The Castor Set

Do you know what I like about researching the late Victorian period for my An Irregular Detective Mystery series, my Sherlockian pastiche? It’s the stuff I can come across easily in antique shops, things that I can touch. Things that I can buy.

And one of the most ubiquitous items that most people don’t even know about is a castor set.

The above is mine.

If you ever come across a bottle like this in an antique or thrift store, the unique shape of the bottom gives it away. This belongs in a castor set.

In its natural habitat; the dinner table.

I can hear you all scratching your heads. What the heck is a castor set? Well, it’s been on tables in America and in Great Britain since the 1700s, but the earliest might be only a salt and pepper shaker in its receptacle. The castor sets you will see from the 1800s and into the mid-1900s is a silver or silver plated or just metal holder with a tall handle coming out of the center circle (or, as you can see below, not all were a carousel arrangement) with holes containing plain or cut glass salt and pepper shakers, a mustard pot (or sometimes jam pot), a sugar shaker, and two cruets, one for oil, one for vinegar. In fact, they were so prevalent on every table that they might not even be listed in the inventory of household goods. But they were everywhere, from the richest of tables in the most resplendent glass and silver, to the most humble of simple metal and glass, and passed down to the next generation.

Think about how important this is to a household. And so ubiquitous that you never even think about it. Everything you would need to sit down to a meal was there. Even with the varying tastes between English tables and American. It had that long handle so it was easily carried to refill them again or to place them either in the center of the table, or in front of the man of the house.

And the thing I best love about them is spotting them not only in the wild in shops, but in old movies. Yes, I am an old movie addict, and I always spy them. “A castor set!” I yell at the TV screen as my husband nods knowingly…or wearily because he’s probably tired of hearing me say so. But you can find them too. Watch It’s A Wonderful Life and when George and his father are sitting around the dinner table while Harry Bailey is collecting plates and pies for the dance at the high school, just take a look at the table. There it is! And in many other old films too. That’s because castor sets were prevalent from the 1800s all the way into the 1950s! Maybe your grandparents even had them at their house. Do you remember it?

In fact, I talked about this so much that my husband finally got me one from an antique store, and he was lucky enough to find a set with all its original matching glassware. What a guy! I use them for props when I do events, so that readers can see for themselves Victorian items one might see in and around London.

Now, of course, just salt and pepper shakers are usually on our tables, but go to any diner or coffee shop today and see the evolution of the castor set.

It’s usually made by some brand name of condiment, but there it sits, a metal wire contraption on every table and in front of every seat at the lunch counter, with a tall handle that holds your salt and pepper, your ketchup and mustard, and maybe sugar packets, Tabasco, or hot sauce. It is the grandchild of the original castor set.

Here’s an exceptionally fancy one.

Why did Victorians love this so much? You’ll have to imagine yourself in a typical Victorian home. Where’s the kitchen if you need to fetch something? It’s far. It might even be downstairs. Everything you are going to want for your meal must already be waiting on the table. Either some family member has to run for it, or you have to call for the maid to come upstairs to see what you want, return down to the kitchens to fetch it, then bring it back up to you. This is inefficient, not what a Victorian household would ever want to be.

It’s this kind of simple household item that I love best, because when I touch it, I know I am touching something that perhaps generations of families have touched and used. It connects me to the past and brings it into focus for me to ponder. As simple as shaking a little salt on my food.