Vintage Kitchen Canisters
June is the traditional wedding month, and in honor of many generations of brides who dreamily set up their kitchens as they began married life, this month’s post features canister sets. Canisters have been standard kitchen items since the mid 19th century. Early canisters were usually tin, and some advertised products. By the first part of the 20th Century, glass and enamel canister sets were popular.
Set of antique (circa 1910) French enamel canisters.
In the early part of the 20th Century, before most kitchens had built-in cabinetry, Hoosier cabinets made life easier for many homemakers. The free-standing cabinets, which also functioned as work stations, were made with flour bins and could be ordered with glass storage jars for other staples.
Vintage Hoosier cabinet jar with green lid. I have a large one like this.
Vintage Jadeite canisters. Anchor Hocking first produced “Jadeite Fire King,” an opaque light green milk glass, in the 1940s. This set, which includes a “Grits” container, surely graced a Southern kitchen.
Vintage cherry design kitchen canisters, cake tins, bread boxes, and more, circa 1940s to 1950s. Photo by Kim on Flickr.
Ransburg Hand Painted Originals ad, featuring canisters and other kitchen items. This looks post-World War II. The company, founded in Indianapolis in 1911, offered a variety of hand-painted metal and stoneware housewares.
Vintage wooden canister set with roosters. Some wooden sets have plastic liners.
Kromex spun aluminum canister set, 1950s. Although Kromex did not produce such sets for very long, many survive. I glimpsed a set in the Turnblad family’s kitchen in the 1988 film “Hairspray.” West Bend made similar canisters.
Turquoise canisters with charming lettering, from the 1950s The pinner who shared this said she enjoys using this set, which belonged to her grandmother. I have seen similar plastic canisters made by Blisscraft of Hollywood.
Vintage metal Decoware canisters. Pink was a popular color in the 1950s.
Black and pink Decoware metal canister set with floral decals. All of this is so very 1950s.
Vintage set of metal Ransburg canisters with a rooster motif. These might coordinate nicely with Pyrex “Amish Butterprint” items.
Another vintage Decoware metal canister set with a flower cart design. I have always liked flower carts.
When I was a little girl my mother had a set of copper-color metal canisters with black knobs and black lids -- probably spun aluminum cased with a copper finish. Each showed a silhouette of the product it held being cultivated. For example, the tea container had an Asian farming scene, and the one for sugar had a man chopping sugar cane. This example is worn, but I had to include it as it has the same design as my mother’s coffee canister.
Franciscanware “Starburst” canister set, with a quintessential Atomic Age motif. This is one of my favorite Mid-Century patterns.
Striking Mid-Century stacking canister set. Note the space-saving design. I can just picture this one in a modern 1960s kitchen right out of “Mad Men,” with a sunken living room nearby.
Yellow Cathrineholm canister set in the best-selling “Lotus” pattern, designed by Arne Clausen, active from about 1962 to 1970. Named for a place, not a person, Cathrineholm is an enamel cookware line by famed Norwegian designer Grete Prytz Kittelsen. Cathrineholm kitchen items are beautifully made, quite functional, and highly sought after by collectors. Although many vintage canisters can be found at reasonable prices, expect to pay more for anything Cathrineholm.
Sears ceramic canister set with a totally 1970s mushroom design. I remember similar sets featuring apples, or friendly green frogs.
1970s Tupperware “Servalier” canisters.
Colorful folk-art inspired metal bird motif canisters, made in Japan, circa 1970s. These remind me of Villeroy & Boch “Acapulco” china.
Early 1980s canister set with a chicken theme -- down to the “hatching egg” knobs and the chicken wire pattern in the background.
I have a set of Princess House “Fantasia” canisters like this. I appreciate that the lids have an excellent seal, and that the clear glass makes labels unnecessary. The pattern features a poinsettia and vine design. (I have matching dishes and tumblers too.) Although this pattern is still active, the canisters sold today have a somewhat different shape. (Also, the dishes now have scalloped edges. I prefer the simpler forms made earlier.)
Canisters are so common a wide variety of vintage sets are available, often at reasonable prices. If you want one, be picky and take the time to find a set you really like. Canisters are both functional and decorative, and most of us have them out where they can be seen, so you may as well look at something that makes you happy. Good examples can be found at yard sales, thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales, and on eBay and Etsy. Some have been re-painted or otherwise refurbished.
If you are going to use vintage canisters to hold staple goods, rather than just for display, look for canisters that are both attractive and food safe. For example, glass, metal, or ceramic can be cleaned thoroughly, while wood cannot, and cracks in any material can harbor germs. Also, check lids to make sure they have a good seal, to keep pests and moisture out.
There are also many new canister sets on the market that coordinate well with vintage items. A good set of canisters will brighten your kitchen and give you years of enjoyment.
For more on antique and vintage kitchen canisters, see this article by Kate Miller Wilson.
