Griffith Laboratories White Milk Glass Spice Jars

Shown withclosedand partially open Three Mountaineers Spice Cabinet.
I'll say one thing about the folks at Griffith Labs - they were prolific. In the twenty or so years these jars were in production(late 1930's - 1950's), the design was changed several times which kept them looking fresh and appealing. As for sets, rack mounted white milk glass jars were available in sets of eight, twelve, sixteen, eighteen, twenty-twoand twenty-four.Rack mountedor clear jars in a cabinet were available in sets of twelve and twenty-four.I've seen other quantities listed on e-Bay selling with and without the racks.According to their website, before World War II the racks were made of plastic. During the war, they were made of wood and after the war wood/metal gebination or plastic again.Following is a quote from the Griffith Laboratories website, used with their permission:

"Around 1939, senior management wanted to make the Griffith Laboratories name familiar to the general public. The gepany came up with an imaginative and highly successful idea. Griffith created a set of twelve high-quality spices, each in its own stylishly designed, gleaming white glass jar. Each jar was sealed with an airtight cap with a convenient sifter top beneath. The [original] set of 12 spice jars, which came with an attractive plastic rack, contained allspice, celery salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, garlic salt, ginger, dry mustard, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper, poultry seasoning and roast meat seasoning. The gepany, concerned about contamination from mold and bacteria, used a revolutionary proprietary purifying method to make sure the spices were clean, safe and pure. Sold through the home furnishings departments of Marshall Field's, Macy's and other fine stores, the Griffith spice set was successful immediately. Over the years, Griffith updated the design and introduced bright colors to coordinate with the popular color schemes of the time. When the supply of suitable plastic declined dramatically during World War II, Griffith changed the display rack material to wood. After the war, inexpensive and moldable plastic became available and a fresh design was created. The gepany used polystyrene, a light and sturdy plastic that can be molded into virtually any shape, for its new post-war rack design. [text redacted]...We don't manufacture or sell our spice sets anymore. But we honor them as an important part of our history."
Spices: Names / Quantity / Suggestions
Thelist oforiginal spice names are above. More availablespices in the tall and shortwhitejarsinclude: Allspice, Anise, Barbecue Smoke Salt, Basil (Sweet Basil) Bay Leaf,Black Pepper,Caraway Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Celery Salt, Chili Seasoning, Cinammon or Ground Cinammon,Coriander( original??), Curry Powder, Dry Mustard or Mustard Flour, Epicure Salt, Fennel Seed, Garlic Salt, Ground Bayleaf, Ground Cardamom, Ground Cloves, Ground Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Marjoram, Mint, Onion Salt, Paprika, Poultry Seasoning, RoastMeat Seasoning, Rosemary, Sage, Salad Herbs, Steak Seasoning, Thyme, White Pepper, Whole Cloves. Some of these are only available on the very old sets 4-1/8" tall with the yellowedpaper half moon labels.
Clear spice set namesgathered so far:Anise, Bay Leaf, Black Pepper, Celery Salt, Celery Seed, Chef Seasoning, Chili Seasoning, Coriander, Cumin Seed, Curry Powder, Dill Seed, Epicure Salt, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek, Garlic Salt, Ginger, Marjoram, Meat Tenderizer, Mustard Flour, Mustard Seed, Nutmeg, Onion Salt,Oregano, Paprika, Parsley Flakes, Poppy Seed, Poultry Seasoning, RoastMeat Seasoning, Rosemary, Salad Herbs, Sesame Seed, Steak Seasoning, Sweet Basil, Thyme, Turmeric.
And, as I find more names for either set, I will add them.Most of these spices are stillavailable in your local grocery store or on the internet. For those that are not ( such as the Epicure Salt), you can have fun making your own blends.
Description of Jars
L to R: #1-back of 4-1/4", #2,3,4- fronts of 4-1/4", #5,6- front and back 3-1/2" #7- front of clear 3-1/2"
The standard heights are(1) 4-1/4" tall with the lid on, 4-1/8" tall without lid and 1-3/4" squareor 3-1/2" tall with the lid on and (2) 3-1/4" without lid and 1" square.White milk glass Griffith spice jars for sale here on e-bayhave been described in several different heights including 2-3/4", 2-7/8"3", 3-1/2", 4-1/8", 4-1/4", 4-3/16 andthree widths ( 1', 1-1/2", 1-3/4") in clear and white milk glass. The jars themselves seem to have a pinkish, bluish or grayish cast to them that is probably related to the time frame in which they were produced ( pre and post World War II).I've also seen a drop dead gorgeous set in a milk chocolate brown color with brown or copperlids. Speaking oflids, colors seen so far are yellow, beige, black, red, turquoise blue, pink, paleJadeitegreen,dark green, white and medium blue. The lids on the shorter clearjars were silver, gold, blackor copper. Label colors are clear and yellowon the front and "white but yellow-ing from old age" on the back.Hopefully info from Griffith Labs will help collectors to know which colors are original and set a standard for buyers and sellers. But, in the meantime, these four milk glassjar designs are most gemonly seen on e-Bay:


