Stories from the Past and Present: The Cookie Jar

At Past & Present Home Gallery, we often come across collections of items that have been brought together over years and years of diligent hunting and collecting and we love bringing those items into our store for the next generation of collectors. We’ve hosted beautiful selections of cruets and Flow Blue porcelain. We've also found themed collections from people who are passionate about roosters, or pigs, or even mid-Century radios. There is one collection that we always seem to add to though, and that is our ever-growing selection of cookie jars. One of the interesting things about cookie jars is that they all have individual stories and it got us thinking, how did the simple idea of a cookie jar come to be? What series of events came together to spark the idea of storing sweets inside decorated, porcelain jars? The story is fascinating:

The Sweetest of Stories: the Cookie Jar

Believe it or not, the idea of the cookie jar extends back all the way to 18th Century England where the shop keepers called them “Biscuit Barrels”. These first cookie jars were mostly shop fixtures that held baked goods in English and American stores. It wasn’t until the Great Depression that the cookie jar started coming into the home.

As the Great Depression changed American home life, families started to bake their own sweets more and more instead of buying them daily from a shop. These baked goodies needed to be kept fresh at home and thus the cookie jar started to make its mark as a staple in the American kitchen. These early domestic cookie jars were very similar to those found in the store and were glass jars with screw-on lids. Brush Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio is often credited with creating the first porcelain cookie jar and their idea created an opportunity that fueled pottery companies for more than thirty years.

From 1940 until the 1970’s the porcelain cookie jar was at its prime both as a utilitarian item and unique collectible. Companies found that jar shapes that depicted figures sold better than those of objects or plain shapes. Because of this, production runs had to change regularly as companies retired one shape so they could launch another. This also made most production runs of a certain shape quite small which led to an increase in collectability. Among the leaders of cookie jar production and sales were McCoy Potteries and American Bisque with Hull as an honorable mention with the “Little Red Riding Hood” being one of today’s most famous cookie jar shapes.

Today, cookie jars are still a nostalgic reminder of a way of life from long ago and are still collected by some individuals. And most cookie jars come with their own, unique stories. Come in to Past & Present to browse our selection of vintage cookie jars and possibly add to your own collection. While you’re here, check out all of the new items in the Diva Den, too.

Can’t wait to see you at Past & Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!

Stories from the Past and Present: Fenton Baskets

As we experience the warmer temperatures and sunshine of what we hope will be the spring season, our attentions turn towards the bright colors of flowers and the smell of fresh soil. In our store, Past and Present Home Gallery, we are excited to see all of the new spring items start to arrive—like our amazing, found-object garden art and cast-aluminum statues. This year something else has caught our attention as well: Fenton art glass.

Fenton art glass has been one of the many staple items in our store and we love hearing the stories from long-time collectors and other customers who appreciate the beauty of art glass. Recently, we stumbled upon a very interesting piece of information about Fenton and the artisans responsible for creating one of their most recognizable pieces: the glass basket.

Handled with Care: Fenton Glass Baskets

It has been said that the Fenton Glass Company is one of the longest running glass manufacturers in the United States. Founded in 1905 in Ohio, the Fenton company began its work by painting glass banks created by other companies and in 1907, Fenton began manufacturing its own glass. In the late 1930’s Fenton’s glassworks surged in new directions as they experimented with exciting designs including the Fenton basket.

Creating a basket entirely from glass proved both to be an artistic and manufacturing challenge. The artisans at Fenton set to work coming up with new pattern and color combinations while also problem solving their way through how the baskets themselves would be put together. Attaching the glass handle to the base of the basket became one of the most difficult procedures Fenton had ever tackled. The artisan had only 30 seconds to manipulate the hot glass material into its handle shape and attach it to the basket. It was difficult, but possible. Fenton collectors loved them and the baskets were a market success. Then, in the 1950’s, Fenton company President, Frank M. Fenton, and Vice-President, Bill Fenton, developed the idea that each artisan should have his own, unique stamp applied to every basket handle he attaches so collectors could better identify which artisan created which piece. If one looks closely at the basket handle where it meets the base, you can see the mark of the artisan responsible for attaching that handle. Using the official Basket Handler Marks section on the Fenton company website, you can then identify the name of the artisan and his employment dates at Fenton.

This basket handle was most likely attached by Robert Oliver, Sr. who worked for Fenton for almost 40 years.

Robert Oliver, Sr. 1957-1995

Yes, we ran around the store and matched as many of the handler marks we could. The process gave us an even greater appreciation for the dedication of these artists and their work. Come in and browse through our collection of Fenton as well as our other beautiful glass pieces including stained glass lamps!

Can't wait to see you at Past and Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!

Meet the Characters: Pantograph Stencils

It’s no secret that Past and Present Home Gallery has hosted some very interesting antiques and rare finds over the years. Everything from jail doors to giant, cast aluminum pigs have been in our show room. You can browse for hours in the Man Cave and discover all sorts of odd and unique treasures, not to mention the prettier treasures you can find in the Diva Den. Everything has a story and we’ll be the first to admit that finding a vintage item with an interesting story grabs our attention like a child picking up a shiny penny. But what if the history behind a rare find is supposed to be secret?

The Secret of the Symbols: A Vintage, Pantograph Stencil Set

Earlier this year we discovered something truly unique. We knew it was for printing and we knew it was interesting, but that was about it. After several hours of researching and re-researching, we unearthed part of a story: this little wooden chest with its numerous pull-out trays was actually a pantograph stencil set.

The pantograph stencil method of reproducing an image or document can be traced all the way back to a man named Christopher Schiener in 1603. It is a simple method that uses a compass-like contraption with one needle and one pen. The needle traces the lines of a stencil while the pen traces the same image onto a piece of paper in a smaller or larger scale. This type of reproduction was used throughout numerous crafts and trades including sculpture and creating currency as well as the creation of official documents.

By AlphaZeta - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16115008

The pantograph stencil set at Past and Present Home Gallery was probably used for the creation of certificates and includes one rather unique stencil that depicts the compass symbol used by the Free Masons and the three links symbol used by the Odd Fellows. As odd as that may seem at first, the more research we did into the simultaneous use of the symbols, the more we learned that it is common that both Fraternities appear together. The Free Masons and Odd Fellows are founded on complimenting values and principles which often led to members of a community being a part of both organizations. This gave way to the paring of symbols and, in some communities, even the sharing of lodges and halls.

While we may never learn which lodge or hall this specific stencil set was used in, if it was used officially or for an individual, or even exactly how old it is; we are glad to have shed some light on its rich history.

Come in to Past and Present Home Gallery and discover this, and many more unique treasures throughout our store. Also going on now is our bedroom furniture sale. We have a large selection of vanities, chests of drawers, and dressers on sale—some up to 35% off! Can’t wait to see you at Past and Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!