Sunday, January 16, 2011

Marshall Ketchum tells us.

Shape 2360 is called a Grapefruit because the existing factory records in the Rakow archives call it a Grapefruit or more exactly a Grapefruit and Liner. When an item is called Misc. or something similar in Gardner I attempt to find out what the piece really is. We are not always successful but we try.

Then David Donaldson of Orlando, Florida where I suppose they grow grapefruits adds.

The term “Grapefruit” may indicate the use of the piece…..and the body/cup has the shape of a half of a Grapefruit and the size is correct. The insert, I believe would be used for the diner to place the inedible waste such as the seeds and the often time somewhat stringy walls between the pulp wedges. Two cents worth from Balmy Florida.

Finally, Michael Krumme of LA reflects on the hired help.

I believe that I can answer Gerald’s final question. During this era, a number of glass companies (from Steuben down to the level of say, Fostoria) produced a two-piece “grapefruit.” You would serve sectioned grapefruit in the insert, surrounded by crushed ice in the larger footed bowl. Of course, you could probably also serve a half grapefruit in the larger portion, sans ice or liner. However, most of these were rather delicate, and would not likely stand up to the jabbing of a serrated spoon that would be necessary to extract the pulp in each section of the half.

Needless to say, peeling a grapefruit and sectioning it is a lot of work. So this is probably the kind of tableware piece that would be used in a home that had servants, or at least a cook. Or at the very least, a 1920s-homemaker-equivalent of Martha Stewart.

The grapefruits are also similar to other individual serving pieces that date to that era. There are also two-piece dishes which hold a small shallow bowl or tumbler, which was also supposed to be nestled into crushed ice. The bowl would hold shrimp or oyster cocktail, or the tumbler would hold chilled tomato juice.

Wouldn’t it be fun to wake up to a meal served like that? Well, we can dream.

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