Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Hinged pewter ice cream mold in shape of waving American flag; marked "282."

In the early 1900s, spurred by the advent of electric refrigeration, ice cream became available to more and more Americans. Soon, an industry developed around serving ice cream in celebratory shapes. But using an ice cream mold took practice - the ice cream had to be soft enough to release from the mold, while also hard enough to hold its shape.