Friday, April 6, 2012

Glasbake

This is my entire Glasbake collection. The shapes of which make for a rather awkward group photo. :-)

It seems to me, with a few exceptions, that Glasbake is generally overlooked. A cousin of Pyrex and Fire King, but not exactly an equal. And while I love my Pyrex, I love Glasbake just as much. Sometimes even more so!

For all the many, many pattern options that Pyrex made over the years, the one thing that stands out to me with a certain degree of annoyance is that they rarely, rarely ever used more than two colors per pattern. Occasionally, Pyrex made in England (or JAJ) used 3 or more colors. But the US audience is pretty much out of luck there.These two loaf pans are good examples of what I mean. The orange flower, bluebell loaf pan reminds me quite a bit of a couple of British made JAJ Pyrex patterns.I also love the fin lids. I only have the one, and I believe it was actually made for another style of individual casserole. But it fits this one, so all's good.

Though Glasbake is generally priced lower than Pyrex (at least in my area), I still don't come across it all that often. Most of these guys have come from thrift stores. The strawberry loaf pan was one of my very cheapest finds probably 2 years ago. 59 cents! But it was also absolutely filthy. So filthy I couldn't even tell if it was damaged, so that's likely the reason it was so cheap.

Typically I only come across the ovenware, but Glasbake also made mixing bowls. I just don't have any of them, and rarely see them. If you want to see an amazing collection of Glasbake and other type of mixing bowls, check out this amazing collection!

As for the ovenware, I think these generally came as sets. Possible pieces being two sizes of oval casseroles, round casseroles (these can share lids with Pyrex 024's), loaf pans, two sizes of rectangular utility baker. I don't believe they made coordinating pie plates, but I'm not sure. Most all the ones I've seen, both online and in person, have been clear.

Another reason I think Glasbake is lagging behind it's milk glass brethren is because the name was used by different companies during different time periods, which makes for a confusing history and items that are hard to search for. And to my knowledge there are no reference books or even collector's website to gather information. There is, however, a flickr group for collectors, and this excellent blog by kitchenware author C. Diane Zweig that sorts out the tangled history of the Glasbake name.

Sometimes Glasbake items are not marked at all. Some of my pieces are unmarked. But the shapes are all the same, and they all have a pebbly texture on the bottom, typically with a smooth round area that would normally say Glasbake. Perhaps these pieces were made while the company transitioned from being a McKee product to a Thatcher Glass product - or from Thatcher to Jeannette.

Finally, if you're searching for a Glasbake item, try all these various search terms: Glasbak (the very earliest spelling), Flamex, Glasbake, Glassbake, McKee, Jeannette. If you are looking for early Glasbake (or Glasbak) items, such as coffee pots, teapots, glass skillets, etc. these were also marketed as "Range-Tec" items. Apparently McKee had a field day with dropping letters off the end of their product names, lol!
And finally, my favorite Glasbake items. Deliciously pink mixing bowls. These were made specifically for Sunbeam Mixmaster stand mixers. I found these two bowls seperately at thrift stores, and boy-oh-boy do I wish I had the pink Mixmaster to go with them!

Happy Collecting!

25 comments:

  1. Lovely collection you have there! And thank you for the links and info. I'm a budding collector, and it's great to find online communities of like-minded people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading! And good luck with your collection! :-)

      Delete
  2. Hear, hear for the overlooked Glasbake! I have a beautiful 1.5 Q casserole dish with the lid in the green floral pattern. It's in perfect condition and is my favorite item in my kitchen (even over my pyrex!!).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Please can someone tell me where I can buy Glasbake because I have had a number of items which I was given as a wedding present in 1975 and I still use them. Unfortunately one or two of them have broken in the meantime but I still use them on a weekly basis. Please help me!!! I live in the UK. I'm on cbond2@toucansurf.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have some bowls with a little thumb-sized handle. They would be the perfect size for french onion soup but I don't know if they're oven safe, since the cheese top has to be finished in the oven. Anyone know?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to start with a disclaimer. I wouldn't want to even guess without seeing a picture of them, and even then, it would just be a guess. But having said that, I believe all Glasbake items are in fact oven safe. Just like Pyrex, even if the item was obviously not designed for oven use (a mug, for example), it's still made out of the same type of glass - therefore, it's safe to use in an oven.

      HOWEVER, if you are wanting to use a dish like this for french onion soup, I would be very, very wary. There are many glass dishes, both vintage and modern that are oven safe but NOT broiler safe. The heat is just too much. Most modern Pyrex and Anchor Hocking glass baking dishes are clearly marked "Not for broiler use" or something similar.

      So long story short, I would NOT use vintage Glasbake (or Pyrex, Fire King, Hazel Atlas, etc.) under a broiler.

