Leslie and I like to race vintage sports cars, a passion we learned from our father. Dad owned one of the sexiest cars ever built - a silver 1938 3.5-liter SS100 seater that was built for speed, a fact accentuated by its chrome headlights and sweeping fenders. It's a wonderful piece of design. And perhaps it accounts, at least in part, for our love of the sleek chrome objects of the Art Deco era - things like cocktail shakers, serving dishes, and desk sets - that reflect a modern, streamlined aesthetic.

EVERYDAY MODERN DESIGN
Today small chrome objects for the home dating from the 1930s through the 1940s are affordable and available throughout the country at flea markets, antiques malls, specialty shops, auction houses, and online sites. But as our colleague John Sollo, of David Rago Modern Auctions, points out, there's a hierarchy of value in chromeware. While a common ice bucket can be had for as little as $25, limited-production pieces or ones by name designers have gone for more than $10,000. From vases to serving bowls, such pieces can be used today as function accessories or as accent pieces in a side variety of decors. They also look great displayed as a collection.

Though such chrome-plated objects actually started to appear in the 1920s, it's the Art Deco designs of the mid-1930s that are most sought after. Looking for a way to lure back wary consumers after the Depression, manufacturers such as Chase Brass & Copper, Manning-Bowman, Farber Bros., and Revere Copper & Brass enlisted well-known designers of the day such as Walter von Nessen, Russel Wright, Lurelle Guild, and Norman Bel Geddes. These talents turned everyday items - coffee and tea sets, trays, smoking and drinking accessories, bookends, magazine stands, and the like - into innovative designs that reflected the strength and optimism of the modern machine age. Tall, slender, streamlined forms evoked the skyscrapers that were redrawing city skylines. Stepped effects, concentric circles, fluting, ribbing, banding, and spheres or concentric circles are other design hallmarks of the style.

AN INNOVATIVE MATERIAL
Chrome metal was considered the very embodiment of the modern aesthetic. Chrome-plating - the process by which a thin layer of chromium was mounted to copper, steel, or brass - had been developed only as recently as 1925. The gleaming chrome cocktail shakers, cigarette dispensers, and ashtrays of the period weren't just remarkable stylistically; their material composition was an innovation. Moreover, mass-produced chromeware, far cheaper than silver, was affordable to the Depression-strapped middle class who didn't want to budget their good taste. It also had the modern advantage of never tarnishing.

The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 created a huge demand for bar accessories and other accoutrements of the good life, as did their frequent presence on the silver screen (think The Thin Man). At the same time, Emily Post - the grade dame of good manners - was encouraging buffet meals for parties, and chrome serving dishes and accessories gave informal entertaining a newfound elegance.

Times changed with the advent of World War II, however. Metal was needed for the war effort, and companies turned their resources to the production of munitions. After the war many companies tried to pick up where they had left off. But tastes had shifted, and designers were experimenting with new materials and color. Of course, chrome never went completely out of style, flourishing as a finish for small appliances, lighting fixtures, and tubular furniture for several decades to come. But it never again had quite as prominent a place at the American table.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Before purchasing a piece, consider its condition. Dents, deep scratches, flaking, and pitting (when the chrome looks rusty in spots) will reduce value.

Most of the major manufacturers' pieces bear their mark. For instance, Chase's logo, a centaur, can usually be found on the bottom of a piece - although it also might appear on a more obscure spot, such as a screw or rivet head. The lack of a mark doesn't reflect poorly on a piece's worth; it just makes it harder to determine its origin. Specialty publications, manufacturers' catalogs, and collectors clubs (many of which can be found online) can help you research a particular object.

If a piece's finish has dulled, use a sponge with mild soapsuds--nothing abrasive--or a specialty metal polish such as Chrome Crème to clean it. Replating a worn finish is costly and probably not worthwhile on less expensive objects. On highly sought-after pieces, replating may diminish the resale value.