Cookie Jars- A Sentimental Favorite

Cookie Jars have been popular collectibles for years. Though prices have recently come down, this has more to do with plentiful supplies rather than a waning of popularity.  The appeal to collectors is based on a strong sentimental  connection – ask cookie jar collectors why they love them, and you are bound to hear mention of Mom or Grannie's secret recipe toll house cookies, butterscotch bars, oatmeal raisin, or ginger snaps.

Every Friday, my Grandmother filled the three pottery cookie trucks that sat on her counter with an endless variety of mandelbrodt for those children and grandchildren who loved nuts, were allergic to nuts or who broke out from chocolate, who preferred chocolate or generally enjoyed the basic chocolate vanilla combo.

Cookie Jars & the Great Depression

The earliest cookie jars appeared on the scene in the 1930’s, when pottery manufacturers noticed that more homemakers had begun baking homemade treats rather than purchasing them, and needed something to put them in.  The earliest cookie jars were simple forms, possibly reworked from existing molds, such as balls, cylinders, or pitchers.  Prices for early cookie jars in simple shapes remain as low as $20-$30.

Figural Cookie Jars

Once it became clear that cookie jars would sell, manufacturers outdid themselves, producing whimsical jars in the shape of fruit, vegetables, animals, vehicles, buildings, furniture, appliances, spaceships, and an unlimited variety of characters from nursery rhymes, children’s books, circuses, television shows, movies, and history. Figural cookie jars are the most popular, and prices can range anywhere from $75 to a few thousand dollars.  And, as with most areas of collectibles, examples with crossover appeal fetch the highest prices.

How the Cookie (Jar) Crumbles

As always, condition plays an important part in value, with top dollar paid for only those cookie jars free of crazing, cracks, chips, and hairlines. However, minor production defects are acceptable, and since collectors understand that cookie jar lids were handled by children, some minor damage was inevitable.  The most valuable pieces come from early in a production run, when the mold was still sharp enough to produce strong details, and the best decorators added carefully applied bold colors.

Collectors Love These Vintage Cookie Jars. . .

. . . McCoy’s first figural-Mammy with Broccoli, Shawnee’s Smiley Pig, American Bisque’s Olive Oyl, Regal China’s Alice in Wonderland, California Originals’ Superman, and Humpty Dumpty, by Brush Pottery.  Additional manufacturers to look for include Roseville Pottery, Abingdon, Red Wing, and Doranne.