Page 28 - 2019 August The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
P. 28
Title image: A circa late 1800s, Enterprise No. 0,
integral clamp-on, cast iron, hand-crank
coffee grinder/mill. It's made by
Enterprise Mfg. Co. of
Philadelphia, U.S.A.
Outstanding, impressive
early tin litho country
store coffee grinder
with wooden base and
a cast iron handle.
Shows wonderful
illustrated family
images on two sides,
instructions on back
panel. Sold for $577
photo: Wm. Morford Auctions
One of the most popular coffee mills for grinding larger
amounts of coffee in the general store was the Enterprise Model No.
12-1/2. Manufactured between 1886 and 1898, it stood 42 inches
high, had 25-inch diameter wheels and weighed about 140 pounds.
Its main components were made of cast iron. Such mills became
status symbols for those general store owners who could afford
them. Its value now is well over $1,000.
Today, wall-mounted, box-shaped,
table-mounted, one-wheel, and two-
wheel mills and other types of commercial
and household grinders from the 19th
and the first half of the 20th century, are
all highly collectible and run the gamut
from rustic to highly ornate and decorative.
Even at their most primitive, collectors
value them for their design, history, and
T consumers have the choice of buying pre-packaged ground coffee or beans by the quality of craftsmanship.
here is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly ground coffee. Today, coffee
pound to be freshly ground at home. This was not the case for most of rural
America in the 19th century when beans were purchased and ground
COLLECTING TIPS
It’s important to know who and what
on-site at the general store. to look for when viewing the number of
While methods for grinding the coffee bean date back centuries, American inventors different types and sizes of American-
were late to the party compared to their European counterparts. The first U.S. patent for made antique coffee mills and grinders
a coffee mill—also referred to as a coffee grinder—was issued in 1798 to Thomas Bruff of found online and at shows and markets –
Maryland. Bruff was a self-described inventor whose other claim to fame was serving as this can be an expensive collecting
Thomas Jefferson’s dentist. He wrote to Jefferson hobby. There are many reproductions on
in 1801 about his invention: “Sir, … Nature has the market and it is often buyer-beware
designed me for inventing … a coffee mill, that when making a purchase. Here are a few
grinds a pound in 4 & 1/2 minutes…” His
manufacturers to know:
wall-mounted device ground beans between The Arcade Manufacturing Co. of
metal nuts with coarse and fine teeth, a design Freeport, Illinois is known for its canister-
popularized by companies throughout the 19th type, wall-mounted coffee mills. The
and early 20th century. Many of these wall- Arcade No. 3 is its most iconic model.
mounted grinders were made of brass or cast iron
and featured a clear glass hopper at the top to Continued on page 29
hold beans to be ground – as much as a pound or
more. The big crank handle on the side would be
turned to start the grinding, and a wooden
drawer at the base would collect the ground
coffee. Over time this utilitarian device became
more decorative and ornate. Today, wall-mounted
grinders are considered the more popular version
for collectors.
New patents were issued for improved methods
of “grinding and pounding coffee” during the
first half of the 19th century that further distin-
guished the difference between a coffee mill and
coffee grinder. Large floor-standing and counter-
model coffee mills were introduced into the
general store in the 1870s. The one-wheel store
model was patented in 1870 by John Gulick
Baker of Philadelphia (Champion #1), and the
two-wheel model was made in 1873. These
painted attractions put coffee front and center at
a time when coffee as a beverage was gaining
wider consumer consumption. Models for the Above: This vintage advertisement for an Arcade Crystal Coffee Mill is from a
September 1917 issue of the Hardware Age magazine Above right: This is a
Antique Store Model Elgin National home were not widely available until
coffee mill/grinder selling for $2,799.99 on the end of the century, but the experience of unique Arcade Crystal No. 3 wall mount coffee grinder because it is white in
eBay, 71” tall with 28” wheels, catcher box watching the beans get ground in a store has color with gold on the letters! Great old paint and patina on this all complete
made from quarter-sawn oak. never lost its consumer appeal. old antique coffee grinder. Approximately 20” long and extending out from the
wall to the end of the wooden crank handle is 9” deep.
photo: Bargain John’s Antiques
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
26
integral clamp-on, cast iron, hand-crank
coffee grinder/mill. It's made by
Enterprise Mfg. Co. of
Philadelphia, U.S.A.
