Question: Hi Jerry. Can you tell me what this is? I bought it at the Caldwell sale a few years ago. I had to buy a whole box lot of trays to get the one tray I wanted. This little mystery was in the bottom. Just so you know it stumped Bruce Richardson, of Elmwood Inn Teas, too. Thanks for taking the time to look at this.

Answer: Well, I don’t like to admit defeat, like anyone else, but this was a tough one. I looked,

thought and studied on this for a long time. Here is what I think. 

This is an individual coffee press. Picture it, an empty cup stands ready, your container is filled with ground coffee, hot water is slowly filled to the brim and the insert is put on to weight it down, forcing the coffee into the cup.

When finished the lid can either be placed on the top or on the bottom to catch drips.

The metal is silver plated or possibly a solid white metal, not silver. It’s likely European or Eastern Europe. 

I can’t find the two maker’s marks anywhere. It’s got a roughness to it. Not finished and

polished like a piece from American or Great Britain. The little handles appear to be plastic, maybe bakelit. So the dating is going to be the 1920s – 30s? 

It’s a cute little piece.

Value. Let’s say I think it’s a coffee press. And let’s couple that with it being from the Caldwell

sale, I think in a retail store this will be priced at about $20. I hope this helps. It was a challenge but I think I figured it out. Thanks for a great question.