This is a continuation of LAST APRIL’s challenge about
HEIRLOOMS. When my sister and I cleaned out our parents’ home, we had to make
many decisions about what to do with all the stuff. Which things are truly
“valuable” and which have only sentiment in their favor? Should we sell it,
keep it, or throw it away? To help ensure a future for our family’s heirlooms,
I plan to leave a booklet for my daughters telling the stories of what they
will inherit one day. (Not TOO soon, I hope!)
is for Glass. I have lots of glass THINGS - glass
bowls, wine glasses, pitchers, relish dishes, candy dishes - you name it. But interesting to me are these
water glasses that came to me from my grandaunt Violetta Davis Ryan. I have 5.
There are more, but my sister and I decided to divide them.
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| Grape and Festoon by Doyle & Co. One glass is Stippled Grape and Festoon |
The pattern is called Grape and Festoon. It dates from
around 1870. Most likely these were made by Doyle & Company of Pittsburgh although
the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company produced the same pattern.
In addition to the water glasses, I have a spooner,
some
fruit dishes,
and what might be considered a celery vase. Celery vase???
 |
| The celery vase is much taller than the spooner. |
I had never heard of such a thing until I started working
on this entry. It seems that celery vases were quite the status symbol in the
late 19th century. While today we often view celery as simply an
ingredient in a recipe or a dieter’s dreaded snack food, Victorian families
regarded celery as a luxurious treat. Celery was rare. It was expensive. Ladies
kept stalks in fancy glass vases filled with water to both preserve AND serve
this popular in-between meals snack. The celery vase eventually gave way to
flat dishes for serving. The prestige of owning a celery vase declined as well.
I don’t care. This glassware is still lovely. Who can
resist rubbing a finger across the design?
Wendy
© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
Never heard of a celery vase so I did learn something new today. The glassware is beautiful. I didn't have fancy glassware like this and the ones hubby's parents had were recently bought (in the 1970s). For the life of me, I can't remember what the company was that they got them from but we weren't interested in them and sold them when hubby was handling their estate.
ReplyDeletebetty
Yeah, I thought it was just another spooner. I'm learning stuff every day, too.
DeleteI've never heard of a celery vase, either. I didn't inherit any old glassware so have no idea if there was anything like this around to split up. Most of my family's things seemed to be silver or silver plated. I've also never heard of a spooner.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Victorians had a spooner but not a knifer or forker. HA HA
DeleteBoth a spooner and a celery vase are new to me too!
ReplyDeleteI read that a spooner was a sure sign of good hospitality. It showed that a hostess was READY to serve her guests on the spot.
DeleteI hadn’t heard of celery vases or a spooner either. Documenting your collection and it’s origin is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from A to Z
https://ayfamilyhistory.com/2019/04/08/g-is-for-gainsborough/
It seems we all got a little education with this one, me included.
DeleteAlthough I have seen both the Spooner and Celery Glass pieces, I had no idea what they were for. I often use mis-matching glassware pieces to hold silverware, napkins and sometimes straws. Celery stuffed with pimento cheese goes on a relish dish. Interesting Victorian history about celery...not going to call it a treat, though.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the trend to stuff celery is what drove the creation of relish dishes and the death of the celery vase.
Delete