This lily mold came to the museum from the South Dakota State University Dairy Science Department. The plaster casting shows what the molded serving of ice cream looked like.
Ice cream has existed for thousands of years in various forms of iced desserts. Ice cream became a popular American treat in the 1850s. The first patent for an ice cream mold was filed for in 1897.
Schall & Co. (1854-1860), which became the Krause Co. and Eppelsheimer Co., both based in New York, were the major U.S. manufacturers of ice cream and chocolate molds. They produced thousands of different patterns for any kind of celebration: holiday themes, flowers, animals, political and historical themes. The molds were sold to dairies, restaurants, caterers, confectioners and bakeries. Many of the mold designs were for individual servings, yet larger molds, called banquet molds created centerpieces with four to six servings.
The molds were popular until the 1950s, when the cost of production became prohibitive and concern arose about the lead content in pewter. Today, ice cream, butter and chocolate molds are popular collector鈥檚 items.