1940’s Metal top table. This is a porcelain top (enamel top) table. It needs to been redone a bit to make the table more sturdy and could use to be repainted now. This is still a very sturdy, durable table with years of life left in it! The porcelain top has some wear which is expected with it’s age. This is a great piece of vintage furniture that would look lovely in any retro home. Porcelain tables are great! They clean nicely and also are great for rolling out dough on! Incredible Art Deco style antique table with a top of porcelain enamel. I have seen dates for these tables from the 1920’s to 1950’s, probably because they were so sturdy and practical – they just kept making them! Condition is fair. The top has several areas where the enamel is missing, these are the black areas in the photo. Also there are many scratches in the top. The paint of the base is chippy. This is a primitive beauty in really nice vintage chic condition! Wood frame and legs and metal enamel top for your cottage kitchen, your next garden party, or for use anywhere in the home office or shop. It would make a great entry table as well!

Mankind has used the enameling technique since ancient times, the type of enamelware used in the kitchen that we are looking at today became popular in the mid 1700’s. The Germans are the ones given credit for that. They began pouring vitreous enamel onto sheet metal and then baking it at extremely high heat for use in kitchen utensils. It was brought to the United States around 1860, but it didn’t resemble the colorful examples that we see today.
Most of the enamelware that we see at flea markets and antique stores today has been manufactured since the 1940’s. Most enamelware manufactured before then was actually melted down for military purposes during WWII.
Like many products, some enamelware has become known by the manufacturer’s name. Granite ware was actually produced by a company in Granite, Illinois. They used granite in their enamel which gave it the grey tones that we associate with all the grey enamel ware that we generically refer to as granite ware.