HISTORIC COOKIE JARS
Consider the case of Andy Warhol. Some people would call him a compulsive shopaholic but his case is very interesting. He had shopped on for a collection of 175 different Cookie jars. He bought them at shops, flea markets; anywhere he could get a unique piece. He preferred Cookie jars made from ceramic. Most people judged he was crazy. Then one day in 1970 his unique hobby was realized by a magazine that made it into a story. Later, there have been many cases of cookie jar collectors and enthusiasts. Andy had said about them that he liked them because they were an example of art beyond timeline and society. The whole collection later was valued at $250,000 at his house auction.
The usefulness of the cookie jars would begin almost with the invention of cookies. So it is difficult to trace who invented them as also the where and the how of it. Many believe that this form of artistic expression bloomed even during the time of the Great Depression; which shows the value it holds in common households. ‘Cookies’ hold a special place in American household and therefore the cookie jars get the ultimate attention. They are safety deposits for cookies like bank lockers are for money and jewels. And it took an obsessed fiend of cookie jars to tell us about their importance.
Technically speaking, cookie jars were preceded by biscuit or snack jars which later acquired special status due to the likeability of cookies. As most other things in US which are borrowed from England and then extended, this is another example wherein the English style of storing biscuits and snacks was made into a specialty in the United States. A famous pottery company in the US took this American obsession rather seriously and therefore successfully produced the 1st ever commercial Cookie Jar. This early incidence in Ohio was followed by a wave of manufacturers running a race to innovate and design the greatest cookie jar, as if. This movement of sorts gave rise to a richly designed and archaic mass of specialty cookie jars and American innovation was born again.
In the recent past, Cookie Jars by McCoy, based in Roseville in Ohio, were known to be at the top of the collector’s lists. These valued items were produced between 1939 after the initial furore till up to late 80s. On the collector’s list was one particular designed named “mammy” along with various other jars designed by McCoy for storing vegetables and other collectables. Many other younger companies used the latest fashion and crazes in the American society which they inscribed wonderfully on their cookie jars and made a hefty sale of them. E.g. there were some with cartoons, musical notations and what not.
Such is the importance of cookie jars in American evolution, that we could put on a table all the cookie jars manufactured in particular times and we could see clearly how and what inspired the people in those times.
The usefulness of the cookie jars would begin almost with the invention of cookies. So it is difficult to trace who invented them as also the where and the how of it. Many believe that this form of artistic expression bloomed even during the time of the Great Depression; which shows the value it holds in common households. ‘Cookies’ hold a special place in American household and therefore the cookie jars get the ultimate attention. They are safety deposits for cookies like bank lockers are for money and jewels. And it took an obsessed fiend of cookie jars to tell us about their importance.
Technically speaking, cookie jars were preceded by biscuit or snack jars which later acquired special status due to the likeability of cookies. As most other things in US which are borrowed from England and then extended, this is another example wherein the English style of storing biscuits and snacks was made into a specialty in the United States. A famous pottery company in the US took this American obsession rather seriously and therefore successfully produced the 1st ever commercial Cookie Jar. This early incidence in Ohio was followed by a wave of manufacturers running a race to innovate and design the greatest cookie jar, as if. This movement of sorts gave rise to a richly designed and archaic mass of specialty cookie jars and American innovation was born again.
In the recent past, Cookie Jars by McCoy, based in Roseville in Ohio, were known to be at the top of the collector’s lists. These valued items were produced between 1939 after the initial furore till up to late 80s. On the collector’s list was one particular designed named “mammy” along with various other jars designed by McCoy for storing vegetables and other collectables. Many other younger companies used the latest fashion and crazes in the American society which they inscribed wonderfully on their cookie jars and made a hefty sale of them. E.g. there were some with cartoons, musical notations and what not.
Such is the importance of cookie jars in American evolution, that we could put on a table all the cookie jars manufactured in particular times and we could see clearly how and what inspired the people in those times.
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