My Spreader Sets in a Museum Show

September 23, 2026September 23, 2026 admin

Don’t laugh–a local university museum featured some of my favorite spreader sets in a display window during spring and summer semesters of this year (2026). The University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums has an ongoing exhibit of collections of faculty, students, staff, and alumni (I’m in the last category) called My Collections. My daughter, who graduated from the university last spring, told me about the program and urged me to fill out the online application for it, so I did and was accepted.

Last January, I spent about an hour and a half arranging some favorite spreader sets in a display window at viewing height (this was harder than you might think, as the museum was not able to provide individual stands that were the right size, and I had to prop many of them against felt-draped boxes:

Here’s a list of the spreaders in the display, which I was asked to provide, both for insurance reasons (although it was very hard to estimate their value, as it took me years to find some of them); and also to identify them for viewers:

Left:

Lifesavers Spreaders (Nabisco)
Margarita and Salsa Spreader House (unknown manufacturer)
Petit Fours Spreaders by Nancy Green (Boston Warehouse, 2001)
Chinese Takeout Spreader House (Centrum)
Fiesta Ware Spreader House (Copco)
Macaron Spreader Set of 2 (Boston International)
McDonald’s French Fries Spreaders (unknown manufacturer)
Sushi Spreaders (Davida Uniforms)
Mr. Peanut Spreader (unknown manufacturer)
Party Platter Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 1997)
Beer Stein Spreaders (Cardinal, Inc. Spreadables)
Wolferman’s Baked Goods Spreaders (Williams Food Inc., 2002)
Corkscrew Spreaders (Williams Sonoma, 2015)

Right:

Hot Stuff Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 1999)
Erika Oller Cat Ladies Spreaders (House of Prill, 2000)
Erika Oller Cat in Control Spreaders (Hs. of Prill, 2000)
Party Dress Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2002)
Gardening Folk Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 1999)
Kimonos Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2002)
Cactus Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2003)
Backyard BBQ Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2000)

Center:

Wizard of Oz Spreader (Hallmark)
Pillsbury Doughboy Butter Spreaders (The Pillsbury Company, 1999)
Betty Boop Spreaders (Wine Things, Unlimited)
Babar Spreaders (Tropico Diffusion)
Christmas Cats Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2002)
Titanic Spreader (Born Aviation)
Nesting Dolls Spreaders (Bostone Warehouse)
Fiddler on the Roof Spreader House (Aviv Judaica)
Architectural Landmarks (Steel) set of 6 (4 shown, Amco Houseworks)
Guy Buffett Waiters Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 1996)
Sea Captains & Sailors Spreaders (Artmark, 1999)
Scottish Golfer Spreaders (Cypress Home)
John Derre Spreaders (Cypress Home, 2006)
Cocktail Nutcracker Spreaders (Boston Warehouse, 2002)
Asian Instruments (Cardinal Inc. Spreadables)
Tiki (ceramic) Spreaders (unknown brand)
Parlez Moo Francais? Spreaders (L. Tremain, 1997)
Autumn Crows on Tractor Spreader House (Cardinal Inc. Spreadables)
Barnyard Buddies in Barn Spreader House (Boston Warehouse, 1999)
Watermelon Spreader House (Centrum)
Salsa Barnyard Buddies Spreader House (Boston Warehouse, 2000)
M&M’s World Cheese Spreaders (Mars Group, 2016)

Also, I was asked to write a one-page statement about my collection: why I collect them, how I got started:

Yes, it’s a weird thing to collect: sets of (usually four) cheese spreading knives with little handles shaped like Santas, animals, or foods. “Novelty Cheese Spreaders.”
My collection started in the early 2000s, when in a consignment store I found a set with handles shaped like different fruits. After a few years, I happened upon vegetable-shaped ones; and then a set with handles like different cheeses.

But then fate led me to a set of little European-looking wine waiters (included here). The little waiters and their facial expressions did me in.

I’ve collected spreaders for more than two decades (mostly at thrift/consignment stores and Ebay), and I now have more than 600 sets and 60+ spreader house sets. During the pandemic I trolled Ebay endlessly, made Pinterest lists, and cataloged my sets. I even have a collectors’ web site and very occasional blog.

Why do I collect cheese spreaders? Because the best of them are marvelous:

the incredibly minute details: most handles are molded resin (like military models), and were hand-painted under magnifying glass

the sometimes droll humor and totally unnecessary ridiculousness

the clever designs: the way those in a set relate to each other and/or to a spreader house that holds them

the very human expressions on both human and animal faces; the foods that look good enough to eat

the astonishing variety of subjects: Christmas-themed sets are most common, but the selection here barely hints at their variety, made by 50+ manufacturers (Peking opera instruments? Beer steins? Fiddler on the Roof? Cat ladies?)

The “golden age” of spreader sets was around 1995 to 2005, and they say something about turn-of-this-century American culture: about the things and people we found interesting or amusing, and the clothing styles and foods we liked. Spreaders were made to be trivial and amusing. Nevertheless, I collect them seriously, while yet enjoying their fun appeal. The cleverest of these spreaders certainly merit appreciation, for their miniature, humorous—and very human—design. I invite you to look closely at them, to see why they are so appealing.

Various family members visited the museum several times to view my collection (along with the regular museum displays–mostly natural history items). And at the end of the summer, I returned to the museum to retrieve my spreaders before 30,000 students returned to campus and made parking a logistical challenge.

So now I can say that my spreader collection is museum worthy…. 🙂

But their hour of fame is over and they are now back at home–just in time for a new venue in a large display case that came from my mother’s house when we moved her here last fall to be closer to me. I’ll show my new display in a future post.

Thanks for reading! -Beth