The auctioneer was being decidedly honest. He didn’t expect the collection of condensed milk containers – however lovely – would sell well or at all. Not a single one had attracted a bid on the auction-house website, he noted nonchalantly, like a man who had accepted his fate.
The owner probably spent $300 to $400 each for some of them, and maybe $30 or $40 for others, he said incredulously.
When I first saw the porcelain containers on the website, I immediately knew what these Victorian-era pieces were. Years ago, this same auction house sold them at good prices. They look like trinket boxes, and perhaps that’s how they could be re-purposed today.
Up to a dozen each had been placed on trays inside large glass cases on a back wall at the auction house. They were off-limits to bidders, but I saw no one asking for a tray to take a closer look. Some were condensed milk containers, and others were condiment servers, according to the auction catalog sheet.
Condensed milk containers were used to hide canned condensed milk on the dinner and breakfast table. It would be crass to have a can of Carnation or Eagle Brand among the fine china. So manufacturers included them in their table settings, matching them with the plates, saucers and cups. There were five pieces in a set: container, underplate, liner, dipping spoon and lid. Most containers were made of porcelain, but some were also made of metal.
The can of milk was placed inside the container on top of the liner. Once the meal was over, the can would be pushed out through a hole in the bottom of the container.
Made by such well-known companies as Nippon, Noritake and Limoges, these containers were popular during the late 19th century and early 20th century in homes of the well-to-do. They were also used to hold jam and were known as jam jars, as the auctioneer mentioned to me.
Condensed milk itself was first used in France in the early 1800s, and introduced in this country by Gail Borden Jr. in the 1850s. Milk was originally delivered fresh but didn’t last long in the absence of home refrigeration. With condensed milk – which was made by removing the water from cow’s milk and adding sugar – folks could keep the milk longer. Border insisted that farmers employ cleanliness methods in their operations, for which his company gained a good reputation. Carnation, another well-known brand, didn’t appear until 1899.
Here are some of the condensed milk containers and condiment servers from the auction:
