Category: Serving sets

What are some odd utensils for the kitchen that you might run across?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Kitchen Items, Serving sets, Tips for the beginner, Victorian eraLeave a comment

It does not take long in the world of antiques and collectibles for you to run across a weird utensil for the kitchen.  Here are some of the oddities that you might run across:

Cake Breaker—this is a multi-pronged metal serving piece that looks like a large comb.  It was primarily marketed as a way to slice a delicate cake without putting any undue pressure on it.  Items like Angel Food Cake are one of the items that you would use this on.

Oyster Server—this has an edge that looks like a circular saw edge.  Items like fried oysters were extremely popular at the turn of the 20th century, and this popularity demanded that this type of food get its own server. The Oyster Server’s jagged flared edge helps to gather small, lightweight food.

Lemon Forks—these tiny forks were usually used for lemons that were served with seafood or tea. The tines are sharp and splayed outwards to grip the tough lemon rind.

Victorian Folding Fruit Knife—in the Victorian era, fruit was considered a luxury because shipping it was very hard if not impossible in some cases. Men carried these fruit pocket knives to display their economic stature.  These have a small blade that is the perfect length to cut fruit.

This is only a few of the odd utensils that you will run across for the kitchen.  What have you run across?

Great examples of glassware serving pieces that you can find

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Functional items, gift ideas, Glassware, Serving sets, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

When it comes to finding serving pieces for the table, you can find some great glassware items in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  Tumblers, creamers and even plates are only a few examples that you can find.

One terrific example that you can find is this milk glass creamer.

1

Not only is it made out of milk glass, this terrific 1930’s creamer also sports a silverplate handle and spout.  To make things even better, it has a hand painted and embossed floral motif on it.  You can see this creamer in my Etsy shop here.

Another great serving piece that you could find is this great nut dish.

2

This great nut dish was made in the 1950’s by Westmoreland, and it sports a light blue satin mist color.  The dish also has an enameled floral motif on it, and it could also double as a candy dish.  You can see this dish in my Etsy shop here.

Cruets are perfect for your favorite salad dressing, and they can also be great to display on any table.  This pair would be perfect to do both.

3

This pair was made by Hazel Atlas in the 1950’s, and they sport a frosted look with a hand painted floral motif on them.  You can see them in my Etsy shop here.

As a matter of fact, you can see all of the great glassware serving items in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

Grab yourself a cup and saucer, it’s tea time!

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Functional items, gift ideas, Pottery, Serving sets, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

One of the areas that you can dive in and have a lot of fun collecting are cups and saucers.  They come in a wide variety of makers, sizes and even decoration.

Some of the materials that they could be made of are glassware, pottery or even fine china.  They could be decorated with just about anything–flowers, people and even outdoor scenes are just a small portion of what is out there.

Hocking Glass, MacBETH-Evans and even Royal Doulton are but a tiny portion of makers that have made cups and saucers, and there are many more.

One cup and saucer set that you could run across is this great Depression Glass example.

As you can see, it sports the CHERRY BLOSSOM pattern and is by the Jeanette Glass Company.  It was made from 1930 to 1939 and can be found in my Etsy shop here.

Hand painted examples are always fun for me, you will never find two that are exactly alike.  One cup and saucer set that fits in this area is this one by NAPCO Pottery.

This set features a yellow floral motif, and it dates to the 1950’s.  You can see it in my Etsy shop here.
Wedgewood also made several examples, and one such example is this terrific Mulberry handle less cup and saucer from the 1800’s.

It sports the WASHINGTON VASE pattern, and you can see it in my Etsy shop here.

There are quite a few ways that you can collect cups and saucers.Not only can you collect cups and saucers by the pattern that is on them or the manufacturer, you can also find examples that could go with a certain color combination that is in your house or apartment.

You can see all of the cups and saucers in my Etsy shop here.  Head on over and check them out!

What are some of the different types of plates that you will run across?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Beginning to collect, Glassware, Pottery, Serving sets, Tips for the beginner, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!, Vocabulary WordsLeave a comment

One of the first auctions that I attended, I found out that there are different types of plates when it comes to a set of dishes.  Here are some of the more popular ones that you will run across:

Dinner Plates—they are flat and usually round (there are other shapes like square out there).  Dinner plates range in size from 9 ¾ inches to 11 inches in diameter.

Salad Plate—these are also known as a side plate.  They are flat and usually round and range in size from 7 ¾ inches to 8 ¾ inches in diameter.

Bread & Butter Plate—these are also known as a dessert plate or even a cake plate.  Like salad plate, this type of plate is flat and usually round.  They range in size from 6 inches to 7 ¾ inches in diameter.

Luncheon Plate—they are often confused with the dinner or salad plates.  Luncheon plates are flat and usually round, ranges from 9” to 9 3/4” in diameter.

This is only a sample of all the different types of plates that you will run across.  What other types of plates have you seen?

What are some of the vintage serving pieces that I may not find on today’s table?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Serving sets, Tips for the beginner, Vocabulary Words2 Comments

Over the years, there are new types of serving dishes that are introduced, and then there are times when a certain piece from a dinner set for the table that may fall out of favor.  What are some of the pieces that have fallen out of favor over the years that may not be on the table of today?

Cheese dish—this is a covered dish meant to store and serve a whole piece of cheese.  The bottom of this piece is a little larger than a butter dish, and you may see a small cutting board in the place of this today.

Cream soup dish—this is a two-handled bowl that comes with its own saucer and is meant to serve bouillon, a soup or even consommé (a clear soup made from a rich stock).  This type of dish could be confused with a sugar dish without the lid.

Aspic servers–these are used to serve aspic, which is a clear jelly that is made from broth. Generally, aspic is used to accent the serving of meat, and it is a lot like cranberry sauce. The aspic server has a curved and sharp end for the cutting and serving of aspic.

This is only a small sampling of what you can find.  What have you run across?

Ever see a Victorian Red Tomato Server?

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Serving sets, Silverplate items, Victorian era, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

At a local flea market, I ran across a box of spoons not too long ago.  When I started looking through them, I found quite a few utensils that really got my interest.  The Victorian Era was pretty interesting when it came to the serving pieces that were made, and one of those serving pieces was in that box I bought.

That piece is a red tomato server and is marked WM ROGERS MFG ORIGINAL ROGERS.  The server has the LA FRANCE pattern and dates to the early 1900’s.

tomato server

Here’s the kicker—there are two different types of tomato servers.  There’s one for red tomatoes and for green.

There’s a big difference to the server, and it’s that the spade on the green tomato server is not perforated. The red tomatoes can be juicy, so the perforations lets the juice drip through.  Green tomatoes are not nearly as messy so you don’t have to worry as much about spilling tomato juice on the table cloth.

spade

A modern twist on this type of server is that you could use the green tomato server to serve fried green tomatoes.  You can see the red tomato server in my Etsy store here.

What kinds of Victorian serving pieces have you run across?

Memories of childhood

On By wisdomlaneantiquesIn Serving sets, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage!Leave a comment

Summer vacation, bicycle riding, a game of baseball in the empty lot at the end of the block, and even a tall glass of Kool Aid are just some of the great memories of childhood.

Who didn’t love to down Kool Aid—whether it be a cool drink or a Popsicle that mom made from your favorite flavor?  I loved it when my mom made Kool Aid ice cubes to go along with the grape Kool Aid she made.

I recently ran across a red Kool aid pitcher and tumblers set at a recent estate sale that I attended.

Kool Aid set

This set was made in the 1980’s by Tupperware, and it has a pitcher and two glasses in the set.  There are plenty of memories that come flooding back when you see this terrific Kool Aid set that has a pitcher and matching tumblers with the face of the Kool Aid man on them.

kool aid pitcher

kool aid tumblers

You can see this terrific Kool Aid set in my Etsy shop here.  What is your favorite flavor of Kool Aid?