All photographs are courtesy of David McCormick
The small chicken sits there with its neck stretching upward towards the sky. Its beak is extensive open, as if singing its melodic music. However this little chicken by no means takes flight, until it’s one in all fancy.
Who doesn’t do not forget that outdated nursery rhyme, “Sing a Tune of Sixpence?” 4 and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds started to sing …
Does a “pie chicken” have something to do with this outdated nursery rhyme? Because the identify implies, pie birds are utilized in baking pies. They’re truly vents, normally fabricated from ceramics, to let the steam escape from the pie because it bakes, and thus they’re additionally known as pie vents or pie funnels, as they have been identified in England. These vents permit the pies to bake with out the fruit inside effervescent out and making a large number. Some pie birds will let loose a whistle because the steam escapes.
The early pie birds weren’t formed like birds in any respect. They have been normally plain, undecorated little items of earthenware. Typically, they have been spherical in type with arched openings on the base. When the vent or funnel was positioned into the middle of the pie earlier than baking, it was these minimize out arches that allowed the steam to enter the pie chicken after which be launched by way of the opening on the high.
While you conjure up the imaginative and prescient of a pie, you possibly can virtually odor the candy aroma of apples or blueberries drifting up from it. However pies weren’t solely baked with fruit filling or different candy concoctions. Earlier in time, most of the time, pies have been baked with some form of meat filling. Generally a neighborhood butcher or baker would supply these early pie birds to prospects shopping for their items. They could have had a marking of some kind or the service provider’s identify on them. In these circumstances, pie birds have been promotional objects and an early type of promoting.
Over time, these pie birds have been manufactured within the shapes of a number of completely different figures. Except for imitating crows, bluebirds, owls, roosters, in addition to a number of of our different feathered associates, pie birds are available all completely different shapes. They normally measure round three to 5 inches tall. At this time they’re present in types of all types akin to rabbits, bears, clowns, and folklore heroes. However how did they earn their identify, pie chicken? Was there any fact to that outdated nursery rhyme? Was it only a metaphor? Or perhaps some historical recipe referred to as for “4 and twenty blackbirds,” when making a pie. There’s a sixteenth century English translation in reference to the outline of an Italian banquet. To paraphrase: Make a pie crust and put in a number of stay birds. When serving the visitors, pull again the highest and the stay birds fly out, a lot to the delight of everybody.
There’s additionally the which means of the phrase pie itself. In Webster’s New Common Unabridged Dictionary, the phrase pie references the magpie’s behavior of amassing oddments, or is akin to the phrase magpie or a associated chicken.
There are these numerous references to the origins of pie birds, however probably their use adopted the historical past of pies. Pie birds are cited in early European historical past and over time, they have been made by a number of English potters. Throughout Victorian instances, these funnels have been usually utilized in baking. Babbacombe Potteries in England produced various classic pie birds beginning within the early Fifties and continued making them for a number of years. At this time, there are a variety of latest English potters which have produced these funnels together with Stuart Bass, who has created a number of sequence of collectible pie birds. Except for birds, his characters embrace canine, cats, and livestock, in addition to wizards and a singular winged dragon. Every of his pie funnels are created individually. They’re fashionable originals, not reproductions, and are painted by hand. Costs for a Stuart Bass run from $50 and up. The English pottery, Nutbrown, produced a number of classic pie birds. At this time, examples of their pagoda and elephant items made within the Nineteen Thirties and Forties could be discovered from $100 to $150.
By the early 1900s, there have been a number of firms in the US turning out the bird- and animal-shaped pie vents. The Morton Pottery firm opened its doorways in 1922 in Morton, Illinois, and was created out of the stays of two earlier potteries. Classic Morton pie birds from the ’40s or ’50s normally deliver from $20 to $75. Shawnee Potteries, one other American potter, was situated in Zanesville, Ohio, and identified for his or her collaboration with Pillsbury Firm. At this time you will discover classic pie birds Shawnee produced as premiums for the flour firm.
Pie birds have been largely made as cheap little objects and as such, they have been supplied on the market in dime shops akin to Woolworths and Kresge’s. They have been additionally discovered within the houseware part of shops like Sears and Roebuck. A California firm, Cleminson Pottery, opened its doorways in 1941; particularly storage doorways, as George and Betty Cleminson started their pottery enterprise of their storage. Together with pie birds, additionally they made different kitchenware objects. The corporate grew, however ceased operations in 1963 because of the inflow of cheaper objects from Japan. Classic Cleminson pie birds begin within the neighborhood of $30.
At this time there are a variety of firms producing pie birds, some massive, some small. You’ll additionally discover particular person artisans or small craft teams working from their houses creating their unique designs.
Pie birds could be categorised as kitchen collectibles, however due to their reputation, they’ve earned their very own class. At this time they’re extremely collectible and there’s a wide selection in worth, beginning round $10 for newer ones, and $30 to $75 for the Forties-Fifties classic examples or high-quality up to date specimens. The rarer, older ones can price lots of of {dollars}.
As with all ceramic, situation displays within the worth, and chips and cracks will detract from the looks of the piece. True to their identify, those within the type of birds appear to be extra widespread than different classes. This turns into apparent after a fast examine on eBay. Pie birds are in demand by collectors in a number of fields. These within the aforementioned broad class of kitchenware hunt down these pie birds for his or her collections. These amassing sure potters, or nations of origin, akin to the US or England, will discover a number of choices of pie birds out there. Subject material is one other essential side to sure collectors. If a subject could be imagined, probably there’s a pie chicken for that theme.
There are reproductions of classic pie birds, and needs to be bought as such, however many instances, they’re not. For instance, one could be supplied on the market as an unique “classic” $30 or $40 pie chicken, after they’re not and are price not more than $10. Some producers have their pottery mark, which helps determine the maker. Some don’t. On most of the older genuine ones, the arches are minimize deeper in an effort to permit the steam to enter the bottom of the funnel, whereas on various the purely ornamental birds, the arches are a lot shallower. Customary colours and designs utilized by sure pottery firms may assist in verification. It will be clever to have a look at Linda Area’s Four & Twenty Blackbirds Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for assist in figuring out and authenticating pie birds.
Except for eBay, there are a number of different on-line shops providing numerous our avian associates. Pie birds can be discovered at native flea markets or vintage gala’s, and tucked away in antiques retailers.
Pie birds serve a two-fold function: They’re each purposeful and ornamental. After they’re not in use within the kitchen, they might be displayed on a shelf or behind the glass doorways of a cupboard.
When visitors come for dinner, they are going to be drawn to the aroma of an apple pie baking, and so they’re positive to be entertained when the pie is faraway from the oven with the steam spiraling upward from the mouth of the pie chicken.
One by no means is aware of what kind of chicken they may see till the pie comes out of the oven and is got down to cool. It doesn’t matter what a part of the nation you reside in, be it summer time or winter, you’re liable to see all types of birds. That’s the great thing about pie birds. Their vary covers the complete nation. Somebody dwelling in San Diego, California, may catch a glimpse of a Blue Jay, whereas somebody dwelling down east in Maine may spot a Flamingo.
Sources
Article: “Historical past of Pie,” by Linda Stradley, 2004, whatscookinginamerica.net
Four & Twenty Blackbirds Vol. 2: Pie Birds, A Pictorial Identification & Value Guide, Linda Fields, 2002
Warmans American Pottery & Porcelain, Susan Bagdade and Al Bagdade, 2000
