Country Woman

26 COUNTRY WOMAN COUNTRYWOMANMAGAZINE.COMCleaning tip: Vintage Kromex pieces should becleaned only with products sold specifically for useon aluminum surfaces. These thin-bodied piecesscratch and dent easily.``````Colorful tumblersMost kids of the ’50s and ’60s recall wrapping theirhands around jewel-toned aluminum tumblers andsipping Kool-Aid during the summer. These metalliccups were anodized, a process that made themunbreakable, rust-resistant and colorfast—just thething for picnics and camping. The majority weremade in Italy by two companies, Sunburst and Bascal,and sold for less than $1 apiece.Many tumblers were grocery store giveaways. In1954, the nationwide Borden dairy filled them withcottage cheese and encouraged shoppers to collecteight-piece sets by offering a different color every week.Old aluminum tumblers with worn coatings and``````Fashionable canistersBrides-to-be in the late 1950s dreamed of receivingKromex kitchenware. Made of lightweight spunaluminum, the products wooed customers with theirsleek design, satiny finish and colors ranging fromturquoise to classic copper.The Kromex nesting canister set was a best-seller.Raised lettering on the snug-fitting lids identifiedflour, sugar, coffee and tea, and the handles weremade in a fun push-button shape associated withthe burgeoning Space Age. Kromex satisfied postwarconsumers with matching salt and pepper shakers,spice sets, bread boxes and cake carriers.Alcoa Aluminum made the line between 1957 and1960, before the company switched to industrialproduction. A four-piece canister—$6.88 in 1960—is now worth more than $100 in mint condition.Complete sets are hard to find, but pieces are soldseparately online, at estate sales and in antiques malls.Shiny ObjectsFlashy dishes and kitchen gadgets from the 1950s and ’60s stillsparkle for today’s cooks and collectors. BY BARBARA J. EASH``````Space-age sheen.Copper canisterswere a ’50s fave.ANTIQUES EXPERT