Tuesday Tea and Tomes: Antique Knife Rests - A book with a surprise beginning!

 

Antique Knife Rests by Dean Rockwell holds a surprise beginning for this BTS blogger

This is a special book review, in that most of the contents of book itself are almost secondary to the connection of antique knife rests from BTS' first encounter with this vintage item as a preteen to a novice collector fifty-plus years later.  This book doesn't have a surprise ending, it has a surprise beginning! 

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I was introduced to knife rests over fifty years ago, but only recently did they come back on my radar. Last spring, when we traveled through Virginia, we stayed at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast, the Trinkle Mansion and our hosts had included these lovely accoutrements on our dining table (only using them as "spoon rests").

A serendipitous visit to the Trinkle Mansion reunites us with knife rests

At our breakfast table, after we were all admiring the cut glass adornments which graced the tablescape, I shared a story of how I first encountered knife rests. I was in junior high and invited to a sleepover at my classmate's home, along with six other girls. Julie lived in an incredible house, a large split level (what we'd now call "mid-century"), sitting high on a well-manicured hill, in, appropriately named, Bloomfield Hills. 

Knife rests used as a spoon rest at Trinkle Mansion

Shortly after we arrived, we rolled out our sleeping bags in a large family room that was adjacent to the dining room. It was here, I first spied knife rests, but had no idea what they were. They weren't resting on a table, which might have helped with context, but were, instead, displayed in shadow boxes with a black velvety backdrop.  They were all pressed glass or crystal and I remember how pretty they all looked. We all stared at them and said how amazing they were, but none of us had the nerve to ask what they were. That is, except, for Debbie ("the bold one"), who was puzzled, like the young boy in "The Emperor's New Clothes" and shouted, "what the heck are those"? It was then that Julie told us, matter-of-factly, exactly what they were, their purpose and that her parents were great collectors of these antique items. Mystery solved and on to more pressing matters, like scary stories and long chats of latest crushes. 

Recent purchases at Antiques Depot: salt cellar and knife rest

Although, I've run into knife rests over the years, it wasn't until we were at the Trinkle Mansion that I thought about what a great accessory they would make for one of my tablescapes. So, on my last trip to my favorite antique store, Antiques Depot, in Lewiston, Michigan, I purchased my first one. (It was vintage, and the price reflected it - hence, the one for now).

AND NOW, the book review!

I give all this background, because when I was searching for a book on the topic of knife rests, I found very little. Okay, perhaps that's not a great surprise, but I did find one, which is today's Tuesday Tea and Tomes:   "Antique Knife Rests" by Dean Rockwell. 

The author is from Michigan, born in 1912, and wrote the book in 2002. (He passed away in 2005 at the age of 95). He gives an easily digestible overview of the history of knife rests, the different types (metal, ceramic and glass) and lots of pictures for reference. But it was what was in the beginning of his book that surprised me the most.

Vintage knife rest now graces my humble tea table - more to come!

In his "Acknowledgments" section at the beginning of the book, Rockwell gives credit to notable museums and collectors. In the last paragraph, he gives a shout out to a local expert, stating, "I wish to acknowledge the valuable help given to me by the late Wilbur Pierce of Bloomfield Hills, who gave me his considerable notes and research findings".  Wilbur and Julie not only share a similar past location, but a surname as well.  Unexpectedly, but delightfully, my knife rest journey came full circle. Who knew fifty some years ago, I was in the home of the leading local authorities on knife rests when all I was expecting was a night of giggles and goodies? 

After all these years, the memories and new discoveries came together in a serendipitous Bed-and-Breakfast visit and a subsequent book purchase that connected all those dusty dots into a new passion (close family and friends have already been forewarned!).

More to come on the history of knife rests in an upcoming BTS "Wednesday What is it?" But, for now, we're excited to renew this journey that started at a time I still found sleeping bags an appropriate mode for sleeping.  😀