2 Rubel & Co Leumas Mid Century Copper & Aluminum Saute Pans 10"

Description

Pair of mid 20th century Leumas Handcrafted Giftware saute pans produced by Rubel & Company. Two 6" copper clad, aluminum pans with hammered copper handles.

"Originally from Germany, Edmund Rubel had worked in the gift industry as a salesman and was to continue to focus on sales throughout his career. Rubel left Weil-Freeman in late 1938 or early 1939 to join the young gift house of Ashford-Fenton. Rubel became vice-president of the company and within a year the company had changed its name to Rubel and Fenton to reflect his leading role with the other principal Harvey Fenton. The Gift and Art Buyer noted that the newly renamed company represented a variety of lines made by several different domestic manufacturers: "Blenko glass, Bellette wood, Cooper lamps and pictures, Tebor Crownford American-made china, Queens art pewter, Corham artificial flowers, Soria wrought iron, Mar-No-Lawn tables and Malcolm’s Creations." The firm continued to represent a wide variety of gift and art items produced in glass, ceramics, wood, metal, and plastic throughout the 1940s. The house also tended to focus on American-made items and used the appropriately patriotic slogan "Masterpieces of American Craftsmanship" in the early- I940s. Harvey Fenton left the company in November 1942, joining the army for officer training. A little more than a year later the firm underwent its final name change to Rubel and Company. A line of spun aluminum, identified as Loumas (later spelled Leumas) Ware in a June 1946 advertisement, was a mainstay of Rubel offerings after Ernest Sohn’s appointment as designer. Sohn continued to design somewhat different Leumas collections for Rubel throughout his time there. In 1947 the aluminum ware was given a highly polished surface and proclaimed "Silverbrite." Again Sohn used similar shapes which, in addition to being highly polished, featured a hammered look on their surfaces and beaded foot bands. Aluminum ware was manufactured for Rubel under the Leumas name through the 1960s. Even more obvious in its historical connection was the Leumas Early American collection, also featured by Rubel. Here Sohn used turned wood handles and somewhat conventional shapes to create serving items that would most likely appeal to the majority of Americans who were interested in historically inspired design. Objects for casual home entertaining were a rapidly growing market and one that the gift and tableware industries were uniquely positioned to take advantage of. This became a specialty and focus in the work of Ernest Sohn from his time at Rubel through the end of his career. One of his first useful, yet decorative and designed, serving items was "The ’Original’ I-lam and Egg Oven To Table Server" advertised by Rubel in January 1948. The simple spun aluminum pan was embellished by a shaped and hammered bronze handle. This relatively simple design is perhaps most telling in its name"Oven To Table Server." The idea that something could serve both as a cooking device and a serving dish was a constantly seen theme in serving items for the home in the post-war period. An item that could both cook and serve eliminated extra dishes and work for its owner. Two years later Ernest Sohn had enhanced this frying pan form with an alcohol burner and stand, making it appropriate "for glamorous
cooking during company entertaining" according to Crockery and Glass Journal. The Buffet Burner as it was clubbed was part of "French Provincial Tableware by Leumas" which was "To delight the taste of the epicure" according to the Rubel advertisement. In addition to the Burner which allowed for at-the-table cooking, the pictured casseroles combined utilitarian brown pottery appropriate for use in the cooking process. This utilitarian ware was enhanced and made more glamorous by "gleaming copper" serving trays and lids featuring jaunty handles. The combination of different materials in one serving or entertaining accessory, here copper with ceramic, became a key Sohn motif that he continued to utilize throughout his career." (Smithsonian Institute Repository)

Condition

Good Overall - Scrapes/wear/tarnish

Dimensions

10.25" x 6.25" x 2.75" (Width x Depth x Height)