revolutionary War veteran from Bristol, Connecticut, made banjo clocks more affordable. He replaced the brass movements with less expensive wooden ones and also used painted paper dials. 

Banjo clocks were popular for 60 years. In the 1840s, railroads began using them at their stations. Some banjo clocks made for the railroads reached a whopping 7 feet high. But by the 1860s, banjo clocks became less desirable, and soon their production came almost to a complete halt.

Unfortunately for collectors of antique banjo clocks, many Willard banjo clocks do not carry their maker’s name, so it’s difficult to identify who made it.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Roman Arts and Culture" in the 2025 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

A Little Box Named After the Roman Goddess of Fire

 

QUESTION: A few months ago, I was out antiquing and came across several little silver boxes in an antique shop. They didn’t seem to have an obvious use, as they were too small to fit much in. The owner of the shop told me they were vesta cases and that they used to hold matches back in the 19th century. One had been decorated in repousse while the other two were rather plain. What can you tell me about these little boxes? Are they worth collecting?

ANSWER: Vesta cases were small portable boxes, made from precious and non-precious metals,  used to keep matches dry and to prevent them from igniting. Usually the base of the vesta case had a serrated edge, known as the striker. The user dragged the matches, called vestas, across the striker to ignite them. And, yes, they’re highly collectible.

Vesta cases first appeared in 1832 when an Englishman named William Newton patented a match he called the wax “vesta.” The vesta, also called a “strike anywhere match,” had a tip of phosphorus and a wax stem over cotton threads. As the name suggests, these matches would ignite when struck on different surfaces, making them prone to accidental combustion. So they needed to be enclosed in a metal case. 

Named for Vesta, the Roman goddess of fire, home, hearth and family, vesta cases often depicted her as the fire in her temple. In the United States, vesta cases became known as match safes because they kept matches safe in a non-flammable case. 

Before the invention of safety matches, matches were often struck on rough surfaces, but they were also highly susceptible to moisture. Vesta cases protected matches from both dampness and damage.

There were three main types of vesta cases—portable pocket vestas, table or mounted vestas, and “go to bed” vestas. Men often hung a pocket vesta from their watch fob chain. People kept a larger table vestas near fireplaces around their homes, as well as by the kitchen stove. And they used a “go to bed” vesta, attached to a chamberstick, to light their way to their bedroom at night. .

Manufacturers made vesta cases from a variety of materials, including silver, brass, tin, gunmetal, nickel silver,  ivory, bone, tortoiseshell, gold, pewter, and enamel. The more unusual materials included leather, wood, horn, and ceramics for table vestas. Wealthy individuals often commissioned custom cases with intricate designs, engravings, or even gemstone embellishments, transforming a practical item into a work of art.

Although most manufacturers produced vesta cases of less expensive materials, most often brass or nickel silver, thus making them more affordable, sterling silver was perhaps the most common material, especially in England. Wealthier users often carried vestas made of  gold or decorated with enamel. More expensive vestas often had a gold wash interior to prevent corrosion by the chemically active match heads.

Silver vesta cases, often hallmarked and intricately engraved, featured repoussé work, , adding texture and visual interest. People could also purchase enameled vesta cases,  adorned with miniature paintings, floral motifs, or whimsical scenes.

Besides being rectangular, vesta cases came in many different shapes and decorations. As well as plain and decorated square, oblong and round cases, many came in novelty shapes. Silver, brass, or white metal pigs with hinged heads were popular, as were vesta cases in the form of Mr Punch, hearts, skulls, books, musical instruments, owls, boots and shoes, bottles, suitcases, birds, ladies' legs, and so on. Sporting decorations were also common, especially for golf and cricket, as were hunting scenes and armorial decorations.

Jewelers often engraved decorations into metal vestas, with floreate patterns the most common, though they sometimes used other techniques, including repoussé and chasing, guilloché, engine turning, cloisonné, cold-painting, enameling and niello for more expensive cases.

Wealthier people commissioned or purchased hallmarked gold or silver vesta cases which a jeweler would often personalize by inscribing their initials in a cartouche on the front. 

As well as being status symbols, vesta case were an excellent form of advertising.  Prestigious companies engaged master silversmiths to craft vesta cases from precious metals to promote their famous brands.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, manufacturers created vesta cases to celebrate special events such as commemorating Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Anniversary or promoting companies, serving as a form of advertising. Vesta cases also promoted  cigar and tobacco brands, as well as commemorated moments in history. Many vesta cases were miniature works of art, with beautiful craftsmanship. 

Manufacturers worldwide, including those in the United Kingdom, in the U.S.A., continental Europe, Japan and Australia, produced vesta cases. Noted English goldsmiths such as Charles Murat, Asprey, Mappin & Webb, and William Neale & Sons and Sampson Mordan, also crafted sterling silver vesta cases for discerning clients.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Roman Arts and Culture" in the 2025 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Gaudy Welsh—Cheerful, Cheap, and Colorful

 

QUESTION: My grandmother loved to collect pieces of china. Among her pieces, which have now been passed on to me, are several brightly colored and decorated ones with a slight copper-like tone to the decorative glaze. Can you tell me what they are and a bit about their history? 

