An online collectors' guide and occasional blog about collecting these surprisingly clever items: cheese spreaders
Why Collect Spreaders?
It’s true: resin-handled cheese spreader sets are out of fashion. The “golden age” of figural spreaders lasted from the mid-1990s until around 2010. They declined in popularity from about 2005, and by 2010, hardly any new designs were made. Boston Warehouse does not make any new designs today, and only a few companies still sell them online.
Most spreaders sold today are more ornamental in design, or only loosely figural, either ceramic ones with modern designs, or fancy silver or gold-tone handles. The new spreaders are often beautiful objects in their own right, but they lack the attention to tiny details and the droll cleverness of the best of the resin-handled spreader sets.
These are the new style in spreaders: many are still figural, in that they depict objects. And these are certainly beautiful and in much better “taste” than humorous resin-handled spreaders. But not interesting in the same way that many resin-handled spreaders are in their humorous — and very human — detail.
But despite the trend being over, numerous spreaders from the “golden age” are still available online at Ebay, Etsy, Poshmark and Mercari. The variety and number available (usually 1,500+ on Ebay at any given time) can be astounding, and the very clever designs of some sets are endlessly fascinating.
Here’s a sampling of a few marvelous spreader sets, showing just why I think these are worth paying attention to:
Look at the attention to detail in these Christmas Cats Spreaders issued by Boston Warehouse in 2002: all of the cats have their eyes closed, except the one on the far left (for some reason?). Another has a golden bow on its head and a kabuki mouth, yet another has that red & white striped hat with a long tail like a dreadlock — with sparkles! And the cat on the far right is the best of all, wearing antlers on the back of its head like a Norse winter god. Some graphic designer really earned their keep with these (artist Maret Hensick designed a set of Halloween cats for Boston Warehouse in 2001, and these have something of the same look about them, although they are not credited to her — perhaps merely inspired by her work).
And look at the realistic clothing worn by this set of sea captains made by Artmark, and the very human expressions on their faces. (I found this photo online, and I’m afraid it’s not very good.) I finally found and purchased this set after much looking, but my set lacks the case.
And look at the astonishing level of tiny detail in these “Party Platter” spreaders issued by Boston Warehouse in 1999. Think of the amount of microscopic attention that went into first carving the prototypes for these, and then the minute hand-painting that was done, likely under magnifying glass, on the hundreds (thousands?) of sets of these that were cast. Look at those tiny shrimp painted in two colors! The minuscule cherry tomatoes, the tiny apple seeds, the minute slices of salami (with nearly imperceptible streaks of fat painted on!). Keep in mind that each of these platters is probably only an inch wide and less than 2&1/2 inches long. Incredible.
Someone really had fun with these…. Look at those ’90s outfits and hairstyles on this Boston Warehouse set from 1998 (called “Pool Folk”).
And this set was made by Cardinal, Inc. for their Spreadables line. Their title is “Asian Instruments,” and the handles depict string instruments used in the traditional Peking Opera of China (the famous Erhu is at far right, although I wasn’t able to identify the second instrument from the left — perhaps it’s from a different Asian region). Since all of these resin-handled spreaders were made in Chinese factories, perhaps Cardinal simply asked their manufacturers to design and make some authentically Chinese objects — which these assuredly are. But again, the attention to (authentic) detail and the choice of such an esoteric subject are rather breathtaking.
I think the above five examples illustrate why spreaders can be so interesting, and why I believe they have the potential to eventually be appreciated again. Many of them are certainly works of superior design, and perhaps even could be considered miniature works of art — mass-produced art at any rate.
And furthermore, they say something about American culture at the turn of the 21st century, about the kinds of things — and people — that we found interesting or amusing, and the clothing styles and foods we liked.
Spreaders were certainly considered to be trivial and amusing when they were made, and they are indeed currently out of fashion. Nevertheless, we can take them seriously as collectors’ items — and everyone knows that the best time to collect something is while it’s out of style (when it’s affordable).
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the best of these spreaders might have some greater future appreciation — not just monetarily, but in terms of artistic appreciation. Now might be the time to take a closer look at them.
