The difference between Delphite, Turquoise Blue, and Azurite

Delphite on the left, Turquoise Blue center and one lone piece of Azurite on the far right

First, an apology. I've got a dark house, an out-of-date 5 MP point and shoot camera, and not the greatest photography skills. And forget photoshop, I've never used any image editing software. So these pictures kinda are what they are. But hopefully these will help someone tell the difference between Turquoise Blue, Delphite & Azurite (also spelled Azure-ite).

This topic has been well covered here by Jadite Kate, I just wanted to add my own photos and few tidbits of information not already covered.

 Above, a better look at the difference between Delphite (left) and Turquoise Blue (right). The measuring cups & shakers are by Jeannette, and the bowl by McKee. To the right of these are Fire King Splash-Proof mixing bowls in Turquoise Blue.

Now here's a handy thing to remember: McKee & Jeannette never made Turquoise Blue. And Fire King never made Delphite. These two materials were actually manufactured in a range of time that is potentially decades apart. These terms become confused because of the tendency for all blue glass to be labeled "delphite" when that's actually incorrect.

Fire King (Anchor Hocking glass) manufactured both of these shades of blue glass shown below. Again, the mixing bowls are Turquoise blue, but the lone pale teacup is actually referred to as Azurite - which can be spelled multiple ways, including Azure-ite or without the dash.

Turquoise Blue was available in splash-proof mixing bowls and a round dinnerware line. Azurite was available on the popular shapes, Swirl and Charm (square).

Fire King Turquoise Blue mixing bowls, left, and Azurite teacup, right.

 As you can see, the square Azurite Charm teacup is significantly paler than its Delphite and Turquoise Blue brethren.

 I've stacked it here on a Pyrex teacup to show how close to pure white milk glass it is.

Pyrex also manufactured Delphite pieces, in both factories here and in Canada. I don't have any of these pieces, but I assume they are close in shade to Jeannette and McKee Delphite.

And if you are one really lucky duck, there is another very pretty shade of blue I've only seen in books. It is a lovely Robin's Egg blue called "Chalaine". It's a Depression Era glass that was contemporary to Delphite. Since I've never actually seen it before, I can't say for sure what it truly looks like, but from pictures, it seems quite similar to Turquoise Blue Fire King.

And a final word of warning. Delphite is being widely reproduced. It's hard to keep up with the individual pieces. They are often made overseas and imported in to the US. But they are invariably collector's favorites, such as reamers, measuring cups, rolling pins, shakers, etc.

A US company called Mosser glass is producing Delphite (listed in catalog as "Bonnie Blue") glass nesting glass mixing bowl sets whose body shapes are very, very similar to vintage Pyrex. Unfortunately, these sets have a way of turning up in antique stores, sold as "vintage" with a high $$$. The way to spot these is to look for a mark - an M through an outline of the state of Ohio. I think these bowls are lovely and perfectly useful, it's just unfortunate that they are presented as being vintage when they are not.

Hope this adds some clarity to the many lovely shades of vintage blue glass.

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Another complete set

Yesterday the hubs and I hit up the local flea market, where I finally found the smallest bowl from this yellow & black version of "Gooseberry" Pyrex.

The largest three where a surprise Valentine's Day present two Valentine's Days ago and I've been hunting this smallest bowl ever since. Very glad to have it completed now!

And if you've ever wondered what I'm using in these photos to prop up the bowls, here's a snapshot:

Two of the smaller sized 5" Fiesta rice bowls (a Dillard's exclusive), and a Fiesta Bullion bowl/cup. I love Pyrex and Fiesta together!

And finally, my other finds of the day. This cream & burgundy "Trailing Flowers" Pyrex casserole is called a Bake 'N Carry. Originally, it came with a lid and a cloth cozy to keep the contents warm - and portable, too. There's another one of these that is smaller and the color scheme is exactly reversed.

This wasn't a pattern that was on my wishlist exactly, but at 6.50 it was in too nice of a piece to pass up.

The mixing bowl here is unmarked, but I'm certain it's Glasbake. I don't know an official name for this pattern, but I'm going to say "Blue Onion" because of its resemblance to so many china patterns of that same name and style. It was a thrift store find, 2.99. I don't love the pattern, but it's my very first Glasbake mixing bowl, so I'm happy to have it.

Hope you're finding thrifty treasures & treats!

A little blue people & rooster Thanksgiving

The hubs was off the day before Thanksgiving, so we hit the road and went antique shopping. Unfortunately for us, several of our favorite haunts were closed, but we still managed to find some deals.

This largest 404 bowl completed my set!

