I never actually got around to posting about completing my Primary bowl set. It's a sordid tale of spending too much money for individual pieces, then spending even more money on individual pieces because I lucked into some of the original T.M. Reg 1940's versions that are somewhat heavier, thicker, and have some color variation.
So, long story short, I have a complete set of 1940's older bowls, and I'm one 'modern' red bowl away from having an entire 1950's-and-beyond set. Honestly, I could have paid the typical antique store ransom price and had 1 bowl set, and that would have been the reasonable thing to do. But, the problem is, I'm not a reasonable person, lol!
I did not realize when I bought the lidless bundle of mostly primary refrigerator dishes back over the summer, how crazy it actually was to be purchasing most of 2 primary refrigerator dish sets in one fell swoop. I paid 23 dollars for 2 yellow & 1 orange (citrus daisy) large fridgies, 3 medium blues, and 3 reds. They were all taped together, so condition was a question mark. The large fridgies and reds have been through a dishwasher. They aren't awful, but they have lost some shine.
On the bottoms, they were marked in black permanent marker, one dollar for the large & medium, 50 cents for the small. They obviously came from a thrift store or yard sale. I'm supposing the seller thought a markup from 8 bucks to 23 was good enough profit, especially since they didn't have lids.
This bundle has been both blessing and curse. I've seen many a single primary fridgie for more money than I'd ever pay, but starting off with so many with no lids, I'm constantly on the hunt for them. I've found two lids since, and I've bought a few more pieces that I lid-hop around. I have enough now that I've 'retired' the older style lids with the pieces they belong to & use them for display, and have one of each size to use regularly. These are brilliant for holding leftovers, and I was happy to add in another small way that my food does not come into contact with plastic. (My feelings towards plastics are another rant for another day. I have flour in Tupperware canisters as we speak. To me, it's less about trusting or distrusting plastic and more about genuinely questioning something that is so pervasive, it's almost impossible to avoid.)
The other two pieces, both pottery, are an unmarked teapot I've since found out was made by Cronin, and a Hall for Westinghouse refrigerator dish. The Hall piece has a humdinger of a chunk chipped out from the inside of the lid, but it was also a bargain at 3 dollars. It still displays beautifully.
And it is probably ill-advised to admit to this, but it had a horrible metal ring-shaped stain on the top that would not soak or Magic Eraser out of it. I hit it with Bar Keepers Friend and it took it right out without doing any apparent damage to the piece or color. Once again, this is not *advice*. This is merely a *rambling recollection* from a girl who is willing to potentially damage a piece in order to *potentially* improve it.
How's that for a disclaimer? ;-)
And also, this is the inside of my very-much-unrestored Marsh hoosier-style cabinet. On one hand, I'm eager to (hopefully!) return it to it's former glory. But on the other hand, what isn't showing in this picture is the horrible-looking black chewing gum stuck on the insides of the cabinet. This horrible black gum actually makes me kinda sad. My mom told me stories of 'saving' her gum in funny places when she was kid (the bedpost idea wasn't just a song!) so she could chew it again later. When the day comes that I have to remove it to sand and paint, I will probably have to try to convince myself that it was just a gross adult who did it, lol.
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