The Estate (Chestnut-Copperton)

[Craig]

Actually when you think about it, at least from the 1950s through the 1970s anyway, Weber colored their grills to match the popular appliance colors of the day. This Chestnut Coppertone and Baby Glen Blue colors were popular kitchen color from the mid '50s to early '60s. Just like 2 tone brown and 2 tone avacodo were huge kitchen colors from the mid '60s to the eary '80s. Though brown must have been popular enough with kettles that it was around as late as the 1990s. I am suprised that George Stephen didn't do a Harvest Gold or a dark mustard color grill as opposed to bright yellow. Unless he did and I've never seen it. I don't think my "appliance color" theory holds water from the 80s onward.

Craig

Note: sorry Brian, I wasn't trying to bump this response ahead of your last one. I am on my iPhone and I fat fingered one too many times and it came out like a double post. My apologies.

[Duke]

The guy I bought it from said it was his Moms....

Brian

Well that splains it!

[zavod44]

I would never get worked up about post bumping or not bumping, that's the kind of stuff that other sites get worked up about.  That's why I'm here.   

Brian

[Craig]

I would never get worked up about post bumping or not bumping, that's the kind of stuff that other sites get worked up about.  That's why I'm here.   

Brian

Thanks, Brian! Me too!   

[mike.stavlund]

Craig, I love the idea of a place on the site where we can see the history of color changes.  My dad has one of those baby blue grills, which I always assumed he bought new in 1969 or so.  But I found out this summer that he bought it at a garage sale a few years after that. So it would make sense that it's from the mid-60s. 

Brian, re: that pushed-in handle damage, do you see that often?  My DT Performer was practically perfect except for that injury where the handle is shoved straight down.  I was trying to imagine how that happens... maybe a tree branch that falls in the perfect trajectory, or maybe someone stacks a box on top of the grill or something.  It just seems like such a weird thing to happen that I'm surprised to see it twice.  Is it fairly common? 

She's a beauty, though.  Thanks for posting photos. 

[mike.stavlund]

I meant to add that learning my Dad's trusty kettle was a second-hand find went a long way to explaining my obsession.  I just wish he had told me about the garage sale years ago so I could have avoided wasting all of that money on new grills. 

[Duke]

Please share a picture of it Mike. Is it a top metal handle or wood?

[mike.stavlund]

I think you are asking about my Dad's baby blue, which I unfortunately don't have a photo of (he keeps a photo on his nightstand, which makes me really, really happy). 

But I can tell you from long experience that it has a wood top handle and a metal side handle.  I got a Brian O'Neal handle for it this summer, and was really disappointed to see that the horizontal metal piece of the top handle is completely missing.  I was even sadder to get a good look at her and see how rusty and rotted out she is.  Such a bummer. 

I grew up in Rockford, IL, and my dad in fact worked at Rockford Products (cold form fasteners).  He used to call home in the afternoon with my daily instructions:  "Mike, put (20 or 30 or whatever) coals on the grill, and light it at quarter-to-five.  I'll be home by 5:15 to cook (whatever was on the dinner menu)."  I was probably 10 the summer we didn't have any lighter fluid, and so used Coleman fuel.  A pretty exciting summer, especially when the coals wouldn't quite take and needed another dose of gas!  That blue grill holds a lot of memories. 

[Craig]

Craig, I love the idea of a place on the site where we can see the history of color changes.  My dad has one of those baby blue grills, which I always assumed he bought new in 1969 or so.  But I found out this summer that he bought it at a garage sale a few years after that. So it would make sense that it's from the mid-60s.   

Kind of a "six degrees of seperation", but if I were to GUESS, based on what I've seen in Weber literature and some Weber cookbooks... studying lid vents, etc. I would guess that Chestnut-Copperton from late 50s was dropped in favor of 2-tone Brown/Chocolate in the late 60s then it was dropped in favor of 2-tone red in theearly 90s?? (Unless someone has a pre 1990s 2-tone redhead, then that theory is out the window) I've guessed baby blue from late 50s/early 60s gave way to 2 tone avocado green in the mid 60s, which went to monotone lime green in the mid 70s, then went to dark green by 1979? Bright Yellow (an on again/off again color) popping up at times between the late 1950s-1978 would have been dropped in favor of dark blue by 1979? Sounds strange, but it's what I came up with in my "color math". As for Classic Bright Red "Hunter's Pink" I'd say 1950-something to 1999, gave way to maroon for 2000-2001, took a 9 year hiatus and re-emerged as "red brick" in 2010?  Somewhere I hear voices telling me to "Get a life!"  as I type this I could ask Weber, but they tried to say that kettles were only made in Arlington Heights from 1960-1974 according to their Facebook page, when clearly, there have been "A", "B" kettles with the Arlington Heights vent stamps. The research (labor of love) for all of us continues... 

Craig

[zavod44]

Hey Husker do you have all the catalogs that have been floating around?  To the best of my knowledge there is a 1964, 1966, 1972 and 1973.  I know Shaun has scans of a 1962 catalog as well.  I think my Estate is from 1963-1965.  It has a wood handle so it at least put in in 1963.  We know that in 1962 there were all metal hanldes, and we know in 1964 there were wood handles.  So My grill has to be right in that age range. 

Mike, I have seen a few with that damage.  I'm assuming the lid falls off and lands hard on the handle somehow.  At least I got the dent out pretty easy.

Brian

[Duke]

I asked that we put a color chart together at the "other site" but it never really caught interest. Maybe we could do it here since we are a real kettle site. 

Hey Look! This is my 1000 post! Yippeee!

[zavod44]

Holy LampE that's a lot!

Brian

[Craig]

Hey Husker do you have all the catalogs that have been floating around?  To the best of my knowledge there is a 1964, 1966, 1972 and 1973.  I know Shaun has scans of a 1962 catalog as well.

Brian

I wish I did have the catalogs. I just saved as many images to my computer that I could, which was only a few images.  If memory serves, from what I read from the '64 catalog (The one with George Stephen and the other guy posing with a bright red 26" that looks similar to "Grandpa" shape-wise and the early fiberglass worktable) lists the wood "walnut" handles as being new for 1964. I wish I had a picture of it, but I dont. It showed your Chestnut-Copperton kettle in there. Heres an image I found on google some time back of what looks like a 50s metal lid handle version of the Chestnut-Copperton kettle, definatly looks pink in this pic.



Duke, I second the idea of a color chart.

Craig

[Duke]

Goodfellas! 

""Medium Rare. Hmm, An Aristocrat.""

[Craig]

  That scene still makes me hungry everytime I watch it.

Craig