What vintage items related to food or eating do you collect?

Do you frequent thrift shops or ebay to collect some kind of vintage items like pyrex, ball jars, certain dishes, etc.? I mention this because of all the stuff that is made in China now and really you can find some nice vintage things that are made well right here and they are made in the U.S....they might not be even that old but they might just be used. I recently bought 2 blue vintage ball jars that are very pretty for a few bucks and I was also looking for a flat cake plate. I found one that was perfect at my local thrift shop for 2 dollars. Also old pyrex can be nice and better than new as the new is brittle. Please share your collections and findings.

I love old community cookbooks. None of these professionally done things...give me the ones that look typewritten & mimeographed, credit each recipe to Mrs. [husband's first name] Last Name, have recipes with steps like "Combine 1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup, 1 can water, 1 can navy beans and 1 can string beans, etc." Great kitsch value, terrific insight into another time and place, and sometimes you find some fantastic recipes!

I have a few of those. In fact I have the old Bohemian Cookbook from the Masonic Lodge in Lawndale. I really treasure that.

On another note, I went to the Wise Penny today and I saw a few useful items there. Not really collectibles. Some nice drinking glasses that were heavy glass not like the thin things that will break now days. Also jello molds. Not everyone likes jello but some do and it hard to find a mold. I saw a pottery bowl that was nice and signed by the artist for three dollars. An apple and potato peller gizmo. A springform plan. Several useful glass bowls. Its good to check these places as it helps the environment, it provides for charity and it keeps us from buying more junk from China. Some of this stuff is perfectly good. I donate things there every week that I am getting rid of.

I cannot resist "Cinderella bowls"-- the ones with handles that are like pour spouts on either side.

http://www.corellecorner.com/quick-ques ... -name.html

Also custard cups and salt-and-pepper shakers that look like beer cans.

Jen

Well I learned something new today. I had not heard of Cinderella bowls. Interesting. My mom has a piece of old pyrex that is a zodiac casserole. A real odd piece.

Its not particularly pretty but sure is odd. Take a gander at it.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/61821810/py ... ith-warmer

I like Fire King glass bowls with lids. Also pie plates, which are also the lids for some of the bowls.

I also collect Foods of the World cookbooks but now I get most of the missing ones on Amazon for a few dollars. I have various china and silver collections and some depression glass. I also have an italian pottery collection. I have mostly stopped aquiring anything else and I am trying to get rid of stuff. I now only buy if I really need something. Hence the two dollar plate.

Bottlecaps. I'd like more vintage ones!

We also have some fire king baking dishes that are painted with fruit on the outside that are nice.

Do people still collect beer cans, or is that hobby restricted to teenage boys? When I was a child in the 70s, a friend's older brother (who was maybe an older man of 14 or 15) had a huge beer can collection, largely thanks to his father, I assume.

Thinking back, it was kind of fascinating because he collection was substantial--several hundred different beers & bottles. (Who could forget such classics like Pink Champale?)

On occasion I'll see a beer I haven't seen or thought of for >30 years and I'll have flashback's to sitting in my friend's basement surrounded by shelves of her brother's beer can collection.

I'm sure people still collect them but I have not seen much of this on line. I usually frequent ebay and etsy for my vintage scores. Sometimes Ruby Lane.
Just today I bought some Noritake sauces to add to my china collection where some were missing.

My everyday dishes are Corelle Crazy Daisy (aka Spring Blossom), a pattern introduced in 1972 and was around until the mid-80's. I think some relative of mine had them when I was a child, so when I moved out on my own a few years ago and was looking at vintage Corelle online, I was instantly sentimental and was drawn to it. I started collecting it online and I have plates, bowls, coffee cups, saucers.

I have this Fire King bowl, too.

ETA: Oh, and I have a couple of vintage Betty Crocker cookbooks, a 1975 Red Pie edition and a 1978 edition.

My everyday dishes are Correlle too. I think they are called Expressions. I have bought extra pieces on line. They are plain white with afluted edge. I'm glad folks are finding a way to reused things and an appreciation for vintage stuff. There are some very cool pyrex patterns that are vintage. Some are kitschy, others look quite contemporary. Here is a link.

http://www.pyrexlove.com/vintage-pyrex-pattern-guide/

toria wrote:My everyday dishes are Correlle too. I think they are called Expressions. I have bought extra pieces on line. They are plain white with afluted edge. I'm glad folks are finding a way to reused things and an appreciation for vintage stuff. There are some very cool pyrex patterns that are vintage. Some are kitschy, others look quite contemporary. Here is a link.

http://www.pyrexlove.com/vintage-pyrex-pattern-guide/

I'm drooling over all the fun designs! My grandparents have the Snowflake Blue dishes. I must resist the temptation of eBay!

Yeah its hard to resist. I saw the Zodiac pyrex casserole today at the Wise Penny, I think it was marked eight dollars. I did not get it because my mom has one. It could be sold for more on ebay or etsy. I love the look of Black Tulip. I also love Pink Gooseberry but it matches nothing in my house.

Not me personally, but in the family: half-pint glass milk and cream bottles from every State; Eastern European metal commercial spice boxes and cans (some fantastic graphics).

At this point in my life, most of the things I acquired new are now vintage items.

LAZ wrote:At this point in my life, most of the things I acquired new are now vintage items.

Yes, I found this out when I innocently went online to pick up more cranberry-colored Pyrex for my pieces bought during the '90s. It might pay for my some of my retirement in 20 or so years.

I like the little Fire King bowls. I also have three sets of 1950s aluminum with copper-colored top sugar/flour/coffee/tea canisters that I store various things in.

Cast Iron dutch ovens and skillets; Weber kettle charcoal grills ( I have 5, one blue, one green, three black).

Foley forks but I don't have any yet.

Carbon Steel Knives:



And yes, there are a few stainless steel thrown in there too. But the carbon takes an edge that's sharper and stays sharp way longer than the stainless. Most of these were purchased second hand. A little tarnish never hurt anyone.

I collect Lobster plates.
Specifically Plates that you can hang on a wall with pictures or sculptures of lobsters that are preferably red.
I even painted my kitchen cabinets red to better match the collection.
A bit over the top maybe, but I like it, and that's what counts...

Dolls made from old metal spice (or sometimes tea) tins.
Spice dolls on the windowsill by yooperann, on Flickr