Lucy Ricardo’s Canister Set in the “I Love Lucy” was one of the latest on the market in 1951 when the series launched. Made by Nesco, you can see them in the kitchen scenes of the “I love Lucy” set of the apartment in 623 East 68th St. in New York City, for the entire series until the Ricardo’s moved to Connecticut. In the screencaps here you will notice the kitchen props included four nesting canisters and a matching bread box plus a pair of cylindrical salt and pepper shakers.
The first Nesco ad for the product range featuring the distinctive floral nosegay decal was advertised as designed by the famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy.
The Nesco “Nosegay” canisters seen in the 1949 ad was a white set with red trim and red knob and had a different bread box to the one seen on the show. In the early 50’s the set was made in other colors such as the yellow square breadbox seen here, with a with flip down lid just like the one on the show.
Vintage 50’s breadboxes and canisters can occasionally be found online and at garage and estate sales. Look for Nesco or similar makes to recreate the look. Nesco also made a set with the “Garden Girl” decal.
Places to look for vintage canisters and breadoxes:
I found a shabby old breadbox and canister set to restore in the style of the “I love lucy” set :
I don’t really get why you are still telling us that the nesco canisters were yellow. I am just sorry to say that you painted them in yellow wrongly I don’t even know where you get they were yellow. I visited the I love Lucy Museum and asked to the staff up there and it appears that they have there the original ones used in the kitchen they recreated for the public and they are PINK, pale Pink, not yellow, not white…Pink! Just Google I love Lucy museum kitchen….Hope not a lot of people repainted them in yellow because you thought they were….
Hi Sebastian,
Here is link to picture comparing the pink set at the museum to the set on the show. you will see that the square breadbox does not match the one on the show. http://www.50slucy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/compare.jpg
The set of breadbox and canisters on the show were made by Nesco. I based the yellow color of the breadbox I painted on a vintage Nesco 1950’s Breadbox found with the same floral decal as seen on the show. You can see the old yellow canister set I found here: http://www.50slucy.com/restoration-project-lucy-ricardos-breadbox.html. I did not state anywhere that the set on the show was yellow. We know from vintage examples and ads that Nesco made their canisters in a limited range of colors so we know from evidence that they did make a yellow set and a white set, I have also seen Nesco canisters in beige but not in the pink with a floral decal on them.
Hi Patricia, So we will never really know what was the color of those canisters then… 🙁 Just bought some to restore too and really wanted to give them the right color used in I love Lucy. 2 decals are in great coloring condition but the other not so much. How did you make yours? Have you got them somewhere to print? Thanks for your reply. I am so sad that the museum may have lied to me…
Hi Sebastian,
It has been reported by someone who was on the original set as a child that the I Love Lucy kitchen was painted in greys, which could also mean the same greyish beige color that was used for the living room set ( as seen in the rare color footage on youtube). The colors of the Nesco canister set made at the time could have been either white, yellow or beige based on example I have seen – there may have been pink but I have not yet seen any vintage examples. Here is a link to round beige set on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Vintage-Canister-Set-Like-I-Love-Lucy-Lucille-Ball-Collectible-Prop-Alike-/181312404154 I think beige is very possible, white would look very bright under the studio lights so I think white can be ruled out – the yellow might also have looked too bright but Im not certain of that. I drew my own version of the decals.
I think the person you spoke to at the museum probably believed what they told you,the items at the museum create an impression of the original but since the original sets did not survive it cannot be an exact copy. I also notice that the flower decals on the museum replicas do not exactly match the vintage canisters we have seen.
link to a 1949 ad showing Nesco colors in use on kitchen canisters – there is white, yellow and an orange red color
https://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-magazine-ad-advertising-print-1949-NESCOMATIC-COOKING-NESCO-COOKWARE/132490060196
Here is an example of a pink Nesco box but I have never seen this color with the floral picture on it.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-nesco-pink-confetti-metal-117039393 if you ever see one with the same flowers please let me know.
Hi Patricia,
Yes I think you are right they were probably beige or ivory (mine are) as the fridge looks so white, the canisters and bread box were then probably beige..cream..ivory and not white so I will restore mine in that ivory color…Right now looking arround to get the bread box…not so easy so far…will send you some pictures of my little collection so far…the nesco canisters, the fostoria candy dish, the bicycle canasta playing cards, the Mirro-matic Percolator, and the accent salt and Pepper shakers…
The beige color canisters I have seen all have a yellow handle on top, my cansiters also have the yellow knob on top which makes me think my old cansiters were not originaly yellow but were painted over when I found them so I might repaint mine too sometime.