I have for some weeks now been bereft of any creative energy, hence my long absence.  I have not even had the wherewithal to check in and read my favorites from time to time and comment, which I feel terrible about because so many of you are so great about leaving comments and kind encouragement to me.  (I must confess to following and commenting on Silkstone's excellent recaps of TV's Mad Men series.)

At any rate, I thought that I might at least check in and stay for coffee and dessert.

Pictured here is my favorite vintage coffee pot.  I collect them.  This one is a Manning Bowman manufactured in 1948.  Isn't it gorgeous?  This is the model that got me hooked.  I found one back in 1978 at a garage sale in Albuquerque, NM.  That one has long since worn through all of its fusable links and no longer makes coffee, but through the wonder of ebay I found a replacement and some spare parts, as well as, a number of others to add to my collection.

How about that round glass globe at the top?  And a wooden handle?  The beauty of these pots is that they were made before the technology that automatically shuts them off.  You determine when the coffee is ready by the timing between perks, the color in the globe and the aroma - and oh what an aroma!  Then of course you must unplug the pot, lest this sweet little appliance keeps on perking until it burns right through its 1940 fuse technology.  

When ready, that lovely spout pours a cup of great, piping hot coffee.  The orbal beauty produces about 4 cups of the daintier size pictured here or about 2 1/2 cups of a standard mug size if  you're a mug person. I attribute the quality and taste to the metal and the fact that it can perk hot enough to really break down the oils.  These pots are made of something called chromium and it holds its shine without polishing - a little wiping with lighter fluid now and again.  I find the lines and curves of these pots exquisite.  I think that they are the coffee pot equivalent of a 67 Chevy.  If I were more technically adept, I might do some clever photographic rendering - such is not my lot.  I leave it to your imaginations.

The only down side to these pots is the very same thing that makes them so charming: the electrical appliance technology at the time of their manufacture.  Their fuses only last so long and as of yet I have found no way to replace them except to scrapyard them off other perculators if I can find a match.  There must be some clever inventor type out there who could figure out a way to keep these babies perking for life.  If anyone fits the bill, let me know!