On Any Given Sundae – Here’s the Scoop on Ice Cream Collectibles
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream…memorabilia.
As temperatures rise, thoughts of ice cream make taste buds tingle for this delicious frozen treat.
Though ice cream’s peak business is in the summer, memorabilia associated with it is enjoyed year-round. Collectors scream for a variety of antique and vintage ice cream-related goodies, ranging from specialized spoons and old scoops and serving dishes to freezer units, toys, and advertising pieces like posters and signs that promote ice cream companies.
In celebration of July being National Ice Cream Month (and National Ice Cream Day on July 21), we’re spotlighting these nostalgic collectibles.
Here’s the Scoop
According to History.com, ice cream’s origin is difficult to pinpoint but dates to antiquity. Popular legend says it was invented by the ancient Chinese, brought to Italy by Marco Polo, to France by Catherine de Medici, and to America by Thomas Jefferson, a big fan.
Ice cream remained an exotic dish for the wealthy until technological advancements made it more available to the general public in the second half of the 19th century. The soda fountain became a place to chat with friends over a cool treat.
Today, there are more than 1,000 flavors of ice cream available, from the classic staples of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry to nontraditional and stomach-churning flavors like bacon and olive, foie gras, and pizza.
Although America’s love for regular dairy ice cream has cooled off some—going from the average person consuming nearly 20 pounds of it a year in 1986 to 12 pounds in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent data—the love for collectibles remains hot. Here’s a closer look at some popular categories.
Dippers, Dishers and Scoops
Just as many people can’t resist a good scoop of ice cream, most collectors can’t resist a good antique or vintage ice cream scoop. George William Clewell patented the first version of one—a key wind conical disher—in 1876. This cone-shaped tin utensil utilizes a key that turns a scraper inside the scoop, releasing the ice cream into a dish.
American businessman Alfred L. Cralle (1866-1919) improved on Clewell’s design when he was a porter in a drug store and noticed that ice cream was sticking to serving utensils and causing issues. Cralle invented a round-bowl lever-action scooper, patented in 1897, that became the standard for years.
Inventors continued to tinker with Cralle’s design, and by the turn of the century, there were more than 20 different patented ice cream scoopers. Made in various shapes and styles, these range from the simple lever-action examples with round bowls to ones in more unusual forms, including spade spoons that are great for scooping ice cream from around the sides of round containers, square scoops made for assembling ice cream sandwiches and triangular versions designed for making pie a la mode.
Especially desirable are dippers with a heart-shaped bowl. John Manos of Manos Novelty Co. of Toronto, Ohio, patented these nickel-plated brass dippers with wooden handles in 1925. Only 500 were produced, so they’re rare prizes and can give collectors chills when they find one. When these hit the secondary market, they fetch thousands: One example sold at Richard Opfer Auctioneering for $4,000 in 2023, while another sold at Freeman Yoder Auction this past January for $3,250. The company also made heart-shaped ice cream dishes that are perfect companions.
Many other antique and vintage ice cream scoops and dippers have been selling recently in the $10 to $500 range, with examples from the late 1800s to early 1900s generally being more valuable and commanding higher prices.
Specialty Silverware
The economic prosperity of the late 19th and early 20th centuries elevated dining to an art form, and dinner parties were regularly held to showcase expensive flatware sets. Prestigious jewelry and sterling silver flatware firms, including Gorham, Tiffany & Co., and Towle, produced many specialty pieces designed to suit specific foods, and ice cream forks, spoons, and other utensils were always in demand.
Recognizing their artistry and significance in silver craft, collectors enthusiastically seek these specialty pieces, especially spoons, because mint chocolate chip or butter pecan should be eaten in style. Fancy ice cream serving pieces made by noted manufacturers, whether a single piece or a set, can sell between $100 and $5,000—the price of a Gorham sterling ice cream set, including a knife and twelve spoons in the form of fish, sold for in 2021 at Morphy Auctions.
Advertising Items
The International Dairy Foods Association says that the first ice cream advertisement in the U.S. appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777, when confectioner Philip Lenzi announced that ice cream was available “almost every day.”
This was the humble start of what has become a vast and popular category. Collectors are drawn to an array of advertising items, from clocks, signs, and trays to old ice cream cartons, papier mâché store displays, and posters.
Signs are the most sought-after advertising pieces, especially those promoting iconic brands like Blue Bell, Borden, Good Humor, Hershey’s, and Sealtest, or that hold nostalgic memories of a favorite ice cream parlor or stand.
Vintage advertising pieces sell for $10 to tens of thousands for prime examples that have a significant wow factor and displayability. A vivid neon porcelain sign for Borden’s that met those criteria was sold at Rockabilly Auction Company in 2022 for $27,000.
Pewter Molds
The lasting allure of ice cream was made even more delightful when it was formed into fanciful three-dimensional shapes with pewter ice cream molds. These molds were made in various forms, including animals, birds, butterflies, flowers, fruit, political figures, tugboats, vegetables, and everything else imaginable.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, ice cream first started being molded into various shapes in mid-18th-century Europe. The practice of using tin molds reached America in the 1790s during the presidency of George Washington, an avid ice cream eater.
The French invented fancier pewter ice cream molds in the 1830s, and the French company Cadot began producing them in 1832. Two American companies that made pewter ice cream molds were Eppelsheimer Mold Manufacturing Co. of New York and Schall & Co., which later became Krauss.
Molds were popular from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s. Their use began dwindling by the 1950s when it became readily available in grocery stores.
Though the use of antique and vintage pewter ice cream molds is discouraged today, as some contain traces of lead, they are still collected as decorative pieces and historical objects. Depending on their shapes and sizes, they have been selling on the secondary market recently between $25 and over $700. A large swan mold weighing more than seven pounds sold on eBay in March for $740.
If you would like to learn more about ice cream memorabilia and connect with other collectors, a great place to start is with The Ice Screamers. Founded in 1982, the group preserves ice cream and soda fountain history and memorabilia.
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