plain (no columns)front, backs and sides which are usually found on the 3" or 3-1/2"jars (#5 in photo above);
plain (no columns) front and back with two long vertical bars and one short horizontal bar on each of the sides usually found on the 3"-3-1/2" tall jars (#5 in photo above);
two short inset columns joined by an inset bar along the bottom on the front;three graduatedraisedcolumns on two face sides; with two raised horizontalbars and four short/narrow raised columns on the back (one in each corner.) The shorter descriptive label usually fits in the center on this side. This configuration is found in the 4-1/8" - 4-1/4" tall jars (#3 in photo above);
fourraised varying height columns onthree face sides with two raised horizontalbars and four short/narrow raised columns on the back (one in each corner) where the descriptive label fits. This isalso usually found on the 4-1/8" - 4-1/4" tall jars (#2 and #4 in photo above.)
Frontlabel Styles
Front labels styles for Griffith spice jars.
So far, I've seen one paper label style, three black paintedlabel styles and three different methods of application:

White (oryellowed from old age) paper withblack text- arounded half moon atopa long front label. These labels were probably applied with some type of durable glue and appear to be the oldest applied label. Found on both 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars(#3 in photo above.)
The text on the front labels for these jars appears in two different layouts: (1) "Griffiths Purified" is printed under the oval and the spice name is printed in single letters down the front. And, (2) "Purified" along with the spice name is printed under the oval and "Griffiths" is printed in single letters down the front of the lable.
Yellow paint with black text, rounded half moon atopa long front label. These rarely seenlabels appear to have beenapplied by a special two step manufacturing process or painted by hand.Found on 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars(#3 in photo above.)
The text on the front labels for these jars appears in two different layouts: (1) "Griffiths Purified" is printed under the oval and the spice name is printed in single letters down the front. And, (2) "Purified" along with the spice name is printed under the oval and "Griffiths" is printed in single letters down the front of the lable.
Clear front labelwith black text decorated by arounded half moon atopa long front label that appears to behandapplied and fired by a kiln. Found on both the 3-1/2" or 4-1/8" tall jars (#1 in photo above.)
Clear front label with black text decorated with curvesand flourishes.These labelswere handapplied and fired by a kiln. Found on both the 3-1/2" or 4-1/4" tall jars (#2 and #4 in photo above.)
The3" clear spice jar has a white painted graphic of a housewife performing various chores. All of the printing on these iswhite. There is no back label/text on these jars. ( see#5 in photoabove.)
Although the design on thefront and back of the various size jars differ, both of the front label designs on the tallerjarsare about the same length and width minus a millimeter or so. All of the back labels appear to be the same size.
Back labels

Back label on all 4-1/4" jars. Back label on 3-1/2" jars
Back labels on thetaller jarsare small, rectangular and centered between two horizontal bars. The short jars have no horizontal raised bars.So far, I've seen only an off-white or"yelllowed from old age"paper label on original bottles - no clear back labels. These were probably applied with some type of durable glue. Although the design on theback of the two jarsizes differ,the size ofthe back labels appears to be about the same.
Side labels

Some of the older jars also included a 3/8" wide, 3-1/2" long narrow paper label set in between the columns on theleft or rightside with more detail about the spice. Usually, because the jarsare handled by the sides, these labels are long since gone.Of the100 or sojars I've handled, there wasonly one with this label stillintactand I did not take a photo.If I can find another one, I will add its' photo to this guide.
If you are interested in refurbishing a set of jars or adding to your collection, check out my e-Bay Guide for Refurbishing Griffith Spice Jars. http://reviews.okay.ge/Refurbishing-Griffith-Labs-White-Milk-Glass-Spice-Jars_W0QQugidZ10000000004057923and my guide with questions from/ answers to other Griffith spice jar collectors here: http://reviews.okay.ge/Griffith-Laboratories-Spice-Jars-Questions_W0QQugidZ10000000004064121and finally, my guide for making your own labels: http://reviews.okay.ge/Make-Your-Own-Labels-for-Griffith-Spice-Jars_W0QQugidZ10000000017396580.
Visitthis guideagain for more historicaldetails. I hope to get more info about the original jars from Griffith Labs includingoriginal dimensions, lid colors and label styles and the year in which each was made so that buyers and sellers willknow what ishistorical and what is not. In other words, there is more to gee... :-)
If you found this guide helpful, please take a moment to cast your "yes" vote below. If you stillhave a question or needinfo about Griffith white milk glassspice jars that you don't see above, drop me a line. I'll try to get an answer for you.I love to hear from otherpeople who love these jars, too!
(c) 2007 - present. Please contact me for permission to reproduce, quote from, copyor reprint. -- Blessings to you from an avid Griffith Spice Jar Collector/User...