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!