A fine Nesco breadbox and canister set expertly restored to look like the set in the Ricardo’s kitchen on I Love Lucy – pictured above- submitted by a contributor to this blog who was inspired by the previous blog posts. “With the help of my dad, who sandblasted, painted and clear coated everything and a friend who helped with the graphics, I too now have those Nesco canisters that are used in my kitchen every day!”
Read more about the original Nesco design in this post.
Seen on Etsy this week is a metal matchbox holder for your kitchen wall just like the one in Lucy Ricardo’s kitchen. You place an open matchbox with the open end down through the top and the matches can easily be accessed via the chute at the base. These were practical when the gas stove had to be lit using a match or flint tool. Now they are sought for their retro appeal.
In the screen capture above from the “Lucy and Superman” episode Lucy is sharing peanuts from her pedestal glass compote/candy dish. Lucy’s dish looks like the Fostoria ‘American’ Compote Candy Dish which can also be found with a matching lid. Hand washing is recommended it is not dishwasher safe.
Pictured below is an example of the Fostoria footed glass candy dish in the “American” pattern currrently on eBay HERE.
Fostoria’s “ice-cube” style American pattern, line 2056 is pressed glass (which you can tell from the seams in the glass) not cut crystal: The color called “Crystal” means clear glass, not lead crystal and does not give an indication of lead content. According to this article American pressed glass made after the Civil War does not contain lead. [If you are concerned about lead content and wish use a vintage bowl to hold dry food such as peanuts or unwrapped candy, line the class first with transparent plastic – cut a rounded corner from a plastic food bag to make a funnel large enough to fit the bowl place into the bowl before adding the food]
In the I Love Lucy episode “The Sublease” Little Ricky’s play table is among the items Lucy has to store at Fred and Ethel’s apartment. Little Ricky uses a state of the art 1950’s folding metal baby seat – a Cosco Feed-N-Play Table.There are a couple of them on eBay this week. Pictured below is one example. Click HERE to see the listing.
In the I Love Lucy episode Lucy is Envious we see a plastic toy rotary phone on the mantelpiece of the Ricardo’s living room. In this episode Lucy is short of cash and searches the house for coins. She tells Ethel she even looked in the baby’s piggy bank but only found a couple of IOU’s from Ricky inside. Little Ricky’s savings bank is a match for the two color red and white plastic telephone savings bank by Amerline.
The toy rotary telephone savings bank is by Amerline of Chicago, IL, copyright 1945 . Currently there is one for sale online in red and white pictured above.
CLICK HERE to See it on Etsy
There is also one on eBay HERE but is it not a 2-color phone like we see in the screen capture above – it is being sold as an original prop.
This week on eBay I see a 9.5″ brass plate with a Desilu Studios label for auction at http://www.ebay.com/itm/321854560509 with the title “Extremely Rare I LOVE LUCY Tavern Scene Brass Plate TV Show Prop w/Desilu Label”. It is different from the plate we identified from the mantel of the I Love Lucy Connecticut house ( the tavern scene is similar but the border does not match). However there was a pair of smaller plates seen by a doorway that we had not identified. Thanks to Rick here are some screen captures of the smaller plates which have smooth borders so those are not a match either.
The listing on ebay this week forbids use of their images but I found another listing on eBay HERE that lists an identical plate – the plate on the left is of the same design as the one listed as a Desilu prop – here are the pictures :
These plates were made by the ELPEC Company of England which was registered in 1919 by C E Pascal & P Lloyd. They made reproduction copper and brassware initially based on Belgian designs. The plates at auction may well be Desilu props but so far I have not found a match for them on the I Love Lucy show .
Previously we looked at a Peerage Brass Plate identical to one seen on the mantelpiece on the show as pictured below. We also noticed that the brass plates used on the set were all mounted on a circular wooden backing, likely to prevent the brass from rattling on the set. Click HERE to see the previous post
On the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Season 2 Lucy’s Summer Vacation we see a Deft style blue and white ceramic canister set in the kitchen of Lucy’s and Desi’s vacation lodge. A seller on eBay has a 16 piece set for sale and identifies it as a German ceramic canister by INGE # 3862. These have the same windmill design as the set on the show. The set for sale include five 8″ canisters consisting of the tea, coffee, sugar, oatmeal and barley plus three small canisters consisting of pepper, ginger and cloves. Click Here to see it on eBay
Match with blue gingham kitchen curtains to recreate the look seen on the show.
On eBay this week I see a set of Egg coddler cups like one Lucy used on the show – only difference is the brown edging – Lucy’s one had yellow edges. See previous post for info. and how to use them.
Here is another Margo Alexander print seen on the I Love Lucy set. This one is seen in the early episodes as one of three landscape prints on the back wall of the living room set. Later, after the Ricardo’s move to the bigger apartment it can occasionally be seen above the mantel alcove over the livingroom fireplace, as seen in the publicity picture below
Here we see the Margo Alexander picture indicated by an arrow uppermost above the fireplace. Below it are a pair of E Melvin Bolstad prints we looked at in this post.
More about Margo Alexander in this earlier post Here.
In the episode Ethel’s Birthday Lucy is seen in Ethel’s living room after she has helped Fred to buy Ethel a birthday present. On the left is a Royal Copley vase with a relief design of leaves. Royal Copley china was made by the Spaulding China Company of Sebring, Ohio, from 1939 to 1960.
Click HERE to see the Royal Copley vase with leaf design on Etsy (US)
See one on eBay HERE