Donald Martini

In 1956, Gorham Manufacturing Company, the country’s leading maker and retailer of fashionable silver recruited Donald Colflesh to bring a contemporary dimension to its traditional products. Colflesh’s most popular and successful design for the firm was the circa 1970 series, in which he brilliantly captured America’s ambition to go to the moon. In this coffee service, the intersecting angles epitomize the era of space-age design, and the curving upright thrust of the handles and spouts conveys the aerodynamics of the jet age. Gorham reinforced the coffee service’s space-age associations in accompanying pamphlets, noting its feeling of vertical motion, the upward look to space. The company’s name for the line, circa 1970, also confidently alludes to the future and its possibilities. The sleek contours and elongated ebony finials and handles, however, were exceptional for mid-century hollowware, and recall similar embellishments on early 20th century Scandinavian silver.

Whether it’s streamlined or sophisticated, a bar area is always a welcoming feature in any home interior. A cheery well-made drink with friends and family has the potential to yield some unforgettable moments alongside those that aren’t easily remembered. And the only way to conjure that exemplary cordial is by putting the proper antique or vintage barware to work.

Essential barware equipment ranges from sterling-silver barspoons for mixing your cocktails in tall collins glasses to jiggers, shakers and strainers that allow you to whip up martinis and old-fashioneds.

From a design standpoint, some barware, such as our array of Art Deco glass whiskey sets or mid-century modern silver-banded tumblers crafted by Dorothy Thorpe, can help position your bar as a bold and attractive centerpiece to a room. At the very least, a carefully curated collection of barware can elevate with subtlety the bar’s nearby fixtures, as a handcrafted crystal decanter might do for your vintage 1960s bar cart.

As cocktail hour draws near, find inspiration in our gorgeous gallery of home bars in locales ranging from London to New York to San Francisco, and browse the exquisite selection of antique, new and vintage barware and glassware on 1stDibs.