FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK
CLUB UPDATES
OSCAR
OSCAR
OSCAR
NESOSC
NESOSC
OSCAR
OSCAR
NESOSC
OSCAR
Small Title
OSCAR
CASC
CASC will meet on November 2, 2024 in Chantilly, VA.
The meeting will include attendance at the DC Big Flea at the Dulles Expo Center.
​
Detailed information will be forthcoming in the next CASC newsletter, or you may contact Kent Hudson at khudson639@verizon.net for more information.
OSCAR
OSCAR will be hosting a ZOOM meeting on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 1:00 pm (Eastern).
​​
The topic will be a Show & Tell of salts found while traveling.
​​
Email Kent Hudson for a Zoom link:
​​
ALL interested salt collectors are welcome to participate. Membership in a club is not required.
NESOSC
The New England club holds two meetings a year, usually in April and October.
There will be no April 2024 meeting due to the close proximity date of the National Convention. A link to details about the Convention is at the top of this page.
A Fall 2024 meeting is planned, and details will be posted here when they become available.
For more information, please contact Judith Rosenbaum.
​
All interested salt collectors are welcome to attend. Membership in a club is not required.
OSSOTW-SC
May 2 Meeting Cancelled due to Corona 19
Click on the Convention Logo above for current information!
WHO WE ARE
Welcome! We are Open Salt Collectors.
​
What is an Open Salt?
An Open Salt is a small dish used as a piece of tableware for holding salt that is not a saltshaker. In the early 1900’s, a formal place setting included a small spoon to dispense the salt, because table salt, at the time, clumped. The peak period for individual Open Salts in the United States was about 1880-1920; however, in 1911 the introduction of free-flowing table salt brought the rise of the salt shaker. The Open Salts collected by most members of our group are generally from the 1800’s to date.
​
Open Salts is a phrase coined by collectors to describe salt dishes that are not shakers. Collectors also refer to their Open Salts by the more generic names: Salts, Salt Cellars or Salt Dishes. Open Salts come in a wide variety of materials including glass, china, pottery, metal, wood, plastic and shell. Soon after their role at the table was replaced by the shaker, Open Salts became a popular common collectible.
​
What type of Open Salt do I have?
Our website has a wealth of reference material to assist you in identifying your Open Salts. The two most referenced books are Heacock and Johnson’s 5000 Open Salts and The Open Salt Compendium by Sandra Jzyk and Nina Robertson.
​
Join Us!
You can join a number of Open Salt Collector Regional clubs across the United States or subscribe to the National Newsletter containing research articles along with other salt newsworthy information. Regional clubs have several meetings a year as well as a newsletter. Meetings typically have a guest speaker, show and tell, and buy and sell. Guests are always welcome. Check out our calendar of events found below.
Every two years there is a National Convention. This event includes a commemorative salt, a field trip, guest speakers, displays, auctions, door prizes, buy and sell, and knowledge shared among Open Salt Collectors.
We want to hear about your item or collection or answer any questions you have about Open Salts. Please join us on Facebook