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Kitchenalia |
Kitchenalia Message Board
Discuss, Buy and Trade Kitchenalia with other collectors
Kitchenalia
is the recent term coined for the collecting of kitchenware, kitchen
appliances and kitchen equipment. Basically anything useful and
not so useful used in and around the kitchen.
This feature will
highlight a few of the areas of collecting and names and we will
be featuring further areas in future articles and features.
Pictured right is a corkscrew
called "Anna G." by Alessi.
The area is wide ranging from storage jars to kettles, from salt
and pepper shakers to modern design classics by Italian design company
Alessi, and from 50s kitchen styles to bakelite.
 Kettles
Perhaps one of the most enduring pieces of kitchenalia to stand
the test of time is the humble kettle. The onset of domestic electricity
put paid to the maid heating pans of water over a hot stove - instead
one could simply plug in and the use of the basic whistle attached
to the spout would allow the housewife plenty of time to get on
with other chores rather than wasting time watching the kettle boil!
Pictured above left is the world
largest teapot that is capable of holding some 1,024 cups
click
for more on the Worlds Largest Teapot
Top houses would have the best examples designed by the likes of
Georg Jensen who when he died in 1935 was described by the New York
Daily Herald as “the greatest craftsman in silver in the last 300
years”. A Jensen kettle today could cost anything from £3,000 ($5,000)
-£6,000 ($9,000) depending on design and provenance.
Slightly cheaper and from the Arts & Crafts movement which is again
back in vogue thanks to collectors which include the likes of Brad
Pitt and Steven Speilberg, are examples by Dr Christopher Dresser.
Copper examples by this designer were revolutionary in taking a
practical machine like a kettle and making it a stylish accompaniment
to any kitchen. Stark, sharp and stylised handles were Dresser’s
trademark and examples cost £1,000 ($2,000) -£10,000 ($17,000) today.
Cornish Ware Storage Jars
 The
famous blue and white banded pottery was common feature of the British
Kitchen throughout the nineteenth century and in now in the twenty
first century it is as popular as ever. Although many companies
have produced Cornish Ware designs the most famous and collectable
name is that of T G Green Pottery. The actual origins of the Cornish
name lie with T G Green, and although the style has become associated
with the South West of England, it was in fact produced at the T
G Green pottery in Staffordshire from the 1920s. The actual pottery
itself dates back to the late eighteenth century..
Pictured right is a T G Green
jar featuring the word STARCH.
To collectors the names on the jars are of great importance and
with the same jar being worth far more with different wording on.
Common names such as flour, rice, tea are less valuable than rarer
names such as cinnamon and apricots.
Toasters
No breakfast is complete without toast and this traditional meal
has seen toasters develop radically over the years. American mechanic
Charles Sheite developed a spring device operated by a thermostat
which ejected toast at a set time, but many of the earliest models
saw the thermostats fail and is wasn’t until the 1930s with the
Toast-O-Lator that toast could be done without being burnt. Today
with the drive for retro electrical it’s arguably the Duralit chrome
toaster that is the most popular. Whilst it’s extremely expensive
new, older versions which may well need a bit of doing up can be
picked up for around £60 ($90) -£80 ($150).
Alessi
 Italian
design company Alessi specialise in kitchen and household
items such as corkscrews, bottle openers, salt and pepper pots,
cake stands, boxes and containers.
Many Alessi products are based on traditional classic designs, but
many of the newer items being produced combine work of top designers,
humour, and functionality. "Nutty the cracker" (pictured
left) is a great example, designed by Stefan Giovannoni is
a simple nutcracker. Nutty's ears turn to crack the nuts. As with
all Alessi products, the quality is excellent and as the products
are meant to be used it is possible to replace worn parts.
Many of the sort after antiques of today are those items which had
an everyday use. This combined with an increasing awareness of design
make Alessi a potential collectable.
Related
Alessi Feature Article
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