So there I was at a craft fair, and I found Pete’s chip and dip. Pete’s exact chip and dip (or so I thought). I ended up bartering like crazy and purchasing a total of three: One is a tomato dip holder with three leaves, one has four leaves, and one is small, and the tomato is merely decorative—it doesn’t open. Pete’s chip and dip (“we got two”), featured in Red in the Face, actually has two very large leaves.
Original Red in the Face Chip-and-Dip
The dealer was excited about these items, which turn out to be highly collectible by people who aren’t Mad Men fans. They are Brad Keeler ceramics.
My Keeler Chip-and-Dip: Three Leaves
Keeler (1913-1952) was an acclaimed ceramic designer who worked on his art from 1939 (starting in his garage) until his death in 1952. His tragic death at the age of 39 made his work even rarer. He invented a red glaze called Ming Dragon Blood which was the first true red available, and allowed for striking designs like our tomatoes.
My Keeler Chip-and-Dip with Four Leaves (bottom right is the black "Brad Keeler" sticker)
Here’s the coolest and most surprising thing I learned: Brad Keeler “was a modeler for the company that produced the original Academy Award Oscar statuette, Philips Bronze and Brass Company, and was involved in the creation of the first Oscar.”** Holy cow!
My Brad Keeler Tomato Plate
He married Catherine Gutting in the late 1930s. They had three children: Bradley, Patrick, and Heather (my mom). He died at his home in Laguna Beach in 1952 of a heart attack at the age of 39. The family was renting this home with plans to relocate to San Juan Capistrano, where his new factory was under construction. It was nearly done at the time of his death. In fact, he had commissioned a ceramic mural depicting the birth and development of ceramics for the lobby of the building which still stands to this day and is a local landmark. Unfortunately, after his death his wife/my grandmother (and namesake, Catherine) was forced to close the factory.
Sharp-eyed Basketcases have already noted that the use of the piece in Season 1 is an anachronism: You wouldn’t have been able to register at a department store for a new Keeler chip-and-dip in 1960; they were no longer being made. Of course, we don’t really expect the production staff to research the provenance of every prop!
Keeler’s tomato series, familiar to Basketcases, was not as famous as a number of his other works. Those include his lobsters (also using Ming Dragon Blood) and his flamingos. Other birds were also well-known, and there was a line called Pryde and Joy featuring puppies, kitties, deer, bunnies, and other small animals.
Brad Keeler Lobster Bowl
Brad Keeler Kitten
Cati, believe it or not, had never seen Red in the Face, and had no idea her grandfather’s work was featured on Mad Men. She tells me that, like Pete and Trudy (at first), she has two identical chip-and-dips from the tomato series!
*Sources: Cati’s mother (Heather Keeler, Brad’s daughter), Brad’s sister Jeanne (Cati’s great aunt, who is still living), his brother Philip (Cati’s great uncle, recently deceased), and two collector’s books: California Potteries: The Complete Book by Mike Schneider (a Schiffer Book for Collectors) and Collector’s Encyclopedia of California Pottery, Second Edition by Jack Chipman.
**All quotes from Cati Porter.
22 Responses to “Chip and Dip”
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This is all utterly fantastic.
I love this. Off to look at the website.
I’m pretty sure that, in one of the 125 or so interviews with Matt Weiner I’ve read and seen, or possibly on a voice-over on the DVDs, he said that his parents had this exact chip-and-dip. But I might be imagining it.
“Sharp-eyed Basketcases have already noted that the use of the piece in Season 1 is an anachronism: You wouldn’t have been able to register at a department store for a new Keeler chip-and-dip in 1960; they were no longer being made.”
But are you sure the item in the ep is a Keeler? None of the four leafy examples you show here, look the same as the one in the show, with its less stylized cabbage leaves.
Maybe the idea was ripped off by 1960 and produced by someone else?
The tomato looks different too. Pete’s was probably a mass-produced knockoff of the original design. The leaves are much more realistic as the Keeler art porelain designs.
That is awesome! I want one.
Last summer I went to a few antiques stores in Stittsville, Ontario, and managed to find a two-leafed chip’n'dip. I couldn’t justify buying it myself, but I absolutely had to take a picture – obviously different from the one in the show, but still something neat to come across:
http://i56.tinypic.com/29couix.jpg
Hi folks –
Wow. I agree with the earlier posters that it probably *isn’t* a Keeler piece. I have the two leafed version — take a look at my latest blog post and you’ll see how different they are. A quick browse on ebay brought up several other pottery manufacturers, included Majolica, Carlton Ware, Beswick and Holt, who all did relatively similar tomato & leaf dishes (though none are identical to the one in the episode).
http://catiporter.com/2011/03/21/why-i-collect-brad-keeler/
In any case, I’m glad you’ve featured my grandfather’s work today.
Cati
We didn’t have the tomato and leaf dishes, but we had the lobster set in #8 Cati Porter’s photos. Those bright red lobsters always scared me when I was little.
In the commentary Vincent talks about how nicely everyone had to treat the chip ‘n dip, because it did belong to someone, though I forget who. May have been Matt’s parents. Vincent jokes around about the thing having its own dressing room and everything.
Funny how Mad Men brings out this nostalgia for things I never would’ve wanted in my home before. But now I want that Chip ‘n Dip!
One extra question – does the tomato detach from the lettuce for easier cleaning? Just wondering.
Vincent said it belonged to Matt’s mother. He was very funny about it.
Cati and imbroglioly, you have identical pieces, and the one on the episode (first picture) is different. I agree; it’s not a Keeler, and maybe not a knock-off so much as the next gen idea of the same thing? Anyway, they were married in 1960, and realism was more the style; Keeler’s were stylized. Still, the whole thing sent me on a journey!
Tristessa, the tomatoes do not detach but the lid is separate.
WOW. I am absolutely stunned. So what do you do with three of them? Do you ever, um, use them for their intended purpose, or would it be sacrilege to even suggest it?
Well, we raffled one of them off at our party, but then the winner had to fly back to LA so she graciously gave it back to us. I would definitely use them for chip-and-dip but I haven’t yet, although I did serve in the small one.
Chip and dip — a thing like that!
sour cream onion dip on a potato chip!
So in conclusion, despite realizing that the Campbell’s isn’t a Keeler, it’s definitely inspired by Keeler, who invented the red dye, and is the first one to do a tomato-and-leaf chip-and-dip.
Love the lobster one the best – I immediately thought of a caption:
‘Larry, we keep still long enough, they’ll never find us!’
[...] retro fashion. And Wishpot has MM-inspired wedding registry goodies [Inexplicably missing a chip-and-dip. [...]
Deb, you never fail to astonish me! Love, love, love this post. And how gracious is Cati Porter for her contributions? Wonderful. Many thanks!
I have a set of six salad size lobster plates I bought at a tag sale but I’ve NEVER seen the salad bowl. Love having something new to hunt for.
Hi Deborah, only just seen this blog post, thanks so much. I’ve been looking for one of Pete’s chip n dips ever since that MadMen ep was broadcast, and mistakenly thought it was Carlton Ware. Being English I was not familiar with the original 40s Brad Keeler tomato chip n dip but I absolutely love it, especially the two leaf version which resembles Pete’s. I would still love to identify the manufacturer of Pete’s chip n dip though. One day, one of us will discover the origin! Had a look at your site too Cati, very interesting, thanks, and how cool to have such an amazing grandfather!