First up, this big 404 bowl completes my Pyrex "Butterprint" set. And technically, it's the last piece of turquoise Butterprint I was intending to buy. Was so excited to find it for 14.50, described by the dealer as "Little blue people & rooster", hence the blog title. But when we got home with it, I noticed it had been discounted, so it was only 10.50. Woot!

And ironically, this booth was directly across from the one that had this same bowl for $37.50 one of the times I very reluctantly passed it up. Sometimes patience really does pay!

This orange version (also called yellow butterprint) was an online splurge. Little by little, I've been buying the harder-to-find pieces I want online. I guess, in that respect, I've run out of patience already. Some things I just never see locally, so they are worth the extra expensive and trouble to buy online.

And you know what else takes the cakes about buying online, besides expense? Not really knowing what condition your purchases are really going to be in. Thankfully, these bowls are in nice shape - shiny and not dishwasher damaged. But they were absolutely filthy!

Butterprint lovelies

I wanted to use my new bowls for Thanksgiving. I even busted out with my very Penn Dutch-flavored "Heartland" dinnerware. Made by International China in the 90's, it was available in several versions and many, many different kitchen items. Every piece I have has come from thrift stores.

I'm not joking when I say that I think this was the Jewel Tea of the 1990's. My holy grails of this line are the table linens and automatic coffee maker (!). Yes, really. There IS a "Heartland" theme coffee maker. It never ends! lol!

Hope you and yours had a lovely Holiday!

Thrift & Antique Store Round up

The thrifts seem sparse to me lately. Which is why I was pretty surprised to find this jadite mixing bowl. Unmarked, but attributed to Jeannette. Has some inner rim roughness, but otherwise in good condition.

The long stirring spoons are Tupperware. I had a whole set of these that I sold - glasses, spoons & carrier. I believe it was called a Carousel Caddy. Oh, my love of old Tupperware. Especially this "Millionaire Line" stuff in pastel colors. I'm sorely tempted to keep these myself, but these will most be sold as well.

 And this little pig guy here just sweetened my day. It's marked Japan & is probably a 50's or 60's piece, just going by the looks of him. My grandmother had a soft spot for these planters, a soft spot that apparently is rubbing off on me. :-)

Next up, a round Glasbake casserole, unmarked milk glass February mug and a square Glasbake Lipton mug.

 I'd never seen this Glasbake pattern before. Here's a closer look.

I think one of the things that keeps me collecting Glasbake is that it's like Pyrex but so much information remains undiscovered. I'm trying to stay away from the green patterns that I see pretty frequently and stick with more unusual or uncommon ones. Also, at 2 dollars, Glasbake is cheap compared to how Pyrex is being priced these days.

And finally, my antique store finds. Each one of these were 12 dollars apiece.

My first "Friendship" mixing bowl - Yay! A Pyrex 024 sized promotional piece dubbed "Berries" that matches my Sandalwood pieces! And a replacement 503 fridgie dish. My original one has a bit of dishwasher damage. It's one of the very first pieces of Pyrex I ever bought, and one of the first things I ever blogged about here.

You'd think it was also a Friendship piece, especially with the red & orange bowl sitting right on top of it. But no, it's actually from another line called "Daisy". Also sometimes referred to as Citrus. Either way, it's a nice pop of color that looks great with my turquoise Butterprint pieces too!

Hope you're finding thrifty treasures!

Epic!

Oh yeah. This is totally a pink Pyrex bowl set. All four pieces, united at last.

And it's totally mine.

The word that comes to mind for this is........... Epic

I like how it looks like there is a just-hatched baby chicken walking across the top of the bowl. But that's actually just my rockin Sears chicken canisters from 1976.

 
Happy Treasure Hunting!

Antique Store finds

 This is the best local antique store haul I've had in ages. Nowadays, I can't go a single post without bemoaning the fact that there's just certain Pyrex pieces I'm hoping to find, and usually I don't find even a single one - much less the 3 I found here.

The snowflake blue Pyrex refrigerator dish is the only piece I have of this set. It was pricey, but not run-for-the-hills pricey. And experience has taught me that this large size (a 503) is difficult to find. I saw the medium size (the 502) when the hubs and I were antique shopping last month. It was priced at 18 dollars. With much sulkiness, I left it behind.

Next up, the red stripe Vitrock mixing bowl was budget-friendly 5 dollars. But, it has utensil marks inside that I've only halfway been able to get out - it's a rare case that Bar Keeper's Friend fails me, but when it does, it's always metal marks. Here it is with my only other red stripe kitchen item:

Anchor Hocking Vitrock mixing bowl, Hazel Atlas 4 cup measure

And as much as this mixing bowl looks like it was made to match this measuring cup, they are in fact made by two different companies. The mixing bowl is technically "Vitrock" because it was made by Anchor Hocking. The measuring cup was made by Hazel Atlas, but is unmarked. Now I know that when they made this type of material on dinnerware, they called it "Platonite". I'm not sure if that term would apply here, but the material is the same.

