Vintage History: Farberware vs. Farber Bros.
Examples of Farber Bros. Krome-Kraft cordial glasses.
If you're a vintage housewares fan, you've no doubt heard of both Farberware and Farber Bros. So what's the difference?
First off, it is Farber (two r's), not Faber. Art supply company Faber Castell, around since 1761, confuses things further, so you may see people misspelling the name in advertising.
Farberware and Farber Bros. were started by members of the same Russian family that immigrated to the U.S. around 1900. S.W. Farber established the Farberware brand. His brothers, Louis and Harry Farber, worked for S.W. until they established their own company, Farber Brothers Krome-Kraft in 1915.
You've probably seen tons of Krome-Kraft items in antique malls and junk shops everywhere (they can be found in our Art Nouveau Altar Set and Elemental Book Set). Generally composed of jewel-tone glass and chromed, cut-out metal, these products have an Art Deco/Art Nouveau style that's hard to mistake. The big draws of Farber Bros. items are non-tarnishing chrome and the ability to "clip apart," meaning the glass could be replaced if chipped. The glass inserts were manufactured by Cambridge Glass, New Martinsville, Indiana Glass, Corning, and many others.
When consumer tastes changed, Farber Bros. sold to the Sheffield Silver Company in 1965, which in turn sold the company to Reed and Barton in 1973. In contrast, Farberware is still going, probably most famous for its line of pots and pans.
