There's a reason clipper ships turn up so often on mid-century barware — nothing said adventure and glamour quite like a tall ship under full sail. This one graces an ice bucket carrying the mark of Shelton Designs, a barware line produced by National Housewares, a division of the Towle silversmithing company of New Bedford, Massachusetts, finished with a golden clipper ship on a matte black ground — a motif well suited to Towle's New England roots and the era's taste for tall-ship glamour on the bar cart.
Maker: Shelton Designs, by National Housewares, a Towle Company
Origin: New Bedford, Massachusetts
Material: Vinyl, metal, plastic liner
Era: Mid-20th Century
Dimensions: 8"H (body) x 8" diameter (top opening); 10"H with lid and finial
Condition: Very Good Vintage. Normal wear to the metal handle and bands; otherwise excellent.
The body is vinyl over a metal shell in matte black with a plastic insulating liner, banded top and bottom in bright metallic gold trim, with a clear lid and golden metal ring handle.
A handsome stand-in for a rolling bar cart or a shelf of barware — as good for holding ice as it is for holding its own as decor.
