My Search for the Nick and Nora Martini Glass is Over

by Tammy Wright on Jul 14, 2011 in Flip Flop Foodie | 0 comments

Back in June, NPR ran the story, “A Spirited Celebration of America’s ‘Cocktail Culture’.”  Ever since then, I’ve been on the hunt for something I thought would never find.  I absolutely adore the old Nick and Nora ‘Thin Man’ movie series.  To me, these movies truly embody our American cocktail culture.  I love the clothes, the witty comments, the night club scenes and of course, Asta, the dog.  But the one thing that always sticks out to me is the size of the martini glasses they use in these movies.  They are so small and delicate.  No wonder Nick and Nora could knock down 6 martinis in a sitting.  It would take 2-3 of those glasses to fill our modern triangular shaped cocktail glass.  Nevertheless, I wanted some and set off on a mad search into the internets to find them.  I googled everything I could think of, ‘Nick and Nora Martinis, 1930′s cocktail glasses, Depression cocktail glasses, Thin Man martinis, etc’.  What I quickly learned is these vintage glasses are very difficult to find.  I even stumbled on a discussion thread found on one of my favorite food blogs, Chowhound, which confirmed my theory that I was not alone in this search.  And the few glasses I did find online that came anywhere close to what I wanted were ‘Out of Stock’.

So you can imagine how shocked and excited I was when I actually found the glasses I was looking for right here in Lakeland, FL.  I took a chance and stopped by a shop called Reflections of The Past.  It is located in downtown Lakeland at 230 N. Kentucky Avenue.  I had only been in there once when my mama was visiting, but I remembered how she raved on and on about their crystal collection.  Upon entering I was greeted by the cutest little dog (always a good sign) and I soon met Sandra Hodgens.  Sandra is helping to man the shop with her father, Raleigh Petteway, owner of the shop for 15 years.  

I showed Sandra the photo above of Nick Charles and his martini glass.  I told her the film was shot in the 1930′s.  Without batting and eye, Sandra knew exactly what I was talking about.  She gave me a brief history of the ‘original’ cocktail glass and started showing me different patterns from the late 1920′s to early 1940′s.  I was amazed at the collection.  If you are into vintage cocktail, champagne and wine glasses, this shop is a goldmine.  And Sandra is a jewel with all her knowledge of crystal.

Before I left the shop, I decided on a Fostoria etched glass pattern.  Sandra confirmed that this pattern would have been used in the 1930′s. It definitely looked like a pattern Nora Charles would use.  I could only afford two glasses (rare jewels aren’t cheap), but I was beyond happy.  I quickly ran home with my purchase and made a batch of dry gin martinis (shaken to the beat of the waltz).  Then I wrote this story because I wanted to remind readers once again that Lakeland continues to prove to be the Little Mecca of Cool it claims to be.

photo credit: Tammy Wright for Lakeland Local

    Tags:  business,    florida,    glasses,    Lakeland