Is it a genuine vintage McKee? Or is it a worthless modern day reproduction?

McKee produced many range shaker sets in a variety of styles for several kitchen range manufacturers from the 1920's onward into the early 50's. You could buy a new kitchen range from Hot Point or Tappan as well as other manufacturers and included with your new appliance, often with their own "cubby hole" for handy storage would be a "Range Set" (thus the name) of shakers. Each quite useful when cooking at the range. Generally these sets have far outlived the original range.

The McKee "Roman Arch" style range sets have been quite popular, being highly sought after by collectors. These were produced in sets of four, consisting of a Salt, Pepper, Sugar, and Flour shakers. Originally the Roman Arch style came in two colors, white, and a yellowish off white called "Custard."  Some of the earliest set's were marked "Patent Applied For" on the bottom. Other sets from the 20's, 30's and 40's simply had a large circle on the bottom.  The familiar "McK" mark or parts of it can sometimes be seen in the center within its own circle..

Originally the script writing, (fired on, never a decal) spelled out each word, "Flour," Salt," etc. Later issues, in keeping with the changes of fashion, included a stylized "S" or "P" in capital letters in table settings consisting of just the Salt and Pepper shakers. In addition to providing range manufacturers with items, McKee sold Roman Arch shaker sets as parts of other McKee manufactured kitchenware glass items as well. Often these sets included such items as butter dishes, mixing bowls, ice box (before refrigerators) storage containers, and the like.  Sometimes these kitchenware settings also contained other motifs such as a chef, or red or black sailing ships, dots, both black or red and even a rare green, as well as a variety of other designs. 

In the 1940's post-Art Deco era, other colors were introduced including Black, Yellow, Red and Green with these colors being fired on over white milk glass.  The Black sets were made with dark amethyst glass as well. During this time, a "Drippings" jar was also introduced with the same style script writing. This was a response to the need leading up to and during WWII to have American and allied households save bacon grease and the like to be recycled for use in explosives manufacturing.

You can easily find both individual Roman Arch shakers as well as sets on eBay. They are a popular item with collectors and can add that just perfect touch to a homey retro kitchen. That same popularity has also spawned a spat of far east imported reproductions (usually listed as sets, but not generally as individual shakers) being offered across internet auction sites as well.

You can spot the reproduction pieces easily enough if you know what to look for. The reproductions have a flat, smooth bottom, unlike the McKee bottoms described above.  The originals are approximately 4 1/4 inches high including lid, though a few of the later brightly colored or motifed  Roman Arch McKees (such as those made for Tappan Ranges as an example) are a bit shorter. The reproductions measure from about 3 1/2 to 4 1/2  inches high and have somewhat of a "squat" appearance, especially in the "neck" area of the shaker. The lids also appear flatter. Even the script lettering appears "compressed" when compared to the originals.  The glass is cheap, breaks and chips easily whereas the originals were made with a more expensive harder, heavier glass. Each original shaker weighs in at a hefty 8 ounces, 2-4 ounces more than the reproduction pieces. While sometimes nicked on the bottom corners, the originals have held up quite well, after all, many of them are now over 75 years old.
 
With the exception of some of the bakelite lids on a few of the shorter Roman Arch shakers, the original genuine metal McKee lids have 15 holes and generally show at least some wear, including a small dent or two and even sometimes a bit of corrosion, especially on the salt lid. They are made from tin. In contrast the reproductions have 19 holes and the lids appear quite new, shiny. The metal is thinner than the originals and appears to be aluminum.  The reproductions often have a mold seam running up and down on the Roman Arch side where the originals contain no such seam marks, though the originals do often have slight imperfections or lines in the glass called "Straw Marks."

These reproductions often come in sets of six or eight or more with a variety of labels including such items as "Ginger," "Nutmeg," "Paprika," "Garlic," "Basil," Oregano," "Cloves," "Seasoning," "Rosemary," "Parsley," "Thyme," "Oregano," and "Sage," along with other spices and herbs, all of which were never included by McKee in the original Roman Arch sets. The reproductions also come in a variety of colors including white, a soft blue, a light pink, a shade of soft pale green often labeled as "jadeite" or "jade-ite" or are sometimes labeled as "slag" glass. The real Jadite color used by McKee, Jeannette, or Anchor Hocking is a deeper green. While there are genuine Jadite and Delphite (blue) McKee Roman Arch shakers, they are extremely rare and thus are not ubiquitously paraded day in and day out on on-line auctions. The reproductions also have, unless it has been removed, a "Made in China" sticker on the bottom. These reproductions have even been blatantly listed as "McKee" or "McKee style" in the listing title, description, or category.  McKee is a brand name, NOT a style.

If you are after a genuine McKee then shop carefully, pick from a reputable seller. READ the feedback, don't just look at the numbers. Seeing what BOTH sides have to say about a dispute can often be very telling. Are there complaints from previous buyers as to authenticity?  Watch for other red flags such as private feedback, (If they were actually selling the real thing, then why the need to hide?), disclaimers as to the item's age, collectable status, listings stating "Mint" condition, (not surprising since as a modern times repro it IS brand new), etc. Keep an eye on the displays to the right of this page, where you will often see both genuine and repros shown.  By choosing carefully you will then have years of enjoyment from your quite old and genuinely authentic but still very useful McKee Roman Arch Range Shaker Sets.

Best of luck to you.