When you’re sorting through all the items and paraphernalia from an estate, what do you do with the outdated vintage kitchen items? Do you keep them? Sell them? Recycle them?
Before you toss those vintage kitchen items in the trash can or ship them off to the thrift store, take a look at this list of collectible kitchen items — the list just might surprise you.
Cast-iron
Cast iron items endure, both in a physical sense as well as in popularity. Durable cast iron kitchen items — Dutch ovens, skillets, or griddles, for example—are a desirable collectible because they combine utilitarianism with beauty, lending a feeling of wholesome homespun strength to any collection. A quality cast iron object in good condition may have years of usefulness ahead of it, and it’s possible to restore some pieces of cast-iron cookware even if certain types of damage have occurred.
Pyrex kitchenware
Thanks to its assortment of patterns and colors, vintage Pyrex kitchenware is a treasure trove of fun for collectors. There are casserole dishes, mixing bowls, baking dishes, and refrigerator dishes in all manner of sizes and in hundreds of patterns. Although highly collectible, most pieces of vintage Pyrex are reasonably priced due to their widespread availability. But the rarest pieces of vintage Pyrex in specific patterns can command very high prices due to their desirability among die-hard collectors.
Advertising
While perhaps not the type of kitchen item that immediately springs to mind when you think “collectible,” forms of vintage kitchen-related advertising are actually quite sought-after. Magazine ads, fruit shipping crates labels, tins, containers, posters — if it’s related to an appliance, a food brand, or a kitchen gadget, these colorful vintage items bring a taste of the past to the contemporary kitchen. Some collectors specialize in a particular brand name while others focus on a wider genre.
Pie birds
Not your average kitchen collectible, but oh-so-much fun! Pie birds are ceramic bird-shaped objects that are placed on pies, allowing steam to escape during the cooking process through a hole in the bird. Charming and cute, a collection of pie birds doesn’t require much space for storage or display; they’re also found in a variety of types and colors which makes them even more fun for collectors. (There are even non-bird pie birds; among the cutest: elephant-shaped pie birds. Adorable!
And the list goes on …
Other vintage kitchen items that are also collectible: cookie jars, canning jars, salt and pepper shakers, candy molds, textiles, kitchen utensils, rolling pins, and much more. So before you dismiss these vintage items as hopelessly outdated, be sure that there isn’t an interested collector just waiting for an item like yours!
