This is an ashtray from Julius Monk's Cabaret "The Upstairs at The Downstairs"
Julius Withers Monk was born Nov. 10, 1912, in Spencer, N.C. He arrived in New York in the early 1930's and played the piano at the bar at One Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village.
In the 1960's Julius Monk worked at a San
Francisco club, where Murray Grand, a pianist, singer and songwriter,
found him. When Mr. Grand was offered a position to manage a New York club, the Purple Onion, and asked Julius to
help. Mr. Grand renamed the club the Downstairs because it
was located in a cellar, at 51st Street and Sixth Avenue. Mr. Grand put together a
show called "Four Below" with skits and songs by Michael Brown, and the
team of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (who later went on to create "The Fantasticks").
On opening night, March 4, 1956,
Mr. Grand found that the sign outside proclaimed "Julius
Monk's Downstairs Presents Four Below." Mr. Grand was not mentioned in
the program, not even as the writer of his own songs. But "Four Below,"
which Mr. Gavin identifies as "the first legitimate cafe revue in New
York City," became the hit of the season and started a series of Monk
revues that set the tone for New York cabaret for a decade.
This ashtray came from the estate of George Curley, a stage manager and lighting technician at Julius Monk's. George also played Mortimer in the original cast of "The Fantasticks."
Vintage Inland Hand Blown Glass Cara-Set - Large Carafe (12 cups) and 4 Carafettes (2 cups) with plastic trivets and decorated with platinum. The large Carafe measures 12 inches high and the Carafettes measure 6 inches high. Still in the original box - all in excellent condition.
This is a rare gem circa 1925!! It is hard to find a dispenser of this
size and in such fine condition. The Perfection Cooler Co., from
Stoughton, Mass., was short lived making this item more desirable. The
removable glass top has the shape and texture of an orange. The
ceramic bottom is stamped with the company's name and the style S60.
