Last week I went to a rummage sale. Anyone who knows me is now saying “gee, that’s hard to imagine.” Boy, they sure can get sarcastic. But then, admittedly, I do go quite often.

I came across one of the neatest salt and pepper shaker sets ever! It is very ‘art deco’ and features a bell hop! He is made of metal and wood and he is carrying a pair of glass shakers (most likely meant to resemble luggage.) Now while it is true that I have several collections going, salt and pepper shakers are not one of them. But this one was so darn charming. I ran to my s&p “Bible” is Salt & Pepper by Gene Florence and Published by Collector Books. I was unable to find the exact one but there were some really unique examples inside. They gave me ‘food for thought’ if you’ll forgive the pun.

There were some neat advertising ones such as the Campbell’s soup kids, the Tappan (range) chefs, Millie and Willie, penguins for Kool Cigarettes and a large group representing Mr. Peanut by Planters. Certainly conversation pieces on any table.

I also discovered some adorable animals, and especially liked the ‘huggers’ which included bears by Van Tellingen, and ‘green huggers’ marked Japan. Again, some cuties for your dining pleasure.

There were also ‘jungle animals’, including giraffes with necks that were intertwined, and monkeys hanging from a tree. Awww!

And of course, the seasonal shakers. Mr. & Mrs. Claus, Christmas Trees, Snowman and Tree and the like. Even one with a pair of gingerbread cookies!

Many of these make good sense and are delightful ways to serve your best guests. But then I came across a section called “anthromorphic” and found rather unusual characters. The folks with teapot-heads are almost scary. And those veggies with distorted faces, yikes!

And check out the “appliance section.” Did folks really sprinkle spices onto their food with a wash machine and dryer or TV and stand?

I also found a pair of carpet sweepers, which I understand would usually contain dust bunnies, doesn’t that sound yummy?

You might want to rethink using these shakers when Great Aunt Leona and Great Uncle Harry come to visit. It’s hard to believe she would not frown upon her hubby gleefully using these boobs to enhance his food! And he’d probably handle them a lot longer than a ‘hugger-bear’ set.

But even those are surpassed. Consider using this pair of “commodes” at the table. Pass the toilet please, I need to put some contents on my spaghetti!

I know there are a lot of collectors out there moaning and saying these are for display only. But did the original makers intend that or were these just ‘for fun’ at a table? In any case, I enjoyed my perusal of the book and will keep my eyes open for even more unusual sets.

I welcome hearing from any collector with a bizarre example, a pair that can ’spice up’ my blogs and your dinner table.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 4:01 am and is filed under collecting fyi, decorating, flea market finds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.