Terrific Toothpick Holders

By Roy Nuhn

As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper, June 2009

The Victorian dining table would have been a joy to behold, resplendent with silver service pieces from baking dishes to wine stands, and of course the toothpick holder.  

Sometimes the toothpick holder was an essential element of the table service, at other times it was a welcome novelty, and still later both types were set aside in the China cupboard as a keepsakes.  

In 1872 two men in Massachusetts were granted a patent for a machine, which made it possible to cut up toothpicks "ready for use" from a single block of wood.  

By the 1880s toothpicks were quite fashionable, and the need for holders was widespread. To meet the demand in the early days, manufacturers often simply modified match holders to serve as toothpick holders. In other cases the containers were offered up as suitable for either use.  

The Toronto Silver Plate Company of Canada presented numerous toothpick holders in the 1888 catalog in forms which included a pig with holes for toothpicks, one in the shape of a carpetbag, and a simple gold-lined cylinder. Each sold for $1 each.  

At the same time elegant two-toned Burmese glass holders were marketed by the Washington Glass Works in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in shades from peach to yellow. And while toothpick holders were largely an American touch, European makers also produced them as early as the 1880s including Doulton and Company of England and those made of Bohemian glass in Czechoslovakia. Later there were Nippon pieces from Japan, along with England's Bristol glass and France's legendary Baccarat glass.  

By 1891 the U.S. Glass Company had 17 different pattern glass toothpick holders available to the public. Within a few years Montgomery Ward and Company was advertising silver plated and aluminum holders, toy chamber pot shapes of earthenware, and seven different types of glass and pottery holders including glass hats of blue crystal and amber.  

A century later the National Toothpick holder Collector's Society recognizes six basic categories of holders including pressed glass, metal, porcelain and china, art glass, cut glass, and contemporary studio glass.  

Pressed glass remains the most popular of the six among collectors, particular those with bright colored examples witch were part of matched tableware sets.  

Also popular are more specialized areas of glass including carnival, cranberry, custard, milk glass, stained ruby, and rock crystal. During the early 1900s customers could still select fine examples including crystal from the McKee Glass Company, toned colors from New Martinsville Glass, and hand-painted toothpick holders from the C.F. Monroe Company of Meriden, Connecticut.  

Among metal toothpick holders, Victorians were especially fond of sterling silver and silver plated. Holders for the table were also produced in pot metal and aluminum. In 1910, Rockford Silver Plate Company of Rockford, Illinois listed a silver plated bird and gold-lined container inscribed, "I'll Pick for You." It sold for $1.25.  

Some of the most important names in porcelain and china contributed holders during the turn of the century including R.S. Prussia, Royal Bayreuth, Nippon, Goss, and the emerging Doulton Company, Royal Doulton. After 1900 china had become less expensive to produce than American glass so the number of pattern glass holders declined while the number of china examples increased. From a collector's standpoint the range in this category ranges from 19th century majolica to 20th century occupied Japan.  

Many types of cut glass toothpick holders were produced at the same time.  

Today collectors favor the heavier more delicately cut designs along with unusual shapes, stems and pedestals according to NTHCS.  

In terms of values, finely done art glass toothpick holders are generally the most treasured. Because of such intricate production prices are higher here than in other categories.  

For all of its unique and appealing qualities, use of the toothpick holder had begun to wane during the first decade of the 20th century. In 1905 Butler Brothers leading retail catalog offered 24 varieties of holders for public selection, and by 1910 they offered only six.  

Holders remain a popular collectible today because so many were saved after their immediate popularity as a table setting had ended. Some were put in china cabinets, others in drawers or cupboards. Moreover they represented such a vast array of materials from New England Glass Company's two-toned Amberina glassware to simple wood.

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