December 2014 Newsletter

The Great Debate

Egg-Nog has always been a popular drink dating back to as early as the 1700's, having had dozens of different names and just as many variations in its mixture. It is apparent that in the 1940s, the Egg Nog idea was reborn and introduced again to popular culture as a holiday drink, under the name Tom and Jerry.

Tom and Jerry punch bowl sets appear often this time of year and along with it comes the age old question, why Tom and Jerry? Two plausible explanations exist as to why glass companies like Hazel Atlas, McKee, Jeanette Glass and Fireking began producing punch sets in the early 1940s with Tom and Jerry decorations. However, the real story behind the name may be forever lost in the secrets of history.

According to a 2006 story written by a food blogger, Pierce Egan 'concocted' a drink based on an old eggnog recipe. Mr Egan was a sportswriter who dabbled in fiction, writing a series in the early 1820's called Life of London: or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and His Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom. The story followed two english characters in a variety of quandries and mishaps.

Egan's stories became popular enough that several theatre houses copied his ideas and came out with their own version of his stories. It is said that Egan took an eggnog recipe and named it Tom and Jerry to help promote his plays and story.

However, there is no mention of this in Egan's official biography or any historical archive to support the story. Nevertheless, since the Tom and Jerry adventures were so popular in the early 1820's it is possible that there is some creedance to the fact that someone named a drink after the highly popular plays and book.

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Jeremiah P. Thomas

Jeremiah Thomas was one of the most prolific and well-known 'bartenders of the mid-1800s. In fact, he became known as the Father of American Mixology and often referred to as Professor Jerry. Thomas, travelled the world sharing his skills in cocktails as well as his showmanship in twirling bottles and lighting alcohol on fire to amaze audiences. In the 1800s, bartenders kept secret about their recipes and concoctionsand rarely shared those with anyone, Thomas sought to change this by publishing a book of his recipes both creations of his own and gathered from around the world.

According to an 1885 story in the NY Times reporting the death of Thomas; Thomas takes full credit for the creation of Tom and Jerry, and even published the recipe in his 1862 book "How to Mix Drinks: Or, The Bon-vivant's Companion" on page 69 recipe number 174. The Tom and Jerry, without a doubt is a variation of egg nog as we know it, but Thomas gives his take on how he created it.in the NY Times story.

"One day in Califormia, A gentleman asked me to give him an egg beaten up in sugar. I prepared the article, and then I thought to myself, 'how beautiful the egg and sugar would be with brandy in it!' I ran to the gentleman and said, if you'll only bear with me for five minutes i'll fix you up a drink that'll do your heartstrings good' He wasn't at all averse to having his heartstrings improved, so back I went and mixed the egg and sugar, which I had beaten up into a kind of batter, with some brandy. Then I poured in some hot water and stirred vigorously. The drink realized my expectations. It was the one thing I had been dreaming of for months. I named the drink after myself. I had two small white mice in those days, one of which I called Tom and the other Jerry. I combined the abbreviations in the drink, as Jeremiah P Thomas would have sounded rather heavy and that wouldn't have done for a beverage."

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Variations

The Hazel Atlas Holiday Punch sets came in a variety of finishes and primarily in two styles. The footed style contained a convex bowl with a stylized base and footed mugs. The plain style came with a 'mixing bowl' flat bottomed rim style bowl and the standard children's size mugs.

Finishes are mostly white with a transfer decal, however there is a commonly seen burgundy with white holly leaves in the footed style. Decorations vary from Tom and Jerry to Jingle Bells to Auld Lang syne and a few colonial or winter scenes.

There are no known reproductions of the Hazel Atlas Punch Bowl sets. However, you may find an example that has a secondary market transfer, such as the case with the Deco Candles and mistletoe shown below right.

Price Trends

*Please note: prices quoted are retail prices, if you are selling to a dealer, you should expect at least 30% less

Most of the time, the punch bowl is found separetly from the mugs; however, the bowl and the mugs hold their value whether as a complete set or individually. You may find a slightly higher price (add a few dollars) for the musical (auld lang syne and jiongle bells) than for other variations, collectors will buy the mugs individually because of their unique character. The musical mugs may bring as high as $7-$10. Nevertheless, a typical mug will fetch $3-$5 while the bowl gets around $7-$10. Complete sets retail for between $25-$40, depending mostly on the desire of the buyer.

The original box may bring a few dollars more to aserious collector, but for the most part, a box adds little value. The boxes came in a few different variations and names, depending on the region or reatiler. You may also find a long curved deep ladle with sets. These ladles were included in some sets but not all. The ladle is plastic and found in white and burgundy. The price is minimal and mostly dependent on the buyers desire. (The ladles were not produced by Hazel Atlas and are commonly found)

Unusual Pieces

As stated before, there really is no rare or unusual pieces in the Tom and Jerry eggnog punch sets. However, you may find an occasional piece with an unusal design. Those designs are mostly after-market and decorated by a studio or individual. There is no real price increase in lesser seen pieces. Bear in mind there are no 'rare' pieces.



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