![]() ![]() They are routinely going for $300 to $500 dollars a set, and some for much more. Pyrex, for example, a sister to CorningWare also made by the Corning company, has become quite the hot commodity and is significantly more expensive than CorningWare – particularly the vintage pink or turquoise mixing bowl sets. I’ve joined some online groups of other vintage houseware enthusiasts and soon learned what a dangerous hobby this could be to someone’s bank account. A few examples of things I’ve found that were staples of my childhood: ![]() We were poor, so most of our household items were inexpensive and mass produced – like CorningWare – so there is a lot of it around in these second-hand shops. My eye is constantly being caught by something that my grandmother owned or that we had in our house when I was growing up. Secondary to my love of this stuff is my new fondness for wandering around these shops looking at all the other things they have besides CorningWare. In case you were curious, the image is the port in Stockholm, taken from an etching in the book “Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna” written by Erik Dahlberg in the mid-1600s. Note that “fin” handle on the lid that dates it to pre-1961, and the dish itself is roughly 1960.Īnd just yesterday, I acquired via eBay another sought-after and hard to find item: The bake tray in the pattern “Renaissance”, circa 1970: It is believed to be called “atomic starburst” or “black atomic star”: The first such splurge was this 2.5qt casserole in a pattern that even CorningWare experts have had difficulty finding info about. I confess I have paid a premium (though not thousands by any means) for a few hard to find pieces. The beauty of collecting CorningWare is that most pieces, even if in perfect condition and complete with lid, should go for less than $15. There are bogus articles floating around online claiming this stuff is worth thousands, and there are some sellers who are apparently trying to finance their kids’ college educations by selling a few pieces, but their targets are fools. Then I started scouring local thrift and antique stores, and my collection grew.Īnd the best part: this stuff is cheap! Or, at least, it should be. I learned to discern a piece’s rough age based on the back stamps. The blue cornflower is of course the most recognizable design, but I was delighted to learn that there are dozens of other patterns. They made casseroles, skillets, sauce pans, roasting pans, pie plates, tea kettles, coffee percolators, and more. It holds heat, is stick-resistant, and easy to clean. It is dishwasher safe, and the patterns do not fade or flake off (with some exceptions for later patterns.) It is nearly indestructible, which is why so much of it is still around today. It can go from the freezer directly into a hot oven without exploding. But its usefulness in the kitchen was soon recognized this stuff can go in the freezer, in the microwave, in the oven, and on the stove top – yes, you can cook with it right on a burner. They called this new material “Pyroceram” and its first use was not in casserole dishes but for nosecones for ballistic missiles, due to its heat-resistance. Thus was birthed the most amazing, versatile kitchenware in history. Donald Stookey, removed the piece with tongs, it slipped to the floor… and did not shatter. The end result was an opaque, milky white piece of glass. On the drive back home I started doing some research, and learned that CorningWare was created accidentally, when a piece of photosensitive glass was placed into a furnace and the heat was accidentally cranked up to 900 degrees instead of the intended 600. