Colonial Shaker Tops? Solved!!

[steelheadwill]

Hi All!
Ive found many of these pewter/white metal items at Colonial sites,
Always thought they were salt/pepper shaker tops.
Well, I discovered salt was dispensed from a salt cellar until John Mason (of Jar Fame)
invented S&P shakers in 1858. (I still use a salt cellar )
(LINK DELETED< SEE BELOW FOR TEXT)
Likely these shaker tops I find were used to sprinkle sand on handwritten documents to speed the drying of the ink.
I was pleased to learn about this!
HH All
Here's a couple I dug this year:

 

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[aka da Prof]

!!ha ! now that's a great lil' tid-bit of trivia--thanks for that insta-knowledge, for now I can label my collection correctly. -- I clicked on your link and got nothing but adds--- I'll google instead--

 

[steelheadwill]

!!ha ! now that's a great lil' tid-bit of trivia--thanks for that insta-knowledge, for now I can label my collection correctly. -- I clicked on your link and got nothing but adds--- I'll google instead--

Thanks Prof, always good to hear from you
weird that link can't be copied
Here's the page text:

Salt shakers were invented in 1858 by John Mason, the guy who invented the screw-top Mason jar. He made little screw-top jars to keep salt in at the table and keep it from caking from the humidity. But these were short-lived. Just over a decade later, salt was more finely milled and ceramic containers with perforations in their tops were invented. In between these two salt containers, C. P. Crossman patented an agitator in his shalt shaker in 1871 that broke up the clumps that always formed so the salt would always be free-flowing. Before these inventors, there were salt mills like pepper grinders, that ground up the salt into small bits.

The salt cellar, also called the open salt, was a special dish that held salt. These were bowl-shaped dishes without lids. As early as the middle ages in well-to-do households, the head of the house was given a salt bowl called a master salt with a tiny silver spoon. He would pass it around the table to his guests, and each would help themselves. This custom continued until WW II in some households, but has since passed by the wayside.

Today, however, you can still find salt cellars, but these now have lids. These salt cellars come in porcelain, glass, or wood, but aren’t usually placed on the table for service during a meal. They are used at the stove or on the counter so that modern cooks can grab a pinch of salt as they prepare food.

 

[kuger]

Hey Pete,your "two holed ",deal looks like a double burner cap to a Whale Oil lamp

 

[steelheadwill]

Hey Pete,your "two holed ",deal looks like a double burner cap to a Whale Oil lamp

Thanks, it Sure is, I got a few of those, Ben Franklin discovered the more wicks, the brighter the flame burns,
I mean more than twice the light from two wicks, I just read something about this in my 'colonial Craftsmen' book

 

[kuger]

Sorry I called ya Pete, Herbie!!!

 

[steelheadwill]

Sorry I called ya Pete, Herbie!!!

All Good
Can't remember everything,
I find myself going though my PMs to help recall a name
HH

 

[aka da Prof]

well I see plenty of salt cellars on ebay, but not any 'sand shakers', and only one example from wiki. I have dug only one salt spoon in the 25 yrs of T'H'n (up on Cape Cod). I would think there would be more to be found as salt is an essential to life. (I'll mention that on the basement door of the oldest mercantile building here in Lodi, the word SALT is still primitively painted, and yes I have TH'ed it) I can understand that not every one sent letters or know how to write in colonial times, at least out here along 'Sullivan's trail' in the Finger Lakes. Also, I will keep a sharper eye on the pottery shards scattered around these plowed fields I detect.
thanks again for the info, SHW-- da Prof-

 

[dozer dan]

this is a wag and i don't even know the name of what i'm trying to discribe.
back in the day when people used a quill to write with, if they needed the ink to dry quickly there was a thing they used that resembled a salt shaker to sprinkle a powder of sorts onto the ink, usually when writing in books so they could close it without smearing the ink. i have seen it in a lot of old movies but don't know its name. like i said, just a wag.

 

[steelheadwill]

well I see plenty of salt cellars on ebay, but not any 'sand shakers', and only one example from wiki. I have dug only one salt spoon in the 25 yrs of T'H'n (up on Cape Cod). I would think there would be more to be found as salt is an essential to life. (I'll mention that on the basement door of the oldest mercantile building here in Lodi, the word SALT is still primitively painted, and yes I have TH'ed it) I can understand that not every one sent letters or know how to write in colonial times, at least out here along 'Sullivan's trail' in the Finger Lakes. Also, I will keep a sharper eye on the pottery shards scattered around these plowed fields I detect.
thanks again for the info, SHW-- da Prof-

