Vintage string holders

There are so many wonderful vintage items to see in our local antique malls.  If you have ever noticed chalkware or ceramic faces with a small hole in the mouth and wondered what they were for, now you will know, they are string holders!  Earlier versions were usually pierced cast iron that held a ball of string.  You have to to remember that there was no plastic wrap or ziplock bags back in the day.  

Originally string holders were used commercially at the local grocery and mercantile.  Your purchase was wrapped up in brown paper and tied up with string.  Homemakers also needed to use string to tie up meats, wrap up sandwiches and other household duties.  Nearly every home before the 1940’s had a character face string holder in their kitchen.

Many of these faces were made of chalk and were given as prizes at county fairs  Because they were not heavy duty, it is hard to find one today without chips and damage.  Many cookie jar manufacturers such as McCoy and California Pottery produced string holders and often made scissor holders as well.

There are all kinds of string holders to choose from.  They remind me of the scene from Lady and the Tramp where they are eating spaghetti!  The pouty lips look like the are slurping “spaghetti” instead of string.  Original cast iron bee hive string holders are very collectible as those were the ones used most often in the post office.  Every now and then when I am at the post office, I will see an elderly person mailing a package that is covered in brown paper and tied up with string.  Remember the line in the song from The Sound of Music, Favorite Things?  One was brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things!

Most string holders can be purchased for between ten and fifty dollars.  There are some beautiful works of artistry in these vintage string holders.  When I was doing research for the article, I saw a lot of beautiful Black Americana pieces, Wizard of Oz figures and Disney characters.  I even saw an Olive Oyl string holder!

Make sure to buy the best example you can and make sure they piece has it’s original paint and hasn’t been touched up or repainted.  I think they would look great in our modern kitchens, especially those in the farmhouse style.  Happy Collecting!