It's different than milk glass because it is matte, and can vary in shade from white to cream/beige/taupe. In the case of Anchor Hocking, I've seen it said that this material was made to compete with the china trade. And it certainly looks more china than glassware. There are many items made by several companies in this type of material that are easily overlooked as being china or ceramics.

Twin Buffet Twins. Or does that make it Buffet Triplets?

Not much to say on the yellow stripe Pyrex bowl, other than it's loverly, and a duplicate for me. I've given myself full bore permission to totally hoard my favorite Pyrex bowls. Stripes is one of those patterns that I rarely see, so if it's reasonably priced, it's all mine, baby!

And finally, the blue/green fade leaves dish is another I've only seen online before. Like the gold-on-cream version, it should be a twin and come with a double sided server. So now I have buffet triplets.

Did you notice these are two different sizes? The gold version is a 473 and the blue/green fade is the more shallow 472. The carriers are also two different styles. I've seen the carrier for sale in an antique store before, but it was paired with mismatched dishes in a pattern I don't care for, and it was expensive. I don't remember how much, but too rich for my blood. If I were more of a completists or much of a fan of the carriers, I might have popped for it anyway.

So, good day yesterday and good finds. Today I am celebrating my one year anniversary of quitting smoking (One of the damn hardest things I have EVER done), so these are my presents, lol!

Hope you are finding awesome treasures!

More Fire King fakes

Reproduction Fire King C-handle mug.

Saw this guy here in an antique store in Georgia about a month ago. First time I had seen a completely fake Jadeite mug. Notice the handle. It has been made to look as close as possible to the increasingly pricey Fire King C-handle mugs. For a comparison of the real deal Fire King mugs, check out this excellent resource.

(Edit 8/18/2014: Here's a little wayback machine snapshot of the site that might help if my original link isn't working)

Forgive the less-than-ideal cellphone picture here. It's really really difficult to capture the differences between the fakes and the real stuff! But first clue here should be it's priced at $15.99. It was out in the open - more valuable jadeite items are typically behind a locked case. Perfect condition, including the bold black lettering with no wear.

Another thing to note with this reproduction Jadeite (or Fake-ite, as I've dubbed it) is that it does have some textural differences from the real Jadeite. New, reproduced jadite can be very glossy. Depending on the piece, it can look wet, almost like the glass is not 'set'. Items that are decalled or have lettering, the colors are crisp and perfect. Too perfect.

And to my knowledge, Fire King never made a Tom & Jerry mug in Jadeite. If that is the case, this item gets termed a "fantasy item", meaning one that never originally existed. What can make these items seem so realist is that they are frequently a combination of two different companies actual work.

This is my previous post about Fire King reproductions, namely decalled items such as mixing bowls, grease jars & shakers.

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Anniversary Goodness Part Two

Anchor Hocking Forest Green Dots pitcher & tumblers

These glasses were one of my favorite finds of the day. There are actually 5, and I paid 3 dollars apiece for them. Not too shabby. When I started pulling of the labels to wash them I noticed that they had several layers worth of price stickers. Each one revealed a different dealer tag and price. First dealer had them marked for 20 dollars apiece! Then they went from 20 to 10 down to 3. Dramatic difference! They match my pitcher perfectly. It was another pleasant surprise find several months ago. I never thought I'd find any of these polka dot items reasonably priced, just goes to show that being a treasure hunter can yield some pleasantly surprising finds!

 And speaking of polka dots, I almost didn't buy these shakers. I had one of them at home already. And even though these have lids, they aren't the original ones. I walked around the antique store, wringing my hands over them, and finally my exasperated husband said "Just buy them. You'll kick yourself later if you don't."

Who can argue with such wisdom? :-)

Pyrex Celtic Floral promotional casserole

This promotional Pyrex casserole was in my last blog, but I actually bought it a different day. This is one of my very favorite pieces of Pyrex I've ever bought. And at 20 dollars, it's one of my most expensive single pieces. So it better be good, Right?

Oh well. It's Be-yooo-teee-ful, and that's what really matters, lol!

And finally, the Good, the Bad, and the (almost got) ugly:

ANOTHER vintage Fiesta relish tray piece. For a song. 5 bucks and absolutely flawless. I do not, DO NOT understand how or why these guys keep coming my way, and so inexpensively!

