The Week's Find: Cookie Jars

 The cookie jar is another one of those items that had a long run of popularity but today its basic function has basically been rendered obsolete. Most people who collect cookie jars today do so because of the look of the jar, for its art factor rather than its intended purpose. Yet the jars can still be used to hold things like a secret money stash, recipes, coupons or even poker chips.

Cookie jars became popular during the Great Depression when women started baking desserts at home as opposed to buying them in a bakery to save money.

They originated in England where women used a similar jar, known as a biscuit jar, to store scones and small tea cakes. The design was more uniform, and usually in an oval or cylinder shape. Since Americans were not known for eating biscuits as regularly as they did cookies, the jars were eventually renamed for their more practical use.

Two companies and the people who started them would become leaders in the field of pottery and, eventually, cookie jar creations.  The first company, the Brush Pottery Company, was founded in Ohio in 1906 by George Brush. The other was the Nelson McCoy Pottery Sanitary Stoneware Company, which opened in April 1910 also in Ohio. It was a father and son endeavor begun by J.W. McCoy and Nelson McCoy, respectively.

Some time between 1911 and 1925, the companies merged and produced a limited amount of pottery together which was called Brush-McCoy Pottery.

Thanks to that brief shared history, the look and feel of their individually made pottery would often be referred to by the name bestowed upon their joint venture.

Both companies made several pieces of pottery for food storage use such as jars, crocks and jugs. By 1929 Brush Pottery made their first cookie jar, a simply designed green jar with the word "cookie" placed on it for its only design. In 1939, the McCoy company started making their own creations featuring fruit and vegetable shapes. Eventually they made cookie jars shaped like almost anything: a globe, a squirrel, a Quaker Oatmeal box, an animal crackers box, a Santa, different animals and birds, nursery rhyme characters and comic book characters just to name a few.

By the 1940's, another company began to manufacture whimsically designed cookie jars also. American Bisque, which started West Virginia in 1919, also make animal cookie jar shapes but soon expanded to clowns and cartoon characters like Casper the Ghost, the Flintstones, Popeye and Olive Oyl.

The McCoy Pottery Company made more fruit and vegetable shaped cookie jars during the height of the cookie jar craze, which ran from 1940 to 1970. The company made cookie jars until 1987, which ironically enough is when the jars became popular again, albeit for only a little while. That year artist Andy Warhol died, leaving behind his collection of over 130 cookie jars. When they were sold as a set at auction, it was purchased for $250,000.

Today you can find them in any shape, size, or design you can imagine. I just saw an adorable little pocketbook in GoodWillies Thrift Shop that was actually a cookie jar! I saw many jars in Country Junque that are shaped like animals.

Like a lot of collectible antiques, some cookie jars are expensive while others only hold a sentimental value. The Snoopy cookie jar I have is a sentimental favorite and part of my Peanuts collection. I use it to store some of my smaller Peanuts items. I also have a white Ironstone biscuit jar that I adore. I instantly fell in love with the size, shape and weight of it so I bought it. Despite its $125 price tag, it is one of my most treasured pieces in my Ironstone collection. It makes a great vase for big bouquets of flowers needed on special occasions.

I also have a clear glass cookie jar. If you can find one of these yourself, buy at least one. You will find it to be an invaluable item to own. Think of it as a super sized Mason Jar and use it to display things in accordingly. At Christmas time, it is a beautiful way to display old, delicate or precious ornaments while keeping them out of danger of being broken. Keep one in the bathroom to display unwrapped bars of soap.

If you like to bake, an old glass cookie jar is a great way to store flour, sugar or other dry ingredients while keeping them within reach. Thanks to its wide removable lid, you can use any size spoon or measuring cup to scoop out the contents. It makes for a simple elegant display on the counter that way as well. Nothing tones down the look of a kitchen suffering from too many colors than a clear glass cookie jar filled with white dry goods.