The cocktail shaker, once a symbol of elegance, is now eminently collectible. This reference, designed for collectors and admirers alike, celebrates a golden age when designers from the famous luxury goods houses had a ball with novelty cocktail shakers. ""Thirst extinguishers"", skyscrapers, lighthouses, penguins, ship's lanterns and dumb-bells, decorative and practical, were favourite themes, and with the legalisation of liquor in the USA, following the repeal of the Prohibition in 1933, cocktail sets were in great demand. Art-Deco-inspired shakers exemplified the age and found favour with the smart set in New York, Paris and elsewhere. This volume features over 150 photographs of shakers.
Although cocktails may not appeal to every taste, the vintage shakers many surprisingly beautiful used to make them just might. Famed collector, author, compiler, and gallery-owner Khachadourian inspires other collectors and popular culture buffs alike with his coffee-table book, excellently illustrating the history of the cocktail and the cocktail shaker. The author provides a moderately detailed, easily understandable context for the changing design features of the cocktail shaker over the years, pertinent word etymologies (such as the derivations of "the real McCoy," "gin," and "Art Deco"), and pointers for possible collectors. Since Khachadourian produced this title in association with Tanqueray gin, it should come as no surprise that cocktail recipes appear throughout but only as complementary asides. The self-proclaimed first book to deal with cocktail shakers in detail, this makes a most suitable purchase for collectibles collections. Rex E. Klett, Mitchell Community Coll., Statesville, NC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.