Thrift roundup

This Butterfly Gold Pyrex casserole is the first piece of Pyrex I've come across at a thrift in while now. Coming across it was a pleasant surprise, especially since it wasn't in a normal glassware area. I suspect someone picked it up and decided against it later. My only disappointment was the 6.99 price tag. More than I wanted to pay, but still, it was a piece I wanted and didn't have, so I had to get it.

This Fire King piece sparked a mystery that I'm going to post about later when I take some more pictures. Stay tuned!

(I'm sure you are positively on the edge of your seats about it, lol ;-)

Yay! Snowflake Blue Corelle. I was just saying here the other day that I'd love to build a set of this pattern. It's not a lot, but it's a start! I'm pretty pleased this little grouping included the hook-handle cream & sugar (no lid though). I sure wish this pattern had nice Pyrex teacups to go with it, but alas those weren't made for some reason (and if I'm wrong about that, send me a link to them, pretty please). The only two styles I'm certain were made were these hook-handled teacups and C-handled teacups in Centura - which is not microwaveable - that's my complaint against it.

I started off absolutely hating these hook-handled Corelle mugs, but I've changed my mind about them. They are microwaveable - which beats Centura, in my book. And they just feel comfortable to drink from. I've been on a hot tea kick since flu season, so these guys will see lots of use!

Oh these kittens. Me and the kitchy wall art! I couldn't pass up these little shadow cats at 99 cents apiece!

Nor could I pass up these pups. They haven't even had a bath yet, but I had to include them in this post. They were just too sweet at a mere 49 cents a piece.

REPRODUCTION Tulips on Jadite batter bowl. NEW GLASS.

And finally, I picked this up at a neighboring antique store. This piece is Brand new Reproduction Jadite. Normally, I'd call this a "Fantasy piece" because it's a configuration that never existed in vintage, but this style batter bowl DOES exist in MARKED Fire King Jadeite. It was just never, to my knowledge, available with a decal of ANY pattern, much less the well-known Tulip pattern.

I bought this piece, knowing full well it was a repro, but it's one of the rare times that a repro has really spoken to me. I think it's a nice, useable piece, and I plan on collecting the other pieces that have been reproduced in the style of the original Fire King Tulips pattern. These reproduction pieces include a splash-proof mixing bowl (only the one size that I'm aware of), the splash-proof style grease jar & shaker set (silver lids on these guys), and a measuring cup that I believe is a knock-off of an original Hazel Atlas shape (I may be wrong about that - Anchor Hocking, Hazel Atlas, Jeannette and other companies produced some very similarly shaped measuring cups, it can be hard to tell them apart).

Hope you're finding fabulous treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

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!

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!

Fire King repro update

Update on my previous post about Fire King Reproductions

Check out the Jadeite repros, Red Dot Fire King bowls/grease jar, and Fire King Vitrock:

Found here

Fire King Reproduction Alert!

I've read many warnings about Fire King reproductions on the market, but mostly these have been limited to fabricated mug decals and not focused on the area I collect - Mixing bowls, grease jars, shakers & bakeware items.

But here lately I've noticed more and more "fakes" turning up in local antique stores, and I just wanted to share my experiences.

Reproduction Fire King Mixing Bowls:

I've seen these now in Tulip & Red Dots. These are very solidly opaque, similar to Vitrock but absolutely bone-white. In most instances, the decals are full color and without flaw. The bottoms have no markings whatsoever except sometimes you may find a Made in China gold foil sticker on them. Both bowls I've seen have been the 2 quart (7 1/2 in) Splash Proof, but very well may come in all sizes. It's also possible to come across one of these that is 5 1/2 inches since the grease jars are also being reproduced.

Reproduction Fire King Grease Jars & Shakers (aka Range Sets): I have seen these in Tulip & decaled Jadeite. First word of warning: Fire King never made a splash proof style grease jar in Jadeite. This is technically a "Fantasy Item" instead of a direct reproduction. Of course these are not marked in any way on the bottom, except possibly by sticker. All the ones I have seen are decaled in some way. I don't know if the shape is truly identical to the original white grease jars, but they appear to be quite close. The Fire King Tulip Grease Jar & shakers are also dead white. The biggest additional giveaway on the shakers is that they come with new silver lids. The real shakers have tulip decals on them & say salt or pepper.

Unfortunately, the jadeite shaker reproductions in circulation right now are too numerous to count. And not just jadeite - white with decals and fired-on color styles are being repro'd. It's every style and decal imaginable - and they span the likes of not just Anchor Hocking, but McKee, Hazel Atlas, Tipp City - the whole spectrum. The only thing I can say is, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

I have a very strong (but totally unconfirmed) suspicion that one of the newest Fire King fakes is the rare and very expensive "Kitchen Aids" pattern. I've seen what appears to be fakes in online auctions, which makes it hard to say for sure. But until yesterday, I had only seen the "fake" Red Dots in online auctions, so Buyer Beware!

I'll update this post & cross reference it if I can confirm more.

1/26/12 *Edit* Check out the pictures here. Solid proof on the Red Dots bowls. Also, I did not know that Fire King Vitrock is now being Reproduced!