Outstanding, impressive
early tin litho country
store coffee grinder
with wooden base and
a cast iron handle.
Shows wonderful
illustrated family
images on two sides,
instructions on back
panel. Sold for $577
photo: Wm. Morford Auctions
One of the most popular coffee mills for grinding larger
amounts of coffee in the general store was the Enterprise Model No.
12-1/2. Manufactured between 1886 and 1898, it stood 42 inches
high, had 25-inch diameter wheels and weighed about 140 pounds.
Its main components were made of cast iron. Such mills became
status symbols for those general store owners who could afford
them. Its value now is well over $1,000.
Today, wall-mounted, box-shaped,
table-mounted, one-wheel, and two-
wheel mills and other types of commercial
and household grinders from the 19th
and the first half of the 20th century, are
all highly collectible and run the gamut
from rustic to highly ornate and decorative.
Even at their most primitive, collectors
value them for their design, history, and
T consumers have the choice of buying pre-packaged ground coffee or beans by the quality of craftsmanship.
here is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly ground coffee. Today, coffee
pound to be freshly ground at home. This was not the case for most of rural
America in the 19th century when beans were purchased and ground
COLLECTING TIPS
It’s important to know who and what
on-site at the general store. to look for when viewing the number of
While methods for grinding the coffee bean date back centuries, American inventors different types and sizes of American-
were late to the party compared to their European counterparts. The first U.S. patent for made antique coffee mills and grinders
a coffee mill—also referred to as a coffee grinder—was issued in 1798 to Thomas Bruff of found online and at shows and markets –
Maryland. Bruff was a self-described inventor whose other claim to fame was serving as this can be an expensive collecting
Thomas Jefferson’s dentist. He wrote to Jefferson hobby. There are many reproductions on
in 1801 about his invention: “Sir, … Nature has the market and it is often buyer-beware
designed me for inventing … a coffee mill, that when making a purchase. Here are a few
grinds a pound in 4 & 1/2 minutes…” His
manufacturers to know:
wall-mounted device ground beans between The Arcade Manufacturing Co. of
metal nuts with coarse and fine teeth, a design Freeport, Illinois is known for its canister-
popularized by companies throughout the 19th type, wall-mounted coffee mills. The
and early 20th century. Many of these wall- Arcade No. 3 is its most iconic model.
mounted grinders were made of brass or cast iron
and featured a clear glass hopper at the top to Continued on page 29
hold beans to be ground – as much as a pound or
more. The big crank handle on the side would be
turned to start the grinding, and a wooden
drawer at the base would collect the ground
coffee. Over time this utilitarian device became
more decorative and ornate. Today, wall-mounted
grinders are considered the more popular version
for collectors.
New patents were issued for improved methods
of “grinding and pounding coffee” during the
first half of the 19th century that further distin-
guished the difference between a coffee mill and
coffee grinder. Large floor-standing and counter-
model coffee mills were introduced into the
general store in the 1870s. The one-wheel store
model was patented in 1870 by John Gulick
Baker of Philadelphia (Champion #1), and the
two-wheel model was made in 1873. These
painted attractions put coffee front and center at
a time when coffee as a beverage was gaining
wider consumer consumption. Models for the Above: This vintage advertisement for an Arcade Crystal Coffee Mill is from a
September 1917 issue of the Hardware Age magazine Above right: This is a
Antique Store Model Elgin National home were not widely available until
coffee mill/grinder selling for $2,799.99 on the end of the century, but the experience of unique Arcade Crystal No. 3 wall mount coffee grinder because it is white in
eBay, 71” tall with 28” wheels, catcher box watching the beans get ground in a store has color with gold on the letters! Great old paint and patina on this all complete
made from quarter-sawn oak. never lost its consumer appeal. old antique coffee grinder. Approximately 20” long and extending out from the
wall to the end of the wooden crank handle is 9” deep.
photo: Bargain John’s Antiques
Journal of Antiques and Collectibles
26