Hi Prof,
Just looked at the Wiki example, "The Syng inkstand, an inkstand made by Philip Syng with which the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed."
Some text from link below, If you visit the page it has a link to a simple description of a 'sand shaker'
"Picking up a quill “to write a short note”, in the 17th century, was a complex activity that required an entire range of materials: paper, quills, piece of agate, knife, instrument to scrape the paper, sand shaker, and a writing stand."

http://www.maisonsaint-gabriel.qc.ca/en/b/page_b_5a_c24_03.html

The ones I see for sale are highly decorated and expensive pieces,
unlike the 'Working' examples I've dug, likely these (four I believe, all pewter/pot metal)
were used by ships captains/navigators, and merchants who stopped at Cob Cove in it's Colonial Heyday, they wouldn't be of much use to the average seamen
who for the most part couln't read or write..
When I try to find criteria for identifying a salt spoon, it seems to just come down to size, there are plain and fancy shapes, and materials ranging from horn to silver.
Seems it would be difficult to differentiate a childs spoon from a salt, unless it had
the flat front or other details, like a very ornate handle
I recall CMDiamonddawgs Banner saltspoon, a Colonial work of art...
I have a few small silver spoons, (dug and purchased), now I'm wondering if any are 'salts', the example below is quite small, very thin and delicate
thanks for all the replies & HH All !!

 

[steelheadwill]

this is a wag and i don't even know the name of what i'm trying to discribe.
back in the day when people used a quill to write with, if they needed the ink to dry quickly there was a thing they used that resembled a salt shaker to sprinkle a powder of sorts onto the ink, usually when writing in books so they could close it without smearing the ink. i have seen it in a lot of old movies but don't know its name. like i said, just a wag.

It's a good wag Dan! Exactly what I'm describing, Haven't found a name other than 'Sand Shaker' Thanks & HH

 

[aka da Prof]

thanks, SHW.--that's not the article I pulled up on WIKI- Pro writers and the Syng stand is cool news!--and just now got around to reading the Wiki on salt---- (hmmm, just love this new technology)
I'm almost thinking of going through my T.H. log of 25 yrs and try to find where I found the shaker top and go revisit the site---oh, and if I ever get the right batteries for my camera, Ill post a pic of my salt spoon----da Prof

 

[steelheadwill]

thanks, SHW.--that's not the article I pulled up on WIKI- Pro writers and the Syng stand is cool news!--and just now got around to reading the Wiki on salt---- (hmmm, just love this new technology)
I'm almost thinking of going through my T.H. log of 25 yrs and try to find where I found the shaker top and go revisit the site---oh, and if I ever get the right batteries for my camera, Ill post a pic of my salt spoon----da Prof

Glad you liked them, I did too!
I dug another shaker top yesterday
pewter/pot metal, this one from a homesite, has threads and uniform perforations, so probably a more modern salt shaker, it's pretty big, almost 1-3/4"
would love to see your spoon and shaker top! HH to All!

 

[aka da Prof]

hopefully this week end I'll get to a city near me and score the batt. (25 miles is a long way to go just for one item these days, better to include a T.H. site with it)-- then post-

 

[dozer dan]

well, i guess this find rules out my earlier wag.

Quote;
A sander was used before blotting paper was invented. The old paper didn't absorb ink rapidly and the dip pens often left much ink, so to dry the ink and keep it from smearing, a fine sand was sprinkled on the ink. After absorbing and drying the ink, it was poured back in the sander to be used again. That is why sanders have a bowl like top. Click here to view a sander bowl owned by Ed & Lucy Faulkner.

http://www.antiquebottles.com/ink/SanderBowl.jpg

 

[steelheadwill]

well, i guess this find rules out my earlier wag.

Quote;
A sander was used before blotting paper was invented. The old paper didn't absorb ink rapidly and the dip pens often left much ink, so to dry the ink and keep it from smearing, a fine sand was sprinkled on the ink. After absorbing and drying the ink, it was poured back in the sander to be used again. That is why sanders have a bowl like top. Click here to view a sander bowl owned by Ed & Lucy Faulkner.

http://www.antiquebottles.com/ink/SanderBowl.jpg

i'd say that a singular example doesn't change the ID, I've seen several sand shakers without the bowl, note the Syng inkstand mentioned above......

 

[romeo-1]

I agree...sand shaker. I've found the vessel part of a sand shaker which was ornately insrcribed however it is pewter and came off a salt water beach so it's pretty pitted.

 

[steelheadwill]

Thanks Romeo,
Always good to hear from you, a fellow Colonial Beachhunter
The two shakers in OP are salt finds, probably hi lead 'Ley metal' alloys

 

[aka da Prof]

well, figured out how to take some photos with this mac----here's that spoon you asked to see, SHW---it does say STERLING on the back-don't know the vintage

 

[aka da Prof]

and here is one for size--