Bar collectibles
Bullet- and penguin-shaped cocktail shakers are among the vintage pieces available at Bar Keeper, a one-of-a-kind barware shop in Los Angeles Silver Lake neighborhood. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
An accordion? Well, not really. However, the barware case does double as a music box, playing How Dry I Am. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
A few of the vintage bar signs at the Silver Lake shop. Bar Keepers owner, Joe Keeper, stocks his shelves with more than 2,700 bar-related items, about 60% vintage, primarily midcentury. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Among the items in the shop are a martini glass full of fishy lighters, and a fully stocked travel bar. Bar Keeper has proved popular with cocktail professionals, plus the hip, metrosexual father and the alternative mom with tattoos and piercings, Keeper says. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Recent finds include a set of Indians of Ohio glasses, originally given to gas station customers filling up their cars. Keeper primarily sources vintage barware at sprawling antique centers in small Midwestern towns. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Glass absinthe fountains line a counter at the Silver Lake shop. In my heart of hearts, I realize Im a gift shop, owner Joe Keeper says, but really, what I feel like I sell is ritual, the art of drinking. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Vintage beer signs decorate a wall of the shop. Thats owner Joe Keeper down in the corner, wiping glasses. Because American barware dates only to the late 1800s, he is planning to travel abroad to expand his scope. Ive been told that one place to go is India, when the British occupied and left, says Keeper, who hopes to find pewter ice buckets, martini shakers and Pimms cups. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
