A single vintage Santa salt shaker from a 1950s Japanese salt and pepper set, sold on his own. Hand painted and lettered "Santa's," he glances slyly to the side, bringing five-and-dime Christmas charm to the cocoa tray or mantel.
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Maker: Unmarked
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Materials: Ceramic, hand painted
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Dimensions: 3.5" tall × 2" wide at its widest point
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Origin: Japan
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Era: Vintage 1950s–1960s
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Condition: Very Good Vintage condition with some paint loss, mostly on the back, consistent with age and use. Original stopper retained. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.
Everything about this little Santa is made to charm. He wears the traditional red suit with white trim and black boots, with his features molded into the ceramic. His sidelong glance gives him a mischievous twinkle, as if he's just spotted the cookies. JAPAN is embossed on the underside, and his two shaker holes and original stopper are intact, so he's ready to work as well as to display.
A natural replacement if the Santa from your own set was broken or lost, and a delight on his own too. Fill him with cinnamon, nutmeg, or cocoa powder to dust over hot cocoa, cider, and other festive drinks, or set him out with the salt at the holiday table. He's also a thoughtful gift for a Christmas kitchen or a salt and pepper collector.
Novelty shakers like this were a staple of the American five-and-dime. F.W. Woolworth opened his first lasting five-and-ten-cent store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1879. By the 1950s and 1960s, Woolworth's counters were stocked with inexpensive molded and hand-painted ceramics imported from Japan. Sets like this one put holiday whimsy within reach of nearly every household. Many were bought as small gifts or seasonal table accents and then packed away each January, which is part of what makes a well-kept survivor from those years such a pleasure to find.
Also available: a later Santa shaker made in Taiwan in the 1970s, for the same look from a different era.
