With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and the Depression requiring industrial manufacturers to rethink their business models, many companies began producing inexpensive giftware items. East coast companies including Chase Chrome, Revere Copper, Manning-Bowman, Farber Bros. and Forman Bros. (among others) recruited prominent designers of the period to craft elegant cocktail sets in the “modern” style.
Bauer Pottery and Manning-Bowman Connoisseur Cocktail Shaker (1936)
Many companies created go-alongs for pottery sold in the 1930s, including holders, handles and stands. This ice bucket example features a Bauer Pottery #30 mixing bowl with a copper stand and ice tongs. Manning-Bowman produced the Connoisseur cocktail shaker in 1936.
Revere Copper Company, Zephyr Cocktail Set (1937)
Revere’s Zephyr cocktail shaker was designed by William Archibald Welden. The company produced this shaker with different colored caps, typically red bakelite, green/blue catalin or plain chrome. The shaker is featured with the Cocktail Hour Tray designed by Frederick Press for Revere along with the Welden-designed Empire cocktail cups with red bakelite base, also produced in butterscotch bakelite. This set originally sold for $2.50.