Kitchen Utensil Handles Differ In Color, Material

This straining spoon is 12.75 inches long and has a green wooden handle. It is typical of the 1930s. From The Complete Book of Kitchen Collecting.

The handles of utensils can give a collector a clue as to the age of the piece. Iron handles are found on many of the pieces of the 1800s. By the early 1900s, however, other metals were substituted that could be kept clean more easily.

Synthetic plastics such as bakelite were the “in” thing of the 1920s and early 1930s. Plastic utensil handles in shades of yellow and orange were popular.

Wooden handled utensils, usually painted in green or red, were preferred in the 1930s and 1940s.

By the 1950s, kitchen utensils with newer plastic handles in a variety of colors and patterns to accent the kitchen were being sold. These were often decorative enough that a hanging rack for display was sold along with sets of utensils. There is little collector demand for these late utensils yet.

Probably nothing has been more destructive to kitchen utensils than the harsh detergents of modern dishwashers and very few homemakers wanted utensils that they couldn’t wash along with the rest of the dishes. Therefore, it is unusual to find any utensil with its handle in excellent condition.

You’ll find values for utensils in reference books on kitchen collectibles, including The Complete Book of Kitchen Collecting, by Barbara Mauzy (Schiffer Publishing.)

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Buster Brown Popularized Comic Strip
Valentines in 1905

By the late 1800s, America’s enthusiasm for sending valentines had reached enormous proportions. This, in turn, created a demand for inexpensive ones; the elaborate lacy creations were fine for sending to one’s sweetheart, but not affordable to send to all one’s friends and family.

The first “cheapies” were printed on a thin cardboard and illustrated primarily with children and animals. The size ranged from a small 2” x 2” to a large 6” x 9”. The images tended to be unimaginative, however.

This changed in 1905 when the Raphael Tuck company contracted with Richard F. Outcault, the creator of the comic strip character Buster Brown and his gang, to use Buster Brown, Mary Jane and the dog Tige on a series of valentine cards.

Buster Brown, although he’d only been around since 1902, had quickly become a favorite with comic strip readers and by 1905 was already being used to endorse hundreds of products.

Tuck’s Buster Brown valentines flooded the dime stores, and they were so popular that ever since, comic strip characters have been important stars on “cheapie” valentines.

The earliest Buster Brown valentines have a 1904 copyright. They were also sold as valentine postcards.

In 1909, Tuck marketed two sets of valentine postcards, each with 24 different cards. They retailed at two cents/card or three for a nickel. Two additional series were marketed in 1911.

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G. Washington Memorabilia Made
For Over 200 Years

For almost 200 years, February 22 was celebrated as the birthday of George Washington and February 12 as the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Those of us of a “certain age” remember the days in elementary school when there was always an art project to be accomplished for each of these two holidays.

The George Washington art activities tended to center around the story of his chopping down the family cherry tree and confessing to it with his famous “I cannot tell a lie.”

And one could almost count on a cherry pie at home for the family dessert that day.

Today, Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays are grouped with those of all the other presidents and we celebrate President’s Day in February. Somehow, it doesn’t have the same feeling. (In fact, it seems to be just another 3-day weekend for many people.)

However, collectors can still accumulate and enjoy the articles from the past that were made especially to celebrate “George’s Day.”

George Washington died in 1799. During the next century, countless mementoes were made in honor of the “Father of our Country.” Portraits were not only painted, but done in needlework. They were often done by young women to give as gifts on Washington’s birthday.

In 1824, a silk umbrellas was offered for sale, with the likeness of Washington on the handle. In 1844, blown glass flasks were made with his likeness on one side.

The cherry tree legend was well established by the mid-1800s, and the cherry tree was often incorporated into Washington memorabilia. An example is a quilt made around 1850 with a cherry-tree motif.

Later in the 19th century, the lithography firm of Currier and Ives produced several George Washington prints, including “General George Washington” and the “Death of Washington.”

The country’s centennial in 1876 created renewed interest in patriotism and with it, numerous souvenirs depicting Washington. There were mugs (souvenir mugs have been around for a long time!), fabric handkerchiefs wit Washington’s likeness, sterling silver spoons with busts of his head, pressed glass bread plates, medals, pins and, of course, postcards.

A new wave of Washington collectibles became available in 1899, the 100th anniversary of his death.

By the early 20th century, items for decorating at home were available - in addition to those wonderful art projects the children brought home from school. There were papier mache candy containers shaped like hatchets, cherry tree stumps and Washington on a horse; cookie cutters shaped like hatchets nut baskets decorated with cherries and ice cream molds.

For on-going use in the home, there were large items such as cat iron andirons, doorstops and bookends, banks and trivets, all with Washington’s likeness.

Another batch of memorabilia appeared in 1932, the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth. Pins, badges, buttons, frosted glass plates, transfer printed china plates and glass flasks, all with his likeness were added to the growing volume of Washington memorabilia.

George Washington memorabilia still continues to be made. The biggest challenge for a collector in this category is limiting his collection. There is just too much to collect it all.

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