The Cocktail Cabinet was...

… a fashionable novelty to have in one's house in between the world war years. It brought a soupçon of sophistication into life of the bourgeois. The cocktail cabinet was not like its ancestor, the cupboard, which was a place to tuck away one's fancy wares. It was in response to the cocktail drink which became increasingly popular in nightclubs during this time.

The origin of the "cocktail" is fragmented. Allegedly it emerged from a variety of folklores. One story claims it was named after the Mexican Princess "Cocktel" another says it was after the Aztec goddess "Xochitl". Regardless, special alcohol concoctions were said to have been swigged by both. Other tales include a custom of putting a feather, specifically a cock's tail, into a drink to warn the teetotalers not to take a sip. But that sounds rather messy and unappealing. Another claims it was named after the act of docking a horse's tail to signify the horse was not a thoroughbred. Somehow the idea of "mixed breed" of a horse was adapted to the mixing of alcohol with other ingredients. Honestly, I don't like associating sipping a toddy with a horse's derrière.

After Prohibition, the "bright young set" were fans of the cocktail cabinet. It meant emancipation and freedom to drink, smoke and drive cars fast. But to the older generation, it was offensive to values of class and taste. Middle class home manuals warned against the vulgar display of liquor in the home. It was too much like a public bar. No self-respecting home would present itself like a private bar welcoming unsavory types.

During the interwar years, the cocktail party was popular and quite a stylish shindy to throw instead of a dinner party. Buffet style – one could serve themselves with much more time to drink. The cocktail cabinet became a symbol of modernity.

The cabinet took on a variety of forms from a two-tier arrangement of a cabinet over cupboard to a simple cabinet resting on a stand. Doors would open to reveal a fully fitted array of cocktail shakers, stemmed glasses, cherry picks and lemon squeezers. Sometimes discretely built into a wall or rolled out on a trolley to wheel about.

Lately, the cocktail cabinet has been reintroduced, mainly in smaller versions or a tray placed on a sideboard or chest to hold bottles and decanters. Even if people don't stock it full of their favorite spirit, it nevertheless alludes to bygone day.

In 2007 Skinner sold this circa 1930 cocktail cabinet accompanied by a cocktail shaker and three chrome pitchers.

From High Style Deco in NYC, is this circa 1935 bookmatched burled elm cabinet with reverse painted mirrored design. The tambour doors below offers storage for additional bottles of liquor.

Although English, TFTM in Los Angeles has this cocktail cabinet also from the 1930's. Satinwood and walnut. The center doors lock for those unruly teenagers at home. The doors open to reveal a mirrored back and glass shelves. There is also a pullout mirrored shelf in the middle for convenient mixing of your favorite potion.

Shaken, Not Stirred

Have you ever wondered why some drinks require a cocktail shaker while others need only a simple turn of the spoon?

Why did James Bond prefer that his martini was shaken and not stirred? How would one know the difference?

Nick Charles said: “The important thing when making a cocktail is the rhythm. A Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.”

Alcohol concoctions have been around forever. Even certain recipes have been recorded as far back as the sixteenth century. But the cocktail shaker, as we know it today, was finally perfected in the 1920s.

After World War I was over, the mood was marked by optimism and bliss. And what better way to celebrate this than to get pickled. During the roaring 20s martinis were served in sterling silver shakers to those of high society. The less high-brow had to do with glass or nickel-plated artifices.

The manufacturing of cocktail shakers exploded after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Manufacturers began turning them out in droves. They were featured on the silver screen. Shakers and martini glasses were almost a character themselves. Stars were glamorously sipping cocktails and the cocktail shaker was depicted as a symbol of sophistication.

As the following decades unfolded, the cocktail shaker retained its vogue. A popular wedding gift for newlyweds throughout the 40s, 50s and 60s. It was the ultimate kind of elegance and only the skilled knew just how long to shake it. The sound something similar to an orchestra playing maracas.

This year Sotheby's NYC sold this 1934 silver plated cocktail set made by International Silver Company. It was part of the "International Giftware" series and sold as a set comprised of five cups, a shaker shaker and tray. The hammer price was over $10,000. Second thoughts on serving Pavlova in a plastic bottle in that one.
Norman Bel Geddes designed this "Manhattan" bright chrome cocktail shaker which was produced from 1936-1940. Note the raised vertical ribs for ease of gripping. In 2003, Rago auctions sold this one well under its estimate.

For those into the nautilus theme, Brunk Auctions sold this a cocktail shaker in the form of a Boston lighthouse in 2004. Circa 1920 Meriden Silver Plate produced it.

There were rooster and penguin-shaped shakers, zeppelins and airplanes, and even golf bags. The penguin with its tuxedo suit symbolized the good life.

But sadly, as we know, all good things must come to an end . . .

Dynamic Dinette

Nearly three-quarters of a century before “Hot Topics” on The View, women sat around a small table and talked. Not on television, but among themselves. They needed to. Secrets were exchanged or complaints made. Perhaps about an inattentive husband or an unruly child as they sipped coffee and nibbled finger sandwiches. Maybe even sipped a much needed cocktail or two. They sat around this smaller table where they had dutifully served their husbands and children breakfast earlier that morning expressing their thoughts and having someone to listen to them. This smaller table provided intimacy. It kept secrets confined within a limited space.

The table was compact and used for a variety of different reasons. Mainly as a dining room table and often bought with a matching set of chairs. The dinette, as it was called, became very popular during the 1930s. During the Depression, it was too expensive to go out for a night on the town. Families were adapting to the financial crisis by turning inwards and entertaining more in their homes. Dining rooms were becoming smaller. People didn’t sit down to formal meals anymore and most families only used their dining rooms for a brief period each day. Architects and designers began questioning the need for a such a room. But Americans weren’t ready to let go. They wanted to keep some element of formal appearance.

The dinette occupied less space than a traditional dining room suite. It was designed so it could be outfitted with other multi-functional pieces of furniture. New to the American décor, it became so popular that it was the best-selling piece of furniture of the time. It could be made with two drop leaves -- collapsible when not in use and placed to the side of the room. It could even be turned to the side and used as a type of side board. The dinette was used to share family meals, for children to diligently complete their homework, for wives and husbands to discuss looming issues. It was a work table or multi-functional table. A plethora of uses then as we have now. What hasn’t changed it the need for women to sit around a small table and talk.


Gilbert Rohde's five-piece dinette set for Troy Sunshade comprised of a circular table with black top, bright chrome trim and tubular base, with four chairs upholstered in black vinyl. (David Rago/John Sollo Auctions.)

Eero Saarinen / Knoll Tulip dinette table with walnut top and two matching armchairs upholstered in red fabric. (David Rago Auctions.)

Still popular several decades later, Paul Evans designed this dinette table in brushed and polished chrome with marble top.

A Philippe Starck dinette table with square frosted glass top in four fin-shaped metal legs.