BUYING COCKTAIL SHAKERS

At one time almost every family in America had a cocktail shaker in the china cabinet, so there are plenty available.  There's a price range for every collector, starting in the $25-$35 dollar range for a mass-produced design in glass or chrome, to several thousand dollars for a rare designer item.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

DESIGN; Figural  designs such as shakers in the form of zeppelin, golf bag, lighthouse,dumbbell, penguin or lady's leg are most valued by collectors. Skyscraper style cocktail shakers are another popular form.

MANUFACTURERS; look for those by International Silver Co, & Manning Bowman. pre market crash (1929) are more valued that those made after this date. Collectors look for Revere & Chase produced in the 1930's. In glass those made by Cambridge & Hawkes are in high demand.

COST; Rarer finds by designers like Norman Bel Geddes, Russel Wright, Kem Weber or Lurelle Guild can run into thousands of dollars.

CONDITION; three words on condition;..condition, condition, condition, shakers in good condition will increase in value, those in poor condition or with dents and missing tops will not. The only reason for buying a damaged shaker is when it has a good clean top that you can use on another shaker.

WHAT TO AVOID.

DAMAGE; dents, scratches, and flakes, major damage all lower value.  Chips.. examine a glass cocktail shaker closely, running your finger over the rim and bottom edge. A small chip can reduce the value by 30 percent or more.

ASK; when buying on e bay, if condition is not fully listed. ASK! any dings? dents? scratches? conditon? anything missing? any repairs? ASK  if there are any splits in the top cap, or spout , these are from metal fatigue when cold forming and are common in vintage shakers & lower the price.

DULL COLOR; when buying colored glas, the more brilliant the hue, the higher its value. Look for bright clear colors in the glass.  Cobalt glass was difficult to make and thus commands the highest prices.

REPRODUCTIONS; Be sure you're buying an authentic piece. Get to know the types of shakers produced by major vintage manufactures.  Restoration Hardware is making shakers today in the form of zeppelins, airplanes, penguins. and we see them on e bay selling for hundreds of dollars, when they should be selling for $29.95.

TO GOOD TO BE TRUE;  do not buy an e bay item off line!! You can make some one an offer to buy off line, or they make you an offer. You send them two thousand dollars for a six thousand dollar cocktail shaker. And never receive the shaker! Don't let this happen to you. 

WHERE TO FIND IT

E Bay is not the only source for vintage cocktail shakers.  Try antique stores, garage sales & flea markets. In going to flea markets get there early; at set up time for the best buys.               

ON LINE; There are some great specialty sites with more than fair prices. Try ..  thejazzage.com   or   cocktailshakers.com    i have done business with both they have outstanding vintage bar ware items for any collector.

FINDING PATENTS

If your cocktail shaker has a patent number on the bottom you can easily find and print out a copy of original patent. All thanks to Google who uploaded seven million patents on their site.. just punch up google & patents.  If you ever tried to search on the government patent site you will be amazed to see how easy this is on the google site.