I did a major happy dance when I found it. It was labeled "vintage Fiesta pcs $5.00". In other words, the dealer didn't know what they had, didn't care enough to look it up, slapped a 5 dollar price sticker on it, and sat it on the bottom of a knick-knack shelf where I'm amazed I even saw it.

vintage Fiesta relish tray insert in original green

When we got to the check out, things almost took a dive. Almost. The lady at the register looked the piece over and over. Her whole manner looked stiff and angry. She just kept turning the piece over and over. Then she sat it down and looked in a book - presumably she was checking which dealer had that booth number.

When she walked back, she seem ever-so-slightly softened. She casually said "I collect old Fiesta". I smiled at her, sweet and blank, with an expression that was like "Oh, that's nice."

But inside, I was fuming. I felt like I had been accused of cheating. I didn't know what exactly her problem was, but she obviously did.

Then, she rather snarkily asked for my tax number - meaning: Are you an antiques dealer? Did you just "pick" my antique store?

I think I managed to just look confused. But, mostly I was still just fuming inside.

When I finally got back out to the car, I unwrapped my relish tray insert and noticed that a corner of the tag had obviously been pulled up. This made me fume even more. So THAT'S what she was doing when she was turning the piece over and over again. She thought I had switched a tag. But it was obvious by the way the sticker was coming up that it had not been removed or switched or messed with.

I just got lucky is all. I found a dealer who was selling a Fiesta pcs (whatever that is) for 5 dollars because they simply didn't care enough to look it up. And folks, this was in a major antique store with lots and lots of collector's books behind the counter that the owners of the place I'm sure would be perfectly happy to let you borrow. In fact, that antique store probably even had the internets that could be consulted as well.

You can tell I still get mad when I think about it, huh?

And to tell you the truth, I think the lady was just being a good employee. She obviously knew what the insert was, even though the dealer didn't. And she didn't accuse me of anything she couldn't prove (Although, her body language and tone were plenty accusatory enough).

It just sucked some of the sweetness out of a good day and a fantastic find.

On the flip side though, this green piece made me realize that I was 4 colors in to an 'original 6' relish tray. Before this find, I was on the lookout for a cobalt base to make an ivory, cobalt & yellow tray. But now, I think I'm going to hold out for a red side and a turquoise base and have all 6 original colors - and in exactly the combination I would have picked for a relish tray if I was starting completely from scratch!

I am reminded again of all the amazing, wonderful things in the world. My heart is filled to the brim with gratitude. And I am humbled that these really cool things have come my way & on such a meager budget. Goodness DOES abound! :-)

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Anniversary Goodness - Day 1

Two days ago was mine & my husband's 7 year wedding anniversary! Can't believe we haven't killed each other yet! :-)

Here's my anniversary haul:

Anniversary loot!

I'm surprised I only bought 6 pieces of Pyrex - 5 of which are pictured here, and one very, very tragic piece of Sandalwood, smashed to a million bits, that I didn't even get to the car with (!). Sad, sad Sandalwood, I hardly knew you *sniff*

And I know, I know. Only 6 pieces? You have to be a true Pyrex collector to understand that this is not at all excessive. In fact, it is well and truly restrained. Yep. (Right?)

So, only 6.... I was giving myself permission for WEEKS to buy as much as I could find that I wanted as long as I stayed on budget. Otherwise, I'd be forced - forced, I say - to spent my husband's budget as well. (Which I sorta did....... Um....... I LOVE YOU HONEY. Hi! You're awesome :-)

And you know what's even more awesome about 3 of these pieces? They all completed sets!!! Whoo-Hoo!

Complete sets are Love. l-r Verde Square Flowers refrigerator dish set, Sandalwood Cinderella mixing bowl set, Stripes 3 piece mixing bowl set

 I love my Sandalwood set. The largest bowl was one of my very first pieces, over two years ago now. And it has taken me this entire time to complete it, one bowl at a time. And funny enough, this time last year, I came home with the second largest piece from this set. So it reminds me of more than one anniversary. It's definitely a favorite.

Next up, my other dish obsession - Fiesta and other HLC lines.

 I added an original green Carnival plate and grey teacup to my collection. Beside those is a vintage Chartreuse Fiesta Tom & Jerry mug that I was very happy to find for 10 bucks! And finally, an original green Riviera teacup.

The more pieces of Riviera I add to my collection, the more I feel like it outshines Fiesta. It's just that it is becoming hard to find in any condition and less likely to find deals on. This teacup was 6 dollars, but the only other Riviera I spotted that day was marked 25 bucks for a cup & saucer set. Which, for me, is a forget-about-it price. Not happening.

