Lucy pours Ricky’s morning coffee from her Automatic Percolator
Here is a typical breakfast set with Lucy in her apron pouring coffee for Ricky in a scene that is representative of the typical 50’s housewife, although Lucille Ball with her heavy work schedule had little time for domesticity in her personal life. She is holding an electric coffee percolator, an affordable aluminum model that could be found in an average American home, at a time when the percolator was ubiquitous, well before dip coffee makers came along to dominate the home market. Continue reading Lucy’s Automatic Coffee Percolator→
Screen Capture of I Love Lucy blooper – Camera Operator on Right of Screen
I found this Blooper shot when making a screen capture at the beginning of the I Love Lucy episode “The Business Manager”. To the right of the shot we can see a member of the production crew, possibly a camera operator. To see this you have to pause the action at the very beginning of the first scene.
Griffith Spice Rack in Desi and Lucy’s kitchen at homeLucy’s Griffith spice rack – milk glass in a metal rack, could be red caps and red metal rack.
In this publicity shot of Lucy and Desi Arnaz at home in the kitchen there is a 12 piece Griffith spice set in a metal rack.
I see a similar Griffith spice set on eBay this week There are several sets of vintage Griffith spice sets on eBay at present but not many in the metal rack. The racks are also found in other materials. These are very collectible milk glass spice sets that can be found in very good condition. They were made and distributed by Griffith Laboratories Inc., Chicago, Illinois, from the 1930’s – 1950’s. Click here to see similar Griffith spice racks on eBay.
Lucy’s Pyrex Mixing Bowls were a nesting set in bright colors which we only see in grayscale on the show, but we can see the original colors in the original vintage sets that are still available for collectors. See this set on eBay today:
Vintage set of 4 Pyrex nesting bowls on eBay
Find more like this on eBay
Vintage borosilicate Pryex dishes made by Corning are more heat resistant and shatter proof than present day products bearing the Pyrex label which are made from inferior glass. However they have to be more than 25 years old to be sure they are indeed Corning dishes. (Read more at http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/pyrex.asp)
Original 1952 Pyrex adLucy and Desi at home in the kitchen – see similar bowl on the left.
Tip for Collectors:
Do not put your vintage Pyrex in the dishwasher.
FAQ for Pyrex collectors at: http://www.pyrexlove.com/faq/
A 1950 Westinghouse Kitchen Range seen on I Love Lucy
Here we are looking at two different models of the Westinghouse Commander Range seen on the show.
1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove was seen on a later season of I Love Lucy
A 1954 Westinghouse Commander Stove Model was seen on a later season of I Love Lucy, it looks similar to the 1950 model but the controls have a different layout.
Get cooking in authentic retro style for the Holidays with recipes from The Settlement Cook Book as seen in the publicity shot of Lucy and Desi in their own kitchen.
The Settlement Cook Book compiled by Mrs. Simon Kander. 1949.
No longer a commonplace item in the home, the matchbox holder was found in most homes in days gone by when matches were in constant use to light lamps, stoves and fires. Seen here in the kitchen, the wall mounted holder, usually of metal or wood, kept the matches dry and safely away from tiny hands.
Lucy’s matchbox holder is painted tin, in a design that can still be found by collectors, the floral nasturtium decal has a gingham check lower border.
Tip: Vintage tin often has rust spots, use raw potato dipped in baking soda to gently clean rust spots, dry completely, a hairdryer on low heat is useful, then apply some oil to any bare spots where paint is missing to prevent more rust.
Another consistent element of the I Love Lucy kitchen decor is a wall mounted cruet set in a wooden stand. Many sets of this type were imported from Japan in the post WW2 years, examples of which can frequently be seen on eBay.
The complete cruet set seen at an early date in the I love Lucy kitchen
The Cruet set on the show consists of a hand painted ceramic double neck oil and vinegar bottle with a matching ceramic handled wooden salad serving fork and spoon plus a funnel to decant the oil and vinegar into the separate compartments of the decorative bottle, all of which fit on a wall mounted wooden stand.
Thompson Pottery Ivy Cruet in the same design as seen on I Love Lucy with label ‘OLDE THOMPSON South Pasadena California’
The set on I love Lucy has a hand painted Ivy design. An identical cruet was sold by George S. Thompson of Pasadena with a label with label ‘OLDE THOMPSON South Pasadena California’. Their hand painted ivy range named “Imperial Ivy” used on salt and pepper sets , salad sets and dining accessories, was marketed to co-ordinate with popular ivy patterned dinnerware from other manufacturers such as the Metlox California Ivy range.
In a later episode you can see that the original funnel is missing and the ceramic handled wooden serving fork and spoon have been replaced with metal ones.
As time went on we see the cruet set on the I Love Lucy has signs that pieces of the salad set went missing, the funnel was lost and the wood serving fork and spoon were replaced by metal ones.
Mid century wall mounted cruet set made in Japan as seen on eBay
Other items from George S. Thompson Co in the Imperial Ivy Design“Olde Thompson” Imperial Ivy Pepper Mill and Salt Shaker set – 1949 promotional photo with Mexlox Califormia Ivy dishes.
