Bringing back the cool
Posted by David Taylor on 05/08/2014
Entertaining was not always as it is now. Picture entertaining friends, with music, canapés, and great conversation: none of these things has changed much in the past few centuries. Now imagine yourself looking around the table and seeing wine bottles and glasses empty. Catastrophe! It is very easy to quickly take a new bottle from the fridge or cellar, open it, and serve your guests. In fact, you may have a dedicated cooler or fridge for this purpose. Entertaining was not always so simple!
In the Georgian era, for example, circa 1800, modern refrigeration was unheard of, and people relied on old methods to serve their guests and maintain refreshments. Certainly many of the very well-to-do would have had cellars for this purpose, but many did not. And what if you lived in your town house, when in London on business? This is where the more portable, and inventive, options come to the fore. Luckily we have some examples of this ingenuity listed here on the website.
Let’s take, for argument’s sake, the early 19th century wine cooler cabinet listed here, and the antique regency cellarette, listed here. In the first instance, the 19th century wine cooler cabinet is very interesting not only in its construction, but also its features. One of the first things one sees when looking at this piece is the lovely, deep chocolate mahogany, but also the brass attachments. The front door closes to hide all these elements, but why would you do this when entertaining? You would be neglectful if you did not show off the wonderful features here, the best of which must be the brass tap on the top compartment. This top compartment would most likely have been filled with ice water, with wines or champagnes stored in there for easy access. The second and third compartments could be used for whatever one wished. The portability and ingenuity on display here is magnificent. When the party ends, one simply has to turn the tap and empty the water from the cooling compartment, and start again! Very useful when playing parlour games and needing to slake the thirsts of the partying horde!
The second item is the cellarette, and is not too dissimilar to our first item. It is of a similar age but is of a lighter coloured, caramel mahogany. It features lovely brass accouterments, and a blue tassel on the key. The gadrooned edges are exquisitely preserved, but again, the utility of the item is magnificent. These cellarettes typically (although not always) have a lining allowing them to be filled with ice to cool wine and champagne during parties. It could also have contained any beverage, alcoholic or otherwise, that one wished to cool.
What these two items show us is that, while we may lust after stainless steel cabinets or sleek black coolers these days, the character, age and utility of these pieces is not to be overlooked when considering your next party!