      Delete
  5. Hey do you stil have pink bowls for sunbeam. If so email me at permex.rm@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the Blog, I had a heck of a time finding anything on Glasbake simply because i was mis-spelling the name. Also, there is little information out there, expecially baout History after MvKee merged in the 1960's. I have found some Lipton Soup Mugs (4), a White Sumbeam Bowl and a great caserole dish. Cool stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just found a bowl and 2 split dishes (one with the daisy design and one plain white) bought all 3 for only 1.00. Perfect condition (No lids ) so can they be microwaved or put in dishwasher?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am trying to date a Glasbak oval casserole dish that has "GlasBake 240" on the bottom. The entire dish has a green tint and a darker green rim.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi... I just found a Glasbake round serving bowl with the poppy pattern number 206.. I am very curious... what year was this possibly made.. I love antiques and intend on using this bowl.. it's beautiful... can't squawk.. for $.25.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My dad worked for Jeannette Glass from the late 1940's until the early 1960's in sales. We have quite a few Glasbake pieces as dad said Jeannette bought Mckee Glass in 1961 a few years before he moved to Indiana Glass sales. Dad died in August, so we now have one hundred or so pieces of Glassbake and Jeannette gift items between my brother and I. They make great memories for me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I WAS A HOUSEWARES BUYER IN TEXAS DURING THE 70'S AND 80'S. CORNING/PYREX, ANCHOR HOCKING AND LIBBY GLASS DOMINATED MY IN STOCK LISTINGS. I DID A LITTLE BUSINESS WITH BOTH JEANNETTE AND INDIANA GLASS. JEANNETTE MADE A BROAD LINE AND SEEMED TO APPEAL TO SPECIALTY AND GIFT MARKETS. THE BIG GUYS SEEMED TO FOCUS ON COMMERCIAL BUSINESS AND LARGER RETAIL MARKETS. WAS AN INTERESTING AND COMPETITIVE ERA. YOUR DAD SURELY EARNED HIS LIVING MARKETING THESE AMERICAN MADE GOODS. TODAY, I CAME ACROSS A CLEAR GLASSBAKE DISH AND WICKER HOLDER....UN-USED, IN ORIGINAL BOX AND WITH "WICKERWARE FROM JEANNETTE" PRINTED INSTRUCTIONS.....COOL BEANS ON THE FIND AND IT WILL STAY UN-USED AND SERVE AS KITCHEN DECOR & HISTORY......

      Delete
  11. I just found in a thrift store 4 Glasbake 84 clear custard cups with a nice design on the side in hard to read markings looks like pat. May 27 19 cant read the rest. Do you know anything about the pattern or the age of these cups. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. From what I gleaned (I found 12) they are early custard cups made by McKee. The patent date is May 27,1919. The pattern/style is #84.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Do you know if the Glasbake Divided White Milk Glass J2352 Casserole Baking Dish ever came with a lid? Or, is there a lid from another piece that would fit?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have a Glasbake 4141 fish bowl that is in the shape of a fish. Can't find it anywhere on the internet. The color is like carnival glass. Deep red, blue, green and it is painted gold on the bottom. Help

    ReplyDelete
  15. mine is clear color I inherited it just want to know how much it is worth

    ReplyDelete
  16. Annarabideau@yahoo.comSeptember 9, 2019 at 6:22 PM

    I HAVE NEW IN BOX RAINBOW GARDEN GLASBAKE BY JEANNET 6 PC SET LOOKING FOR A PRICE 781 475 3238 ANNA

    ReplyDelete
  17. hi all, we were reading about lead content in Pyrex and Glasbake and I'm wondering if anyone has tested for lead in any Glasbake products? There were some reports of lead in the outside colored paint surfaces of both older Corelle and Glasbake items--here is the test, but I'm wondering if a clear glass bundt pan would show any lead. Anyone done any testing with the 3M strips?

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Pyrex_Love/comments/bdrvcz/i_just_tested_my_vintage_pyrex_and_corelle_for/

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just picked up "The Chefs Choice designed by L & M Vignelli Glasbake by Jeanette". I believe its "No. 5505 Chefs Choice". It clearly says microwave and oven safe. I'm hoping someone can tell me if I can make bread in it that needs an oven temp of 500 degrees fahrenheit.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Has anyone ever seen Glasbake with a coating inside? Stamp on bottom says ovenware U.S.A. I've been a collector for decades and never seen this..Seen it in a post online.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Just found a full set? 4 size Cinderella nested mixing bowls in the jewel tea pattern. Any onfo would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Do you know what the indents are on the sides of a square baking dish? They’re vertical lines down the sides underneath the handles. They don’t look like cracks. Could they be mold lines from when they were made?

    ReplyDelete