And speaking of Fiesta, this was my one new item purchase - a heart bowl in Marigold. This color is the special 75th Anniversary color and it will be discontinued by the end of this year. The heart bowls are special items that are exclusives to the 'small' Fiesta retailers - NOT available in chain stores like Kohl's, Dillards, etc.

And the other heart pictured is a trinket box in a china pattern that I also- somewhat reluctantly- collect, called "Heartland" made by International China. It's by far and away the most 1980's- looking thing I collect, and of course it's dishes. Which you can totally tell from this blog that I simply don't have enough dishes.

 And my final items...well...they are show-stoppers. To me, at least, dish junky that I am.

Fire King red dots mixing bowls!!!!! Lovelovelovelovelovelovelove (you get the idea, lol!)

 I am just missing the smallest 1 quart bowl now. lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove

And when we got home, guess what arrived in the mail?

Pink bowls!!! Whoo-Hoo!

 Again, this set is missing a bowl. Seems to be a theme, lol. Oh well, give me more of an excuse to go shopping some more!

I can't believe I got two of my holy grail bowl sets in just one day! And what a perfect day for them. So much happy.

AND.....it gets worse. We went shopping again THE NEXT DAY. More goodies for another post. Holy cats!

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Thrifty Fifty

 All these came from antique stores, but I stayed under a 50 dollar budget - which is pretty cheap considering that one of my finds was Jadeite!

 These are Fire King shakers. The lids are pretty roached, but I'm still very pleased to have them. Half the shakers I come across these days are either significantly overpriced or are missing their lids altogether.

Next up, the little 401 Pyrex Butterprint bowl was just what I needed to make this a 3 bowl set. There is still a larger bowl - a 404. I saw one for sale the same day, but they had $37.50 on it. Gulp!

 And finally, the little lidless Pyrex Butterfly Gold refrigerator dish was in a half-off booth and cost 3 bucks. It completed my Butterfly Gold refrigerator dish set. Which, technically, really shouldn't be mine. This is my mom's pattern and I buy it for her whenever I see something she doesn't have. I gave her these refrigerator dishes, but never saw her use them. In her words "I like the round ones better" - meaning the 470 series casseroles. And since these were fridgies (which I love) and she never used them, I took them back and started trying to complete the set for myself.

Oh well, at least when I look at them, they remind me of my mom, so that's all good :-)

Pyrex Butterfly Gold refrigerator dish set

And in the Holy Random Moments, Batman category today, my husband and I were offered to buy an antique store. Or possible management/partnership. Crazy stuff! And way, way, way out of my league. Either I should be utterly flattered or I should be half expecting a nice antique store around here to be going out of business or under new management soon.

Hope you're finding nifty thrifty treasures!

Pinkstravaganza!

Pyrex Pink Gooseberry 480 casserole set

 Now these were from a few weeks ago - an online purchase. I've hit that point where the things I'm looking for just don't seem to be able to be found locally, so I've bitten the bullet and ordered online.

 The whole pink gooseberry family, minus the refrigerator dishes. Of which I'm only missing one. I will be happy and relieved to find it. Prices for pink pyrex seem to be steadily climbing, and I'll be glad when I've got the exact pieces I want, and can be done with buying it.

Just need 1 more! Woo-hoo!

 So close! Just one little fridgie and this set will also be complete. Sqeeeeeeeeeeee.

 I got the smallest pink daisy dish today - an online purchase. Paid more to ship it than I won it for. Buying online is for the birds!

 The smallest round dish here (the 023) was a local find. Had never found an 023 'in the wild' before, and was very happy it was pink. I'm not for sure, but I believe the only other solid colored 023's that are known are turquoise and butter yellow.

And finally, that's not pink! The Spring Blossom green fridgie was a GW find for $4.99. The opal fridgie is unmarked. Found it in a local antique store, with lid, for 6 bucks. Not too bad.

And I was really happy to find the Spring Blossom fridgie. It's the first time I've found Pyrex in the local thrifts in a while. When I do, I'm usually so excited about it that I go home and immediately blog about it.

Lame, huh? Haha.
 

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Bar Keeper's Friend on vintage Fiesta

Went antique shopping today and bought two of the absolutely most utensil marked vintage Fiesta salad plates I have ever seen.

But fear not! Bar Keeper's Friend to the rescue!

Here's the Before shot:

The most utensil'd-to-death plate I've ever seen

A paste of Bar Keeper's Friend was applied to the right-hand side

Hard to tell these guys lived the same rough existence in the hands (and forks) of a dish abuser. But now they live with me, and that's all that matters :-)

Happy Bargain Hunting!