Stir Up Some Fun with Vintage Cocktail Shakers and Barware Cocktails are back in fashion, and antiques and collectibles experts Ralph and Terry Kovel say that vintage bar accessories are more desirable (and valuable) than ever.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - With warm temperatures on the horizon, the perfect complement for those backyard gatherings and dinner parties you’re planning just might be sitting in your grandparents' basement – vintage barware. Cocktails are back in fashion, and antiques and collectibles experts Ralph and Terry Kovel say that vintage bar accessories are more desirable (and valuable) than ever.
Barware has all the earmarks of a classic collectible. From corkscrews and glassware to serving trays and cocktail shakers many kinds of barware are plentiful and readily available. Most valued by today’s collectors are the streamlined and industrial-design shapes from the mid-1930s, considered the golden age of the cocktail.
Also valuable and rather unique are barware items in unusual shapes, barware in the form of animals with the tails serving as corkscrews, miniature cocktail bars that serve as cigarette dispensers or cigarette lighters, cocktail picks in a variety of holders, and cocktail shakers in the shape of bowling pins, dumbbells, penguins and zeppelins. How many other antique items could be this much fun to use?
Tips from the Kovels:
Look for unusual, colorful decorations like sailboats or city scenes. Bar glasses from the 1950s were sold in sets.
Gold or silver trimmed glasses should not be washed in the dishwasher.
Avoid polishing silver by collecting chrome or aluminum martini shakers and ice buckets.
With the recent revival of martinis and wedding season getting underway, why not give the gift of vintage.
Thousands upon thousands of barware items are out there, just waiting to be found. The barware market still has unfound treasures, and the determined hunter can find bargains!
Ralph and Terry Kovel are the authors of more than 95 books about collecting and antiques. Hailed by Parade magazine as "the duke and duchess of the antiques world," the Kovels publish Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles (an award-winning newsletter) and write a syndicated weekly newspaper column distributed to more than 150 newspapers. They appeared weekly on the HGTV program Flea Market Finds with the Kovels. Their popular website with price information is www.kovels.com. The Kovels'
newest book is Kovels' Bottles Price List, 13th Edition, published by Random House, on sale April 14, 2006, for $16.95.
