on thermoses, wear-and-tear, and why we collect

If you’ve been curious about all of those thermoses in the western-most window on Washington St. at Hall of the Above, let us introduce you. We have a love of all things antique, but the thermos collection has a special place in our co-founder, Danny’s, heart.

by daniel castor

I have long admired the classic Stanley thermos. They’ve produced many colors and styles since the company’s founding in 1913, but it’s the ubiquitous green “hammertone” finish that many associate it with – just like we associate jeans with blue denim. And, like a great pair of jeans, thermoses only acquire their patina through repeated use over time. It is only through years of wear-and-tear that the * Truly Great * thermoses acquire their beauty.

I’m not sure when my admiration became something more, but when we were married almost 25 years ago, I gave each of my groomsmen a Stanley thermos with their name inscribed on the cap. And then somewhere along the way I might have seen an especially rugged thermos at a junk shop and thought: maybe that would look good on my shelf at home.  Is that how collections start? I honestly can’t remember when or where it happened.

What I do know now is that when I see an old thermos, I see a story. I see a builder having it on a job site, a commuter on a train, or a teacher in a lunch room. We all know people who have had one thermos for years and years. It’s always the same thermos. It becomes a part of you, part of your story. So when I see a rusty old thermos, I can see the history of that person reflected on the surface, with all its accumulated scratches and dents.

I haven’t counted them, but I now have a lot of thermoses. I have long since expanded beyond Stanley and have thermoses that were produced in China, the UK, Latvia. Some of them celebrate rock stars or TV shows. An especially attractive one commemorates the San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. But my favorite ones are weathered but otherwise silent. I like them best when I can see them all together. They look like a community.

The thermos collection in its new home in the mezzanine of Hall of the Above, helping to host the bar for an evening