ANSWER: What you have are pieces of Gaudy Welsh pottery. And while some of it had been made in Wales, the majority originated in the potteries of Staffordshire, England. 

American collectors and antique dealers coined the name Gaudy Welsh after World War II. British collectors called the ware Welsh Lusterware, Peasant Enamel, Swansea Cottage, or simply cottage ware, to distinguish it from early 19th-century wares designed to sell to English small town and rural cottage residents.

Gaudy Welsh was inexpensive—pieces sold for pennies—making it appealing to lower and middle-income families. Collectors often refer to it as cheerful, cheap, and colorful. Pottery factories used a variety of ceramic bodies, including bone china, creamware, and ironstone.

Forms include bowls, cake plates, chamber pots, creamers an sugars, cups and saucers, fruit bowls, jugs, mugs, pitches, plates, punch bowls, soup bowls, teapots, toddies, vases, and slop bowls, intended as receptacles for used tea leaves.

Although most manufacturers stopped producing Gaudy Welsh by the 1860s, some continued production into the early 20th century.

Over 150 factories produced Gaudy Welsh pottery, from Scotland's Anderson Glasgow Pottery, to Yorkshires Turpin and Company. However only a small percentage of Gaudy Welsh ware came from factories in Wales. The motif appears to have originated with Llanelly and Swansea. Newcastle and Sunderland firms also made it. The majority of the ware produced by ceramic manufacturers such as Allertons and Copeland in Staffordshire potteries.

Potteries employed different combinations of ingredients to produce Gaudy Welsh. Finished pieces ranged from the least expensive earthenware to cream-ware to ironstone and finally to the most expensive 

Potteries fired Gaudy Welsh ware three times, each at a different temperature. The first firing fused the bodies, and following workers removed any roughness was removed what was then known as biscuit ware.

Biscuit ware provided the surface for decoration. Artisans applied a cobalt blue underglaze, then dipped the pieces in glaze before the second firing or fixing. This glaze provided a glossy surface which decorators then painted with copper luster and enamel colors. The third firing set the luster and colors.

Depending on the sourcing of clay and different recipes used, Gaudy 'bodies' had different thickness and weight, causing it to vary from opaque to translucent. 

Hand painting Gaudy Welsh pottery posed special technical challenges. Cobalt blue was a dirty brown when applied before the second firing which brought out its blue/purple color. Enamels and luster were almost translucent when applied before the final firing. Women and children did most of the decorating either in small factories or in their homes.

Welsh potteries made many Gaudy Welsh jugs in the 1820s and 1830s, causing ceramic historians to believe that they were made in Wales for the local market. These jugs generally included the earliest patterns. The most common tea service pattern was Tulip which had eight variations. This pattern is the best known in Wales. But Staffordshire potteries produced  most of the tea services.

Gaudy Welsh ware had a very specific palette of colors. Its palette included cobalt blue underglaze, with a pink luster that appeared copper when applied overglaze onto the cobalt blue, and russet.

Potters used yellow sparingly or not at all on Gaudy Welsh patterns, shading from a light to lemon yellow hue. Gaudy Welsh greens ranged from pale yellow green to a dark green. Russet or burnt orange ranged from a vibrant hue to a very subtle shading. Incorporated with blue, where the white color of the object was allowed to show in some patterns, revealing a very attractive contrast. Artisans used cobalt blue underglaze over wide surface areas of Gaudy Welsh borders as leaves, panels, vines and stems, for motifs, and as scrolling. Decorators employed pink sparingly. 

Gaudy Welsh ware became known for its large number of patterns and variation of design within patterns. Antique experts estimate that there were 460 different patterns produced. However, some patterns, such as Grape, Hexagon, Tulip, and Vine, had more than one design, and Tulip, one of the most common patterns, had eight variations of design. Different executions of the one pattern weren’t identical as they were individually outlined and hand painted. Ironically, makers of Gaudy Welsh pottery didn’t name patterns at the time of manufacture.

Over time, collectors created pattern names after what the design represented, such as particular flowers. Other patterns had been named after villages and towns in Wales. Pattern names run the gamut---Angels Trumpet, Buckle, Columbine, Feather, Garland, Grape, Oyster, Sunflower, Tulip, and Sea Wave. Most patterns are unnamed. Motifs also could include birds, cartouches, fences, flower petals, panels, and trees. .

Gaudy Welsh designs were vivid and predominantly resemble Asian depictions of flowers such as anemones, poppies, tulips, roses, peonies and cherry blossoms. Some designs were abstract with vertical stripes or lattices. Similarities occurred in a many designs, including panels, cartouches, fences, grape leaves and flower petals.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Return to Toyland" in the 2024 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.