1920s Baccellieri Brothers Cast Iron Grape Press & Crusher Set

October. The grapes came in on a Friday. By Saturday morning your nonno had the Baccellieri set up in the driveway — the crusher bolted to its stand, the hopper loaded, the big spoked flywheel already turning. You fed the clusters in from the top while he cranked, the double rollers splitting stems from fruit, the must dropping through. Then the press: the close-stave barrel packed, the screw driven down, the iron hoops tightening until the juice ran through the spout and into whatever vessel was waiting. That smell — crushed grape stems, cold concrete, October air — doesn't exist anywhere else in the world. For three generations of Italian-American families from South Philadelphia to Newark to the North End, a Baccellieri press wasn't equipment. It was the center of the ritual.

This set belonged to one of those families. It comes directly from the collection of a retiring physician, New Jersey-born, who still remembers the yearly ritual of the grapes coming from California and the whole neighborhood turning out for the crush. It is a complete, matched two-piece set — press and crusher together, both by Baccellieri Bros. Mfg. Co., manufacturing plant West Berlin, N.J., showrooms Philadelphia, PA. The crusher carries the large spoked flywheel cast "PATENTED BACCELLIERI BROS MFG CO PHILA PA" and a pine hopper stenciled with the full maker's oval in original ink. The press is a No. 22, standing on a cast iron tripod with integral drip pan and spout, wood-slat barrel bound by three iron hoops, central threaded screw, and a cross-handle bar stamped U.S. Patent No. 1,513,209 — granted 1924. They called it a "fruit press" during Prohibition. Nobody was fooled. All original markings intact on both pieces. For the collector who grew up with this ritual, or the tasting room that wants to show visitors where wine actually comes from — matched sets don't come up. This one did.

CONDITION

Both pieces grade Good with age-appropriate wear throughout. Cast iron surfaces show paint loss, surface rust, and pitting consistent with working use; the press drip pan has heavy flaking to bare metal in several areas, and the wood basket slats and pine hopper are sound but darkened with juice staining and scattered surface scratches. The crusher shows some more recent replacement hardware at the hopper-to-frame attachment points.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

Press

• Model: No. 22
• Height: 54"
• Diameter: 33"
• Construction: Wood and cast iron
• Patent No.: 1,513,209 (Pat. 1924)

Crusher

• Height: 20"
• Width: 32"
• Depth: 27"
• Construction: Cast iron, steel rollers, wood hopper
• Manufacturer: Baccellieri Bros. Mfg. Co., "Peerless" brand
• Manufacturing Plant: West Berlin, N.J.
• Offices and Showrooms: Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.

Bob Ross (6'2") Shown for Scale