Lightweight aluminum coasters evoke midcentury style

Cheryl-Anne Millsap  /  Staff writer

1950s aluminum coasters are functional and collectible. (Brian Plonka/The Spokesman-Review) Aluminum stories Did you receive aluminum serving pieces, bar items or other household items as wedding gifts? Are you a collector who scours flea markets and thrift stores for vintage aluminum treasures? I'd like to hear the story behind your pieces. You can reach me by e-mail at cam@spokesman.com or by phone at (509) 459-5153. @ On the Web: For an archive of great Home content, including Treasure Hunting columns and Cheryl-Anne Millsap's blog, access the information at no charge at spokesmanreview.com/home

After discovering yet another white circle on the table, caused by a child's forgotten water glass left behind on the dining-room table, I started looking around for coasters. As luck would have it, the next estate sale I went to produced a nearly complete set of 1950s aluminum coasters still in their original decorative holder.

They're perfect.

Through the 1950s, modern hostesses brought out lightweight aluminum trays, coasters and even cookware whenever they entertained. They used items like the hand-forged coasters I found to keep coffee cups and highball glasses from marring the surface of the furniture.

The metal was inexpensive and perfectly captured the end of the Art Deco era. Most brides received pieces made by the WearEver Aluminum Co.

According to information found online, the U.S. Aluminum Co. was an early producer of decorative household items. In 1901, USAC became "The Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company," or TACU. In 1904 TACU became WearEver.

During World War II, aluminum was scarce due to the production of war machinery. But post war, the metal was back in homes across the country. Many pieces were decorated with an "atomic" theme.

I imagine the set of coasters I found have seen plenty of duty over the last half century.

They are unmarked, so I don't know who made them. Doesn't matter. The silvery little plates, each carved into the shape of a tulip, will keep the circles off the table and I think they'll look good doing it.

The fact that I'm still missing one coaster to make a complete set is a bonus.

I'll have to keep hitting the estate sales until I find one more.