These coffee warmer carafes by C. Miller (1957) are so utterly representative of the late '50s! Slightly atomic, sorta kitschy, imminently useful and totally beautiful! Oh wait...I forgot easily collectible...'cuz they ain't worth the millions of dollars I had hoped!
Sometimes it just don't matter what your collectibles are worth, worth being so ephemeral and
subjective. You can't walk into hardly any retro shop without tripping over an Eames Shell
armchair for $350 but just try to find five of these for sale...and you can't even warm your
coffee in an old fiberglass chair! It's cool though, I'll keep buying these up for the couple ten
bucks or whatever (I think I got the first one for like $4 at Value Village) and then someday
everybody will realize how silly awesome these really are and I'll have like a million of them...
ready to dole out...to support myself in my old age.
Ain't it totally cool to see that these have been used! There's a burned down candle in each of
the bases. Cleaning up the spent wax off the outside of them this morning before shooting was
kind of a chore. But nothing but the best for you guys! I should be sponsored by Bounty paper
towels and Goof-Off heavy duty cleaner. Instead, I think they are sponsored by me.
I've seen two other styles of these carafes. One is like the blue and black one but mostly brown
and the other is a lot like the pink and brown one in shape but the blocks of color are more
defined. Finding these with the base seems to be difficult. You can find a few of the decanters
alone places like eBay and etsy. I almost picked up another a while back but it's base was
broken and glued back together. No thanks. Plus it was just like the blue one. Like I need a
duplicate...with a broken base. I ain't got enough broken stuff?
Anybody else have one of these? Where are all of these hiding? Who the heck is C. Miller?
Questions questions questions. Who else needs a hot cuppa joe?
I've got one like the one in the first pictures, but it is missing it's lid and base. Still, I gave 50 cents for it, so I felt like it was a steal!
ReplyDeleteHi M. Michael. That is a bargain!
Deleteno idea who c miller is, but, these are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHi Rachael. Agreed. These are some of my favorite collectibles.
DeleteI have found the quickest way to get old candle wax off glass... is to place the glass item in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteAnd leave it there for at least an hour.
Then I use a blunt edge dinner knife or a butter knife and ease that old wax out of the holder.
Normally the wax will pop right out. If you get the edge of the knife up against a flat inside part of the object and push down to pop the wax away from the sides.
(But the whole secret about it... is to get that wax frozen first. So the wax will shatter when pressure it put on it. But don't shatter the actually glass!)
Hi F. G. Pink. Thanks for the great tip! I'll have to try that out next time. Ever use an iron and a towel / rag to get melted candle wax out of upholstery or carpet? The things we learn when moving out of an apartment.
DeleteI too, like you was hoping for millllliiiooonns, so i thank you for the info. i also purchased mine for .50 at a cool yardsale, everything intact, but no base. yet a steal to add to my collection of worthless beauties.
DeleteI enjoyed looking at the pictures of your carafes. You have a nice collection. I found this site when looking for information on C.Miller@ My parents have an old ceramic lamp with that name on the back of it. Just trying to find any info. I know it was from the early-mid '50s...but that's about it. Do you have further info on C.Miller?
ReplyDelete~Rose
I Love my blue one...no base or lid but I love it! It is PRISTINE...who IS/WAS C. Miller?
ReplyDeleteKaren
I have one, just like your blue one with the black lid, that belong to my mother-in-law. Sadly it is missing the base. I gave it to my daughter and she loves it since she loves all things vintage. No idea who C. Miller is. But good to know that it is not worth much and why the bottom is a bit black. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI, too, have a C. Miller. It was a leftover going into the garbage can after an auction next door. Don't know why that one piece caught my eye...well, really, we all know why--it's different, it's '50's, it's cool. At first, I thought it might have been made by somebody local but I kept looking at the name, etc. on the bottom, the perfect arch of the handle, and decided to check it out. I have neither the stopper or the base. The bottom of mine is also a bit black. I'm not sure if the handle's copper or what, but time hasn't touched its rose gold color. The glaze is a dark brown feathering up into a yellow, then from the top, there's a faint glaze of gold. The handle being unattached at its bottom is one of my favorite parts. Glad I'm not the only one who likes them.
ReplyDeleteDarn it, I just posted the last comment but forgot a couple things. My brown one is probably the brown one you've seen, the vertical ribs, the same handle as your blue one. Do you know what metal the handle is made out of?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous.
DeleteI think the handle is made out if aluminum.
I grew up with my blue one. It was my Mom's, I have all the pieces, but I broke the stopper when I was a kid and my Dad glued it back together (badly). Dusting it this morning I though I would google it to find out more about it.
ReplyDeleteI have a pair of 24" white pineapples with sea foam and turquoise dry brush detail. I resurrected from a disastrous latex glossy brown paint job. I paired them with a pair of Gunar and Lotte Boslund (Lotte) fibreglass shades. They are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteRegal China Company founded late 1920s or early 1930. Regal hired Catherine Miller (C. Miller) as a decorator designer for the company in 1930. During the 1940s Regal was bought by distributor Royal China and Novelty Company. In 1968 the company became a part of the James Beam Distilling Company. A perfect fit since Regal had been producing Jim Beam Bottles since 1955. The company had a long 62-year run but closed down in 1992.
ReplyDeleteRegal China Company founded late 1920s or early 1930. Regal hired Catherine Miller as a decorator designer for the company in 1930. During the 1940s Regal was bought by distributor Royal China and Novelty Company. In 1968 the company became a part of the James Beam Distilling Company. A perfect fit since Regal had been producing Jim Beam Bottles since 1955. The company had a long 62-year run but closed down in 1992.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I too came across a Decanter, but I have no idea of it's worth. How can you find out?
Delete