Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Vintage Cake Carriers: Taking Your Cakes And Pies On The Road

The Origin Of Cake Carriers 

What is the difference between the term "cake carriers" and "cake savers" or "cake carriers"?
A  few years ago I wrote about this topic in an article called "Cake Savers Are Popular in Today's Kitchen". At that time I wrote in my post that I often see the names of these kitchen housewares used in a similar fashion, sometimes referred to as cake savers and at other times cake carriers.

Cake Carriers And Cake Savers
Yummy shabby chic vintage cake carrier!

But. today I was looking through some materials in my files and discovered more information on the origin of "cake carriers".  Cake carriers are designed to take cakes from one place to another.

Vintage Cake Carrier Combo Carlton 1916
It is generally thought that women carried cakes to social functions such as church suppers or picnics etc.

Therefore "cake carriers" were different than cake holders (or savers) which were kept on the kitchen counter to keep cakes fresh.

Vintage Cake Carriers Have Wire To Hold Parts Together

Cake carriers have several parts: a metal bottom tray,  a metal cover with a knob and  an outer wire bracket with a handle which keeps the parts together and also allows for carrying the cake. Some cake carriers have more parts with additional trays to carry cakes and pies together at one time.

The Glass Knobs On Cake Carriers Are Glass Cabinet Pulls

Vintage Red Tin Lithotgraph Cake Cover Serving Tray Carrier Glass Knob
Another tidbit I came across was that the glass knobs on the early cake carriers were from the  same companies that made kitchen cabinet pulls and were used to match the kitchen.

Vintage Shabby Black Tin Painted Cake & Pie CarrierCake carriers came in different sizes to hold more than one cake or pie.  One important point to rmember is that if you are buying these housewares, think about whether they have all the parts.

Readers if you can add to this discussion, please post yuor comments, thank you.

Green cake carrier combo was made by Carlton and was featured at http://www.etsy.com/shop/cynthiasattic

The other cake carriers were found on Pinterest.com

Refernce: "Bake And Take" by Cathy Cook, Collectibles Flea Market Finds Magazine.


C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists

2 comments:

  1. Love these Dianne. I just sold one that I picked up at a thrift shop. Thought about keeping it for myself though!

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  2. Hi,

    I have one of these that I was researching for my Etsy shop and found the actual patents through Google's search. My patent numbers were different than the ones listed on Cynthia's carrier. I thought I'd share a link since there's a lot of detail about the Carlton cake carrier and the handle:

    https://www.google.com/patents/US2031577?dq=2031577&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1DFgVOHTG4TqoASFwIHoAw&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ

    You can click Carlton's name and see both patents. Thanks for sharing your information :)

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