I am starting another new, occasional feature: What to Collect, spotlighting: Collections inspired by your photos, maybe a little bit of the collectible’s history, and maybe a look at the particularly rare or unusual pieces to look for. First up: Anodized aluminum housewares — especially the brightly colored pieces.
I was inspired to go learn more about vintage and antique anodized aluminum by the photo above: It’s from Chicken301, who uploaded this photo of “anodised aluminum planters with succulents” when readers shared 105 photos of their outdoor spaces. Sure, I’d seen colored aluminum tumblers and coasters before — but never planters like these. So pretty — and such an impact when you group them together — this is the secret of displaying collections: Mass them. Anodized aluminum: What else is out there? So I went searching on etsy.com to see what other odd and wonderful examples I could find… what to collect? –>
To start, I searched “anodized aluminum” on etsy… and received just four pages of items in return for my query. I went through the four pages and found a few nice examples of this collectible… but I was not satisfied … and thought there must be more. Sure there was: I searched “vintage aluminum”, and — yikes! — 193 pages came back to me to ogle. I made it through 90 pages and in the process found this:
Above: Smogmaster Ash Tray from VintageCoolETC on etsy.com. Image used with permission. And this:
Above: A terrific wall light with four different color aluminum shades, also from VintageCoolETC. Image used with permission. And this:
Above: And on page 90, I found this — NOS liquor bottle pourers, shining more brightly as an aluminum Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. At first I sent the listing to Cullen, thinking he would love this. But before he could even reply, I had to have these for my own vintage hoard. Score! Will I ever get the guts to actually use them? I think not…they are just too too sparkly….
The history of brightly colored vintage anodized aluminum housewares…
I could not find much about the history of this collectible online. I welcome any readers with knowledge of this collectible to share — and I will add it here.
What are the most collectible examples of vintage and antique anodized aluminum housewares…
Again, I need help on this one. I tend to believe the tumblers and coasters are pretty common and, therefore, not worth a great deal of money. But going through all those etsy pages (and mind you — I only made it to page 90 of 193 before my eyes started to bug out), I was able to spot some pieces that looked “odd” or in particularly good condition that I guess would be worth more.
Blondie7 says
I love love those Anodized aluminum planters…they are gorgeous! I also love love love the Anodized aluminum tumblers. My Beautiful Mom has a set of those phenomenal tumblers and they were always my favorite cups to drink really cold beverages. Love them!
Tracey says
Oh My Gosh! Those planters! They look like “goblets of the gods!”
I would use the smaller ones as punch bowls for retro parties. I can imagine filling the gold one with a Mai-Tai punch complete with an umbrella for a tiki party. The red one would be adorable at Christmas time filled with egg nog. Bet ya Santa would stop by my house for sure:)
RetroSandie says
Pam, I just noticed an item in your Treasury List-the 3rd pic over from the left at the top: that is not a planter! It is a Wilton Cake Pan-there was an insert that sat on that “knob” in the inside bottom of the pan. It was originally for making “doll cakes” and I used it for making many other types of cakes, including an “R2D2” for my son’s Star Wars birthday in 1978 (I believe). I still have that pan! Just thought you might like to know what it originally was used for! 🙂
RetroSandie says
These do make such a colorful collection! I LOVE those planters with the succulents in them. Just beautiful!!! Love your Treasury, too, Pam!!
Kelley says
I would love to be able to get the little knit terry-cloth ‘sweatbands’ that you could put on them to absorb the condensation. Another thing I’ll have to search for!
nina462 says
We just bought a bunch of old aluminum tumblers at a garage sale. What a steal 🙂 We plan on using them on the patio, by the fire pit…anywhere outside. They remind me of my youth – drinking koolaid from them.
elizabeth says
I would like to point out to anyone not bright (like me) that you will be very sad if you happen to put your annodized aluminum in the dishwasher. They lose all that beautiful spun look with bright colors and instead are blotchy, foggy remnants of what once was. BE WARNED!
Annie B. says
Too late! I bought a set of repro tumblers and found this out the hard way. The dishwasher took all the wonderful color off the tumblers and flushed it down the drain.
Nothing but the real deal for me from now on. I do love annodized aluminum anything. Great post!!
Caren says
I have those same custard cups from the wallpaper photo. I don’t think I’ve seen them since.
Chutti says
Yes, I have the custard cups too, but don’t see them out and about.
They belonged to hubby’s mom, and he gave them to me when we were first dating. I knew he was a keeper!
Oh, and I am not a huge fan of drinking out of the tumblers, myself. They just give things a funny taste-at least to me. But I’m alllllll about the serving bowls.
Kelley says
I LOVE anodized aluminum! I have two sets of the tumblers, but not vintage. My mom bought them at Pier 1 back in the late 80s. I use them all the time, and so far, no peeling.
My great-grandmother had a whole set, that she got from her local dairy back in the day. They came filled with cottage cheese, I think. She also had a set of gorgeous frosted glass mugs with copper bands and wooden handles, also collected from the milk delivery. Those are next on my ‘to get’ list!
Wendy M. says
I’m keeping the tumblers in mind as a gift for my mom…she remembers using her grandmother’s set and wants some for herself. However, I was told that the current reproductions available peel almost immediately….another reason to go vintage! Thanks for showcasing some options.