Unique collection worth its weight in salt

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com



Although many people today have never heard of them, salt cellars currently on display at the Kings County Museum are drawing attention.

Ruth Davies of Kentville, who loaned the items to the museum for the “Salt of the Earth: A Collection of Salt Cellars� exhibit, said her collection started with three her mother gave her that she had received from her grandmother.

After moving to Toronto with her first husband in 1951, Davies interested a friend in looking for more salts. “We used to go antiquing every Saturday afternoon,� she said. Both ended up with a large collection. Sometimes they’d buy a pair and they’d each keep one since it was the variety in which they were interested.

“It was a fun thing to do and it didn’t cost much money in those days,� she said. It would likely cost much more to collect them today.

Individual salt dishes were made popular by the late 19th century Victorians, who had a penchant for etiquette and specialized tablewear. These dishes were known by a variety of names, including salt dip, salt cellar, salter and trencher salt. Collectors today call them “open salts� to distinguish them from salt shakers.

Salt cellars were made from a variety of materials, including metal and porcelain, but glass was the most common material. Davies said the smaller salt cellars were known as individual salts while the larger ones were called master salts.

Davies said she has stopped collecting them now and keeps them on display in a glass cabinet. “It’s so great to see them used for something,� she said. “I was very pleased that they asked me.�



History to them

She said people who have been in to see the display have told her how nice it looks and she agrees, pointing out that the display is set up very well. Lynn Manning and Pauline Jacobs of the exhibits committee set it up and it was Manning who asked Davies about displaying the cellars.

Davies said she has always invited those interested to come and have a look at her collection and the reason why she decided to lend them to the museum for the display was so she could share them with others. “People look at them and say, ‘I think my mother used to have one like that’,� she said.

Davies said the salt cellars have a history to them and although you couldn’t tell that some of them had been used, many have small chips missing, probably because of the small spoons that were used to dip the salt. “The thing I always loved about them is that they were used,� she said.

Davies has about 140 salt cellars in her collection although many of the larger master salts aren’t on display at the museum. A number were gifts from relatives and friends and she has good memories of where they came from.

She has a George II salt cellar she believes to be the oldest in her collection. Most of them are from the 1800s, although some may date from the late 1700s.

She said the salt cellars are unique and the ones made of china are all painted differently. Since they were made mostly of breakable materials, she said it’s a wonder that they’ve lasted.

Davies said salt was once much more valuable than it is today. During a recent talk in Digby, her husband, Canon Sid Davies, pointed out that in the time of the Romans soldiers were partially paid in salt because of its value and the fact it was such a scarce item.

When asked why she thinks the cellars went out of popularity, Davies said salt shakers are much easier to use and salt has become much more affordable over the years. However, she said the cellars really dressed up a table.

In the early 1910s, the Morton Salt Company added magnesium carbonate, an anti-caking agent, to its salt to prevent it from clumping or hardening in humid weather. Today, calcium silicate is used. This improvement allowed salt to flow freely out of salt shakers, which had been growing in popularity since their introduction in the 1860s.

The collection is on display in the main hallway of the museum, located on Cornwallis Street in Kentville, until mid-December. For more information, contact the museum at 678-6237. The museum is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.