January Things, Country Diary, Open Salts

Well, nearly the last of the Christmas goodies...

My Emma Bridgewater Robin in a Snow Storm mug will be around for a few more months before hiding in the closet for a few months.

It was a gift a few years ago, and we LOVE English Robins!

This is an annual holiday addition to the house... Walker's Ginger Royals Shortbread.We love shortbread, dark chocolate and ginger, so... a winner!

They are a bit rich, so good thing we usually only get them this time of year!

And I haven't shared from Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady yet this month...

I love the January page with the Blue Tits... another favorite English bird...

Lately I have been getting to, listing and selling quite a few open salts, salt cellars or salt dishes lately on Antiques And Teacups. 

So...where do you park you chewing gum at night?????

Your rings bedside?

Your teabag in the kitchen???

If you are looking for a stylish receptacle, try an antique open salt, salt dip or salt cellar. This little cutie above is from Canada, or so the authors of the great open salt reference book 5,000 Open Salts: A Collector's Guide by Wm Heacock and Patricia Johnson inform us. This little salt was made around 1900. Cute for being so old...and in great shape, too!!! I should be in such shape at over 100 years old!!!

This is a great reference book, and it is almost impossible to find such comprehensive information online, so good, old style guides are a must really!

I've been talking and answering questions about affordable collectibles lately, and open salts definitely fit that category. They are small, still practical and useable and pretty affordable as collections go. The above pair of luster oval open salts is from Noritake, Japan from the 1930s...

Open salts really came into their own during the Victorian era, when gadgets and accessories were all the rage. This set of cut glass salts dates to 1920s, and are considered art deco...

This set above is an English Victorian era cut crystal set we recently sold...

This blue and white Blue Onion porcelain double salt is from the 1940s and comes from Czechoslovakia...

And that is part of the fun of open salts, because they have been made in almost every material imagineable... from rock crystal, cut glass and moded or pressed glass to wood, hotn, all metals, pottery, and basically, you name a material, there was an open salt made!

And lots of fun figural salts... like this Bird And Berry which was made by McKee Glass in the 1890s, and then reproduced in the 1960s from the same molds. The only way you can tell, is by the colors basically.

Lots of various transferware patterns as well. Almost all complete dinner sets from the late Victorian era until the 1940s included open salts.

Open salts were also popular in combinations of materials... like this 1930s Arr Deco set with cobalt glass liners and silver plated holders I recently sold.

Anyway, open salts can be used as a place to park your gum, a place for your rings or for a bit of sauce at the dinner table. They also make great teabag holders. As I'm a fan of tea, that's a definite plus!

Hope you are enjoying Hot Tea Month! I am, but that's nothing new!

Raising a cuppa!