Fun For Me ... Music For You

Welcome to my collection of salt and pepper shakers. I finally got all of them photographed yesterday and can begin sharing them on the blog. I truly enjoy collecting them. I haven't actively collected for about a year now, but still buy when something catches my eye. While I collect all types, I'm currently looking for items stamped "Japan", "Occupied Japan", Made in Occupied Japan", and "Made in Japan". What does that mean?

Here's a quote from www.the4cs.com:

"Following the end of World War II in 1945 and until 1952, items imported from Japan to the United States had to be marked in a fashion indicating they came from Occupied Japan. Although four different marks were used on cups and saucers during this time ("Japan," "Made in Japan," "Occupied Japan," and "Made in Occupied Japan"), only the last two marks guarantee the pieces were made in the Occupied Japan timeframe. For serious Occupied Japan collectors, it is items with these two marks for which they search."

Here's what I know ...

In general ...

Items marked "Japan" are pre 1945.

Items marked "Occupied Japan" or "Made in Occupied Japan" are 1945 to 1952. In that same time period you may come across items marked both "Japan" and "Occupied Japan". That is because some items were already made during that period before they began stamping "Occupied Japan". Some items were re-stamped and show both stamps, while other items had already been shipped. That means that you can have two idential sets of salt and pepper shakers ... from the same period ... and have one that is stamped "Japan" while the other one is stamped "Occupied Japan".

Any items made after 1952 had to be stamped "Made in Japan".

So ... Today a "Japan" item would be 61 years old or older. An "Occupied Japan" item would be between 54 and 61 years old. A "Made in Japan" item would be up to 54 years old. I just think that is really cool!!!!!

These three catagories are usually the most valuable to have. However, some salt and pepper shakers are just darn cute! I collect those too!!!!

You can also date your items by the manufacturer stamp when there is one. If you research, you can find out when these companies were started, how long they were open, what years they manufactured and when they closed or if they are still in operation today.

Anyway, I'll be sharing them with you a few at a time. Hope you enjoy!!