Collecting European Enamelware

Enamelware was produced from the 1890s to the 1930s throughout Europe in Belgium, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and France.  Enamelware is molded at a high heat and then the hand-painted decoration is baked onto the base metal.  By the 1940s and 1950s, every detail and application of decals and stenciling motifs such as floral, plaids and polka dots, was done by machine. 

European kitchens were equipped with painted and glazed enamelware sets or individual pieces such as coffee pots and trays, but today most collectors use utilitarian enamelware for display only.  Damages on the base or lid due to everyday use will not affect the value of the piece, but if the decoration on the piece is compromised, the value decreases.  Complete sets of enamelware are rare.  Vintage enamelware coffee pots are one of the most collectible enamelware pieces, though, they are becoming harder to find.