How this obsession got started

I was about 22 years old when I bought my first salt and pepper shakers. I am now into my 50's. It was two little birds in a cracked egg stand. They have a luster ware glaze and indicate that they were made in Japan. 

The next set was these two bridesmaids, also in luster ware. The one on the left has unfortunately cracked the front of her dress, but I was able to glue it back into place. They were also made in Japan. 


I was fascinated with how different they were and how varied. I knew even then that they had to be ceramic and the salt and pepper had to be different from each other. This rule has occasionally been violated when people buy them for me as presents, or bring them back from trips, or pick a set up that they found somewhere. This hobby started out very much under control until I went to a national S & P convention in Minneapolis and learned exactly how many S & Ps are out there and how woefully puny my collection was. Around the same time, I discovered Ebay and then things started to get out of control. I have no idea how many S & Ps I actually own, but I have to believe that it is well over 1000. This blog is intended to showcase the S & Ps in my collection with some stories of how I acquired them and where they came from; with stories about new acquisitions as well. I hope you will enjoy learning about my collection as much as I have enjoyed collecting it. Reed