News-Antique.com - Jun 06,2008 - In a time when the kitchen stove was always hot, cooking something for breakfast, lunch and supper, it didn't just keep those old kitchens warm. It warmed the hearts of families all across our country as mealtimes were a chance to bond, share and spend time with family. Those traditions are our history and culture. Maybe that is why there is such an appeal for kitchen collectibles. They remind us of simpler times, family and memories that we carry with us from our childhood days.
People who have never collected antique and vintage items because they thought it was too expensive, might be surprised. Prices can start from as low as $3.00, for example, to start a collection of syrup pitchers or kitchen utensils. You can start out simple and as your collection grows, expand to the more unusual syrup pitchers or utensils. I started my own collection of syrup pitchers years ago. When my kids were small, there wasn't a lot left over for extras, so I couldn't really collect the antiques I desired. I started, though, with syrup pitchers, not only because of the affordability but because of the memories. I always remember my grandma making me pancakes and having syrup in, what I thought as a kid, were "fancy glasses with handles". I still have my syrup collection today but have been able to add nicer pitchers to the collection, some with bakelite handles, others with sterling silver tops.
Another one of my favorite kitchen collections was started because I've always loved country primitive furniture. The early butter churns, which were usually three gallon in size and made in the mid 1800s, remind me daily how hard families had to work in those days to make something as simple as butter! Maybe that's why when we see dresses from the 1800s they are in such tiny sizes. Those women had to work hard! In the early 1900s, you found butter churns made out of stoneware, some stamped with the Red Wing mark.
The same principal was used here, churning the three gallon crocks with a wood handle with both hands. After the early wooden churns, things got a little better when churns were made from glass and a handle could be cranked with just one hand instead of both.
Today old wooden butter churns and crocks will cost you a bit of change. Back in the 1800s, you could purchase them for a couple of dollars, according to the old Sears & Roebuck catalogs. Today, you are probably looking at a couple of hundred dollars depending on the type and condition of the churn. The glass jar churns though, can be purchased from around $80 to $150 depending on the churn, whether the beaters are wood or metal.
Yelloware bowls are another good collection to invest in and fun to collect because there are so many varieties and differing prices to choose from. Between the 1830s and 1940s, yelloware was found in most kitchens across America. It
