Coca-Cola Flapper Girl Tray
Q: After reading your article in the newspaper about the Coca-Cola tin signs, I was wondering if there might be any value in a metal Coca-Cola serving tray my husband has. It says “Drink Coca-Cola” in gold letters at the top of the frame and pictures a young girl holding a glass of Coca-Cola. She’s wearing a blue dress, white fur wrap, and a pearl necklace.
A: The first Coca-Cola trays were made in 1897. The image on this tray is known as “Flapper Girl.” It was originally made in 1923 but reproductions and fakes have been made since the 1970s. The original 1923 tray was rectangular and measured 10 1/2 inches high and 13 1/4 inches wide. Round or oval trays are reproductions or fakes. Your tray is a fantasy tray made in 1973. An original tray in good condition sold for $510 earlier this year. Your fake tray is worth about $20.
4 responses to “Coca-Cola Flapper Girl Tray”
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@Roy Peterson, thank you for pointing it out. We replaced it with the correct picture.
The original poster says: “It says “Drink Coca-Cola” in gold letters at the top of the frame and pictures a young girl holding a glass of Coca-Cola. She’s wearing a blue dress, white fur wrap, and a pearl necklace.” None of those things are true in the image that accompanies the question. I’m sure Kovels has attached the wrong image in this online version.
I have to admit this one threw me. Yes, the term “Flapper” was used in 1923 but it usually referred to a free-spirited girl who bobbed her hair, wore clothing that was defeminizing ( in rebellion to the corsetted generation before ) and typically wearing a hat more similar to a cloche. This particular tray shows a young lady wearing an enormous brimmed hat that is more reminiscent of the first 15 years of the 20th century and, her hair is long; reminds me of a “Gibson Girl.”
I am sure you are right about the identification of the name of this tray. You know so much more than I do. However, I have never seen a flapper wearing a picture hat and high collar tie blouse. Flappers usually were seen wearing loose fitting shift dresses and a hair band with feathers. Picture hats were very late 19 teens. By the 1920s after WWI women had moved away from wearing the restricitve clothing of the Victorian, Edwardian era.
Hemlines went up and necklines went low.
I have a faux garnet “flapper” necklace that belonged to my grandmother. It is long (it hangs to just below the waisline) and lean just like the clothing of the 1920s. Think The Great Gatsby.
Perhaps whover originally named the tray in 1923 still was thinking about the past. Was it named in 1923 or later?
Thanks