Restoring My 1940s Cookie Jar

I figured it was time to take a break from the vinyl tile horror story because….it still hasn’t ended. And besides, it's time to take a break from that mess and talk about having some fun! The other day, my mom and I spent the day thrift shopping, which is how every day off from ballet usually starts. We walked into our local thrift shop and I headed straight to the knick-knacks, like I always do. I tease that instead of becoming a crazy cat or dog lady, I'm going to be the crazy knick-knack lady that has an entire zoo of them. It’s also helpful that our home has a built in knick-knack shelf around every room at the top of the walls. Anyway, back to my story. While treasure hunting, I found this super cute cookie jar.

I recognized the maker "American Bisque" but what is fun about this piece is that on the bottom it reads "Patent Pending." This is even before it became American Bisque. So, let's delve into some history about this company!

In Williamstown, West Virginia, the company orginally was producing the Kewpie Dolls created by cartoonist Rose O'Neill who illustrated the famous Kewpie comic strip in 1909.

In 1912, J.D. Kestner, a German toy company began producing the Kewpie Doll made of bisque. They became a huge international hit in 1914. After World war 1 hit, production of the doll moved from Germany to France and also started to be produced in the United States but now made with composition material instead of bisque due to fragility. Now, I know you are thinking "Rochelle, what does the Kewpie doll have to do with your cookie jar?" Well, thanks for asking, I will tell you. We are now at 1922 as the company was sold to B.E. Allen which was now American Bisque company. They are famous for their cookie jars and closed in 1983.

Now, onto restoring my cat. As you can see, it has had some better days but remember, we’re talking early 1940's here! Sometimes it's amazing that these things haven't shattered into a million pieces by now. But, before I begin, I want to clarify something. First off, I absolutely cannot stand when someone takes an antique and completely ruins it by painting all over it to create something "more modern". It hurts my heart and please do not ever paint over a good antique. Now, restoring it is completely different in my eyes. Yes, I am putting a fresh coat of paint over it, but I am making sure I am keeping it as close to the original as I possibly can.

So, let's begin. I walked into my local paint store carrying this cookie jar head all around with me because I wanted to make sure I matched the colors as best as I could. I found the brand Ceramcoat and the colors I found matched perfectly: Passion Red, Fountain Blue and Noir Black. I also got a Taklon brush in an angular shape, sized 1/8. Now, the rest is self explanatory. I looked for where there previously was paint on the cat and just continued out the lines from where the existing paint was. Make sure you do your research on your item to see if there is something missing that it orginally had. For instance, my cat did not have any black lines on it’s paws and also didn’t have any black hairs on the top of its head. But, by researching, I was able to find that he orginally had those details and I'm trying to make him look as if he just got out of the factory in 1940.

Well, enough talking. The wait is over. Here is my BEFORE and AFTER!!