seeking info on 1920s "portable bar"

I've never seen these before - beautiful!

 

I acknowledge that this may be a dumb question, but why would this in particular fetch a premium price? There are many other bar carts of this era (my neighbors have a beautiful cart in their living room of an unknown brand), this one doesn’t seem to have any particularly distinctive aesthetic or functional features, and it’s not a known “brand name.” Perhaps if the characters in the “Thin Man” movie specifically referred to this brand of bar cart, that would be one thing. This bar cart isn’t famous right now.

To contrast, expensive cars of that era, such as a Cord or a Deusenberg, were known then to be glamorous and expensive, not just by “those in the know,” but the general public.

The super expensive KUBA Komet televisions of the 1950s also come to mind…that Kuba has an incredible design that resonated then and still does now.

Likewise, the iconic Eames Lounge Chair was famous when it was launched. Its designers, Charles and Ray Eames, were already well-regarded, and even today are famous independent of this one chair. Indeed, their landmark house is one of the Case Study Houses. Although the chair continues to be manufactured today (my in laws had one), people are always “on the hunt” for a vintage 1950s example.

I do like it, but I don’t know if the market of people looking for a bar cart of this era is specifically looking for one of these, as opposed to any attractive example in good condition. That is, there are people looking to buy an attractive stained glass shade lamp, and others looking specifically for a Tiffany.

 

Well I certainly hope that if one of these ever comes to light and I hear about it, it does *not* fetch a premium, because I would like to be able to buy it and still have some money left over to buy some liquor for the party to celebrate the launch of my book about Baker...My real questions are not, of course, about the value of the piece (I know its value to me!), only whether it exists/is likely to exist and, secondarily, where it might have been manufactured and how many might have originally been produced. Incidentally/relatedly, Baker's first cookbook (a 2-volume set called "The Gentleman's Companion") was initially produced in a limited edition of 1250, with each copy numbered. First editions are not super-easy to find, but also not super-difficult, and while they are expensive (I think mine cost $350), they're not *that* expensive as rare books go, and sometimes (as with one currently listed for $1200+ on eBay) they are obviously over-priced. Baker is definitely a niche interest and I doubt even a book about him will do much to change that, which suits me fine!

 

It was designed by someone famous for their food and cocktails. There also seems to be enough interest in it for people to write about it and to try and come up with a facsimile. It is, assuredly, a niche market and the sale of such could go virtually unoticed. On the other hand, as I said above with the proper promotion, it could bring a nice premium.

 

***UPDATE*** I joined this forum a little more than a year ago to start this thread re. a 1920s "portable bar." A few months after posting, and partly with help of some suggestions I got here, I discovered a picture of the item in the December 1927 issue of "Country Life." In case anyone is interested, I attach the image here - unattractively cropped due to posting size restrictions. I have written an article about this piece and its designer, a writer named Charles H. Baker, Jr., that has just been published in the academic journal "American Periodicals." The journal is not open access, so I will not paste the article in here, but if you are very interested in the piece/topic, please feel free to direct message me or contact me at my academic institution (given below). Finally, if anyone has ever seen, or possesses, or knows someone who possesses the refreshment cart pictured here, I would love to know about it - I think it will be my life's work to get my hands on one! Thanks to all for your interest and thoughts on this topic. Jeremy Lopez, Dept. English, Montclair State University

 

I'm confused. That doesn't look like the same item. And who is Shirley Paine?

Debora

 

I was confused, too, until I re-read the other posts in this thread. The photos thus far have been re-creations "inspired" by descriptions of the Baker Bar-Ette.
The Country Life photo OP just provided, but that makes no mention of the Baker or Bar-ette names, matches most of the original descriptors, though not all.
Per the 1927 Time Magazine mention, provided by OP in his initial post in this thread, the Baker Bar-ette is:
"a three-wheeled barrow, of tea-wagon appearance, containing lock compartments for liquor, an ice receptacle, niches for bottles, glasses, ice-picks, openers, knives, spoons; a cedar drawer for 500 cigars; a tray; an oak board for slicing fruit; a musical attachment designed to play certain tunes. This machine - the Baker Bar-ette - is usually made with a red-laquer finish. Some are equipped with the heads & tails of animals (cock, horse, dog) sticking out at either end, to support the leaves which, when folded, cover the box, and, when unfolded, serve as a depository for used glasses".
Notably, the Country Life example does not appear to be a three-wheeled barrow design/shape. It's also priced at $125, not the $175 originally mentioned. It may be Shirley Paine's knock-off?

 

Thank you for the clarification above. Shirley Paine refers to it as a "special price." And that includes delivery within 100 miles of New York City. Wonder if Shirley Paine is the retailer. (And a he as Shirley is originally a man's name.) To @Jeremy Lopez , please post an uncropped image of the ad. As is, it removes all context and some information. For instance, the directions are to send money but the image you've posted has no address.

Debora

 

Shirley Paine was an editor for Country Life and American Home magazines which were published by Doubleday, Doran & Company. In that field and in that era, she would have been a woman.

 

That article in Time magazine has incorrect information. The creator's name is "Charles H. Baker Jr." and not "Childs H. Baker Jr.".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Baker_Jr.

Here's a link to one of his books where he mentions the Hotel Astor in Shanghai. (Note the year.) And as he was a well known figure in the culinary and cocktail world, using his name for his invention makes sense.

Debora

 

Charles H. Baker Jr. with Ernest Hemingway.



Debora

 

Baker was a wonderful writer but somewhat sloppy, often mixing memory & desire. Early Time, as it happens, was notoriously sloppy on the editorial side too. For example in the feature on the Bar-ette they printed Baker's name as "Childs H. Baker, Jr." I think that some of the features referred to in the Time piece, in particular the three-wheeled form, are from the model Baker saw in Shanghai. Whatever he said or wrote to Time, and whatever they read or heard, the versions got mingled in the blurb. Baker's design patent (linked above) shows 4 wheels. "Shirley Paine" was *definitely* a pseudonym that Baker used while writing copy for this feature, i.e. not a real female person - there is both external and internal evidence for this, which I discuss in my article. I am writing a literary biography of Baker (in which that Hemingway photo features prominently) and am happy to talk anyone's ear off about him, though this might not be the appropriate forum. Here, I am most interested in actually seeing/purchasing the physical object pictured in the ad, so if you have or do ever come across one, please let me know!

 

That obituary, by the way, is full of half-correct or just plain wrong information, though the bit about his Xmas night parties is correct!

 

The first edition of Baker's first cookbook came out in 1939, and a more widely available reprint after 1946, when he had gained a national reputation writing for Town & Country and Gourmet. In 1927 he was pretty much unknown - working in publishing, trying to become a fiction writer/novelist. His future as a renowned (or cult-figure) cookbook author was still pretty far off; a tenacious self-promoter, *he* would have referred to his invention as "the Baker Bar-ette," esp. if he was sending blurbs to magazines, but his name would've had no cache in a department store.

 

A personal conceit then.

Debora

 

Baker knew a lot of people in the publishing world - a pretty small world at the time, and he was a sociable, ambitious, well connected guy. I expect he got in touch with someone he knew at Time and the NYer (there's an ad there too) and said "I've designed this bar cart like I saw when I was recently in Shanghai." "What do you call it?" the other said. "The Baker Bar-ette!" Baker said, and that's what his friend wrote down. But if the thing was being sold at Ovington's and Saks and at dept. stores in Chicago and LA there was no reason they would've called it that. So he got a little personal publicity on the front end, but the more important thing was to have it available nationally, both in stores (where it probably retailed for $175) and through the magazine shopping service (special price of $125).

 

It wasn't really available nationally. It was only available in three markets: New York and the metropolitan area, Chicago and Los Angeles. He had four grandchildren. Has anyone tracked them down?

Debora

 

So it eventually came in other colors, with "Chinese design or fine English sporting prints on sides". I'm sure Jeremy has followed up on all these bits, the Great White Whale of refreshment carts may not be red. Looks you'd have to have luck beyond luck to find one with the music attachment.

Baker sounds like the kind of guy who would be asked to come for dinner every day of the week because he was such a good raconteur.