Salt and Pepper Shakers

What do stamps, shells and salt and pepper shakers have in common? They are all collectables.

Salt and pepper shakers are small containers that hold powdered food seasonings, typically in Western countries.
Salt and pepper shakers typically contain ground pepper and salt, and are generally tipped upside down over a meal and gently shaken to release some of their contents.
‘Salt and pepper shakers’ are also known as ‘salt and pepper pots’.
Salt and pepper shakers are made in many different materials, such as ceramics, plastic, glass, metal or timber.
It is believed that a salt shaker was first invented in 1858, by John Mason, a tinsmith from America, but it wasn’t until the 1920’s that sets of salt and pepper shakers were commonly manufactured, and later they became even more popular due to cost effectiveness of ceramic production.

Salt and pepper shakers are commonly a set of two, sporting many different colours, shapes and sizes.
Salt and pepper shakers may include a grinding function to grind peppercorns and large salt crystals.
Salt and pepper shakers grew in popularity in the 1920s due to the addition of magnesium carbonate to the salt to prevent lumps and clumping caused by moisture, which was added by the Morton Salt company in Chicago, in the United States, making it easy to pour.
Salt and pepper shakers are popularly collected due to their unique shapes and historical significance and large collections exist, some of which have as many as 40,000 sets.
Salt and pepper shakers generally have small holes to restrict the amount of seasoning released, with salt shakers typically having the least number of holes.

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