A BENCH SITTER set: Usually consists of two people or animal shakers designed to sit on the bench that was sold with the set. Benches can be wooden, ceramic, or metal. Usually has the main characteristic of the shakers in a sitting position with knees bent and feet hanging down, not touching the shelf. There are some…

These shaker types are usually forms of condiments, three-piece, and/or hangers. A CARRIER set is usually a person or animal base with baskets, flowers, barrels or tools as shakers resting on top of some part of their arms, saddles or sides. CARRIER Examples: A CART set is typically an animal pulling a cart or wagon with shakers sitting on…

A complete CONDIMENT SET includes two shakers, a third container or pot with a lid and spoon for mustard or sugar, and a tray base – six pieces in all. The third container may be part of the tray as long as it has a separate lid. The two little angels sitting on the blue swan mustard…

GO-WITH shaker sets consist of two different but related objects with a common theme, e.g., ball and bat, squirrel and nut, pen and ink, telephone and phone book, etc. They can also represent a play on words, e.g., a skunk and a single-cent penny (which is a play on ‘scent’). Most common are separate GO-WITH pieces that form…

A HANGER set must have either: One or both shakers with a hooked portion that enables it to hang from a base. The hanging shaker(s) must not touch the shelf. Both shakers hanging from the base or one shaker hanging from the other shaker which also doubles as the base. HANGER Examples:

A HUGGER set is where both shaker pieces touch the shelf and: One shaker partially wraps around the other, or Two pieces abut each other (like two halves of the pig in the examples below), or Two pieces actually hug or wrap around one another. Most HUGGERS are designed to be picked up individually; however, the most famous HUGGERS are the…

KISSER and MAGNETIC Sets may have: Two people, animals, or objects displayed with their lips together kissing, or One shaker kissing the other on the cheek or head. KISSERS must have both shakers touching the shelf. KISSER Examples: MAGNETIC sets have magnets built into the pieces that attach their lips together, join the pieces at the hip, keep one shaker…

LONGBOYS or TALLBOYS shakers: Were originally called long or tallfellow Are at least 6 inches tall or long Are usually animals with narrow, elongated bodies May be either a pair or a one-piece LONGBOYS Examples: TALLBOYS Examples:

MECHANICAL shakers: Have some type of functional moving part(s) that aid in the dispensing of the spices or animates the set. Have some kind of “MECHANICAL” working part that one must push, turn, or pull to make the shaker perform actions such as raising up the shakers out of the base like the plastic television and…

MINI’S or MINIATURE shaker sets get their name from their tiny size – only one-half inch or less to two inches in height. Arcadia Ceramics produced some of the finest and most detailed sets in the 1950’s. The dress form and sewing machine set from Arcadia is shown in its’ original “dome” packaging making it more valuable than…

NAPKIN HOLDER sets usually have a NAPKIN HOLDER as a base with the two shakers twisting into holes in the upper front or sitting on the front or side edges. NAPKIN HOLDER Examples:

A NESTER or STACKER is a set where: One of the shakers sits upon part of the other without touching the shelf. The base shaker totally supports the upper shaker. NESTER OR STACKER Examples:

NODDER shaker sets consists of a base, usually rectangular, with two holes on the top that the tubular-based shakers sit in. Each shaker is longer than usual and has a figural top with a long “tube” base for balance that sits down into the hole in the base with tiny flanges on either side near the…

ONE-PIECE shakers are unique because both salt and pepper are dispensed from one shaker piece. The shaker may be one figural form with a division inside to separate the spices or consist of two separate figural forms pressed together while the porcelain or ceramic is still wet to form a union. Either way, the finished piece…

ROCKER shakers rock on their rounded bases when touched. They may have: The same ROCKER base on both pieces of a set, or One piece that sits on top of the rocking piece (such as a person in a rocking chair), or Shakers sitting on top of a base that rocks (such as a wedding couple in a…

SHAKERS PLUS refers to sets that incorporate some other useful item into the design of the shaker set itself. A pair of animals or objects with vinegar and oil cruet bodies with the shakers serving as both their heads or tops and as the cruet stoppers is a good example. Other examples are sets with bells…

SNOW DOME and SNOW GLOBE shakers have a liquid-filled glass or clear plastic portion incorporated into one or both shakers with glitter or snow-looking material floating in it. When the shaker dispenses the salt or pepper it puts on a snow display afterwards. The older sets are almost always made of plastic and may have a variety of…

SPIKES or BOBBERS are usually: A nester set with the base shaker having a pointed or narrow rounded top that the upper shaker rests on and bobs and rotates when touched. Animals or people with their bodies as the base shaker with a concave head sitting on a point. There is a series of three-piece BOBBERS where the base has…

THREE-PIECE shaker sets: Consist of a set of shakers that sit down on a base or in a basket which serves as their third piece. May resemble a condiment set but don’t have the third container for other spices. If the shakers hang from the base, are held up higher on the base, or sit on…