Shown with closed Three Mountaineers Spice Cabinet.    Cabinet partly open.

I'll say one thing about the folks at Griffith Labs - they were prolific. In the twenty or so years these jars were in production (late 1930's - 1950's), the design was changed several times which kept them looking fresh and appealing. As for sets, rack mounted white milk glass jars were available in sets of eight, twelve, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-two and twenty-four. Rack mounted or clear jars in a cabinet were available in sets of twelve and twenty-four. I've seen other quantities listed on e-Bay selling with and without the racks. According to their website, before World War II the racks were made of plastic. During the war, they were made of wood and after the war wood/metal combination or plastic again. Following is a quote from the Griffith Laboratories website, used with their permission:

"Around 1939, senior management wanted to make the Griffith Laboratories name familiar to the general public. The company came up with an imaginative and highly successful idea. Griffith created a set of twelve high-quality spices, each in its own stylishly designed, gleaming white glass jar. Each jar was sealed with an airtight cap with a convenient sifter top beneath. The [original] set of 12 spice jars, which came with an attractive plastic rack, contained allspice, celery salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, garlic salt, ginger, dry mustard, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper, poultry seasoning and roast meat seasoning. The company, concerned about contamination from mold and bacteria, used a revolutionary proprietary purifying method to make sure the spices were clean, safe and pure. Sold through the home furnishings departments of Marshall Field's, Macy's and other fine stores, the Griffith spice set was successful immediately. Over the years, Griffith updated the design and introduced bright colors to coordinate with the popular color schemes of the time. When the supply of suitable plastic declined dramatically during World War II, Griffith changed the display rack material to wood. After the war, inexpensive and moldable plastic became available and a fresh design was created. The company used polystyrene, a light and sturdy plastic that can be molded into virtually any shape, for its new post-war rack design. [text redacted]...We don't manufacture or sell our spice sets anymore. But we honor them as an important part of our history."

Spices: Names / Quantity / Suggestions

The list of original spice names are above. More available spices in the tall and short white jars include: Allspice, Anise, Bay Leaf, Black Pepper, Caraway Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Celery Salt, Chili Seasoning, Cinammon or Ground Cinammon, Curry Powder, Dry Mustard or Mustard Flour, Epicure Salt, Garlic Salt, Ground Bayleaf, Ground Cardamom, Ground Cloves, Ground Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Marjoram, Paprika, Poultry Seasoning, RoastMeat Seasoning, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, White Pepper, Whole Cloves. Some of these are only available on the very old sets with the paper half moon labels.

Clear spice set names gathered so far: Anise, Bay Leaf, Black Pepper, Celery Salt, Celery Seed, Chef Seasoning, Chili Seasoning, Coriander, Cumin Seed, Curry Powder, Dill Seed, Epicure Salt, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek, Garlic Salt, Ginger, Marjoram, Meat Tenderizer, Mustard Flour, Mustard Seed, Nutmeg, Onion Salt, Oregano, Paprika, Parsley Flakes, Poppy Seed, Poultry Seasoning, RoastMeat Seasoning, Rosemary, Salad Herbs, Sesame Seed, Steak Seasoning, Sweet Basil, Thyme, Turmeric.

And, as I find more names for either set, I will add them. Most of these spices are still available in your local grocery store or on the internet. For those that are not ( such as the Epicure Salt), you can have fun making your own blends.

Description of Jars

 L to R: #1-back of 4-1/4", #2,3,4- fronts of 4-1/4", #5,6- front and back 3-1/2" #7- front of clear 3-1/2"

