Q: I'm not certain what this is. "Apollo Silver Co USA, pat'd Apr. 1 1913" is marked on the bottom. I was told it might be from an old train dining car and that the check was given to the patron in it or that it held a menu.A: Apollo Silver Co. was founded in New York in 1885 and was succeeded by Bernard Rice's Sons c.1899. The company made silver plated items. Bernard Rice's Sons used "Apollo Silver Co." as one of its marks. The company was out of business by 1959. We aren't sure what this is. Can anyone help?
could it be a toothpick holder/ dispencer?
ReplyDeleteSort of looks like it was made to hold coasters. Just a guess though.
ReplyDeletedepending on the size, it could hold a slice of toast or if smaller perhaps calling cards
ReplyDeleteThis may sound crazy, but I've actually seen a similar object made from crystal and it was called a toast holder.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Apollo Silver Holder is for toast. I'm sure I've seen pictures or movies showing similar pieces used for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteChris R.
I think it might be a toats holder.
ReplyDeleteMaybe for tosting bread?
ReplyDeleteLooks like you would put toast in it for serving?
ReplyDeleteI have this very item and I was told it held cigarettes for your guest's to be passed around after dinner. I loved the story, so I bought it 40 years ago. Muriel Carter
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was a toast holder, but could it have held a menu on a table?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. it was used to serve toast
ReplyDeleteI am 66 years old and when I rode trains as a child, you had to write your order on a notepad and then give it to the waiter. I think this held the notepad and the day's menu and entree choices.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is it's a vintage menu holder; I doubt used for toast. Check out similar item on a railroad silverware site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sonic.net/~jayreed/RRsilverware.html
Item # RSI 3375
I was at an auction the other night and they had one just like this that they were calling a cigarette holder
ReplyDeleteI believe the silver holder was used to serve toast. - Chris R.
ReplyDeleteIt is likely a toast holder.
ReplyDeleteNot knowing the size ... my guess would be a napkin holder.
ReplyDeletemCarter was right--it's definitely a cigarette holder for passing around a table. I inherited one from my mom that she had picked up in an antique store during her collecting years. I did a lot of research and did learn its true purpose. It was likely used sometime between the 1920s/1930s, but I suppose it could even have been used in the 1940s. Note, however, that the dates are merely my recollection of what I was told--they are not authenticated.
ReplyDeleteMy guess was that it is a toast holder. However, since I work with a patent attorney and do patent searches professionally, I decided to try to look up the patent by the date and get you a definitive answer! It is, in fact, a Match and Cigarette Holder.
ReplyDeleteIrene at 1800inventor.com.
It's a menu holder, there are a few of these being sold on eBay, if you research under vintage menu, or antique menu, you'll find a few. There are a number of railroad menu holders that are marked with the initials of the railroad as well as the manufacturer. So the 66 year old woman who rode the trains as a child, who said it was a notepad/menu holder was correct! Coleen
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a toast rack.
ReplyDeleteSol
It's for cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a personal toast holder. Depends on the size. May have been a toast holder for a prominent person on their sick bed.
ReplyDeleteMy first response was toast holder. But you didn't give the dimensions. That may help us confirm its function.
ReplyDeleteWhat about napkins?
ReplyDeleteI lived in New Zealand for years (I am from Louisiana) and it is an English tradition to offer your guests hot-buttered toast or cold-buttered toast. Almost every house-hold has a toast rack.
ReplyDeleteStanding the toast allows the steam to evaporate and the toast to remain crisp. When you spread the butter it remains creamy. Hot-buttered toast goes straight on your plate and you get the melted effect.
Also milk in first or last in your tea. Milk in first allows the milk to mix with the hot tea and remain creamy. Milk in last scalds the milk and the tea is thinner and has a different flavour. (I am a chef, I figured it out)!
The Japanese are not the only one's with afternoon tea traditions.
Actually, my first thought was to hold paper napkins diner-style. Depends on the size, Chefbex
I had 2 of these, one smaller than the other, and I think it to hold cigarettes. The smaller one of mine was for the nonfiltered, and the larger one for the filtered ones. It is an educated guess, but they both fit. I actually put glass in mine, sticking about 3" above the top, and made a picture frame.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a cigarette holder. I had 2 of these, one smaller than the other, and a filtered cigarette fit in the bigger one, and nonfiltered in the smaller one. I actually had 2 pieces of glass cut for each, and made picture frames out of them.
ReplyDeleteToastholder
ReplyDeleteDepending on the size, this looks to me like a desk business/name card holder.
ReplyDeleteAccording to US design patent 43,802 it is a match and cigarette holder. You can obtain a copy of the patent at google patents (go to http://www.google.com/advanced_patent_search and type D43802 into the patent number field).
ReplyDeleteI REALLY THINK IT IS A NAPKIN HOLDER ALSO. JUST PERFECT FOR NAPKINGS, TOO BIG FOR A TOAST .
ReplyDeleteI have a similar one. It is for cigarettes
ReplyDeleteI think it was for a book of matches.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the cig holder but I also think it may have been used for different things depending on the time of day. Someone told me they would bring out very hot wet linen napkins in them and they held it by the handle to give it to the people after they had a meal. Then maybe when they took them back they put menus and or notepads to cigs.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like a holder used to steady a bagel while being sliced.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I travelled on the train, and my toast came in a holder much like the one in the picture.
ReplyDeleteHolds the cover to a heated dish long enough to dish a serving out? S. Lake from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
ReplyDeleteHi. I can settle this matter conclusively. It is a Match and Cigarette Holder.
ReplyDeleteI looked up the patent and it was patented as a Match & Cigarette Holder. (a "new, original and ornamental" one at that.) The designer was Clifford W. Hopkins.
There's a photo and info about it Patent Number D43,802 on the US Patent Office website.
Indeed true.
ReplyDeleteA "toast holder" was an open rack usually having an arched top and handle so the server could place 4 slices on the table. They must have cooled quickly!
You can go to:
http://patft.uspto.gov/
and follow some vague instructions (you need to download a tiff filter) and find D43,802 from April 1, 1913.
Toast holder of some sort as per comment was more first thought.
ReplyDeleteNot practical. More likely a menu holder or a train schedule holder or both.