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The Gilchrist Connection John W. Howell married a lady named Frederica Gilchrist. Frederica's brother was an inventor named Raymond Gilchrist. As many of us in the family grew up hearing, "Uncle Raymond" is best known for his soda fountain accessory inventions & products. Mostly, he is known for his successful line of patented mechanical ice cream scoops (known then as ice cream "dishers"). Contrary to popular family lore, Raymond absolutely did not conceive or invent the first ice cream dipper. That honor goes to William Clewell, who patented the first ice cream scoop in 1876. Yes, Raymond was an inventor and did patent ice cream scoops and other soda fountain products. But his ice cream scoop inventions were variations on a pre-existing concept and product; they were improvements. And they were good improvements. His ice cream dishers were so well designed & marketed that they quickly became the most popular, successful scooper of their time (the early 1900s)*. Under the auspices of The Gilchrist Company, Raymond built Today you can easily find an inexpensive Gilchrist ice cream scoop on Ebay. However, as the article below reveals, some Gilchrist dippers carry a very high price tag, and Gilchrist isn't the only name in collectible antique ice cream scoops. NOTE: the vintage Gilchrist ice cream scoop & original box pictured in this article was purchased on Ebay for $65.00 in 2000. In absence of the original box, (a scarce find) most model #31 dishers sell for much less. Other reading: * Ice Cream Dippers; an illustrated history and collectors guide to early ice cream dippers. By Wayne Smith, (c) 1986, privately published by author, available as follows. Send $19.95 plus $1.50 shipping to: Wayne Smith |
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marketed the dippers himself, boasting the logo "made better than it need
be". In fact, his model 31 dippers sold so well, and are so durable, that
they have survived to outlive their own success; their numbers & quality are so high,
that today their value as collectible antiques are somewhat low! (I recently heard an
antique dealer lament "Everybody had a Gilchrist ice cream scoop").