The standard heights are (1) 4-1/4" tall with the lid on, 4-1/8" tall without lid and 1-3/4" square or 3-1/2" tall with the lid on and (2) 3-1/4" without lid and 1" square. White milk glass Griffith spice jars for sale here on e-bay have been described in several different heights including 2-3/4", 2-7/8" 3", 3-1/2", 4-1/8", 4-1/4", 4-3/16 and three widths ( 1', 1-1/2", 1-3/4") in clear and white milk glass. The jars themselves seem to have a pinkish, bluish or grayish cast to them that is probably related to the time frame in which they were produced ( pre and post World War II). I've also seen a drop dead gorgeous set in a milk chocolate brown color with brown or copper lids. Speaking of lids, colors seen so far are yellow, beige, black, red, turquoise blue, pink, pale Jadeite green, dark green, white and medium blue. The lids on the shorter clear jars were silver, gold, black or copper. Label colors are clear and yellow on the front and "white but yellow-ing from old age" on the back. Hopefully info from Griffith Labs will help collectors to know which colors are original and set a standard for buyers and sellers. But, in the meantime, these four milk glass jar designs are most commonly seen on e-Bay:

• plain (no columns) front, backs and sides which are usually found on the 3"or 3-1/2" jars (#5 in photo above);
• plain (no columns) front and back with two long vertical bars and one short horizontal bar on each of the sides usually found on the 3-1/2" tall jars (#5 in photo above);
• two short raised columns on the front and four raised column on two face sides, with two raised bars and four raised columns on the back where the descriptive label fits usually found in the 4-1/4" tall jars (#3 in photo above);
• four raised varying height columns on three face sides with two bars and two columns on the back where the descriptive label fits - also usually found oin the 4-1/4" tall jars (#2 and #4 in photo above.)

Front label Styles

 Front labels styles for Griffith spice jars.

So far, I've seen one paper label style, three painted label styles and three different methods of application:

• (oldest) front: yellow paint with black text, rounded half moon atop a long front label. These labels appear to have been applied by a special two step manufacturing process or painted by hand. Found on 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars (#3 in photo above.)
• white (or yellowed from old age) paper with black text - a rounded half moon atop a long front label. These labels were probably applied with some type of durable glue.  Found on both 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars (#3 in photo above.)
• clear front label with a rounded half moon atop a long front label that appears to be hand applied and fired by a kiln. Found on both the 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars (#1 in photo above.)
• clear front label with black text decorated with curves and flourishes. These labels were hand applied and fired by a kiln. Found on both the 3-1/2" or 4-1/4" tall jars (#2 and #4 in photo above.)
• the 3" clear spice jar has a white painted graphic of a housewife performing various chores. All of the printing on these is white. There is no back label/text on these jars. ( see #5 in photo above.)

Although the design on the front and back of the various size jars differ, both of the front label designs on the taller jars are about the same length and width minus a millimeter or so. All of the back labels appear to be the same size.

Back labels

  Back label on all 4-1/4" jars.      Back label on 3-1/2" jars

Back labels on the taller jars are small, rectangular and centered between two horizontal bars. The short jars have no horizontal raised bars. So far, I've seen only an off-white or "yelllowed from old age" paper label on original bottles - no clear back labels. These were probably applied with some type of durable glue. Although the design on the back of the two jar sizes differ, the size of the back labels appears to be about the same.

Side labels

Some of the older jars also included a 3/8" wide, 3-1/2" long narrow paper label set in between the columns on the left or right side with more detail about the spice. Usually, because the jars are handled by the sides, these labels are long since gone. Of the 100 or so jars I've handled, there was only one with this label still intact and I did not take a photo. If I can find another one, I will add its' photo to this guide.

If you are interested in refurbishing a set of jars or adding to your collection, check out my e-Bay Guide for Refurbishing Griffith Spice Jars. http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?EditProductGuide&guideId=10000000004057923&UserContentStateId=1&siteId=0 and my guide with questions from/ answers to other Griffith spice jar collectors here: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?EditProductGuide&guideid=10000000004064121

Visit this guide again for more historical details.  I hope to get more info about the original jars from Griffith Labs including original dimensions, lid colors and label styles and the year in which each was made so that buyers and sellers will know what is historical and what is not.  In other words, there is more to come... :-) 

If you found ths guide helpful, please take a moment to say "Thank You" by casting your "yes" vote below.  If you still have a question or need info about Griffith white milk glass spice jars that you don't see above, drop me a line. I'll try to get an answer for you. I love to hear from other people who love these jars, too!

(c) 2007 -- Blessings to you from an avid Griffith Spice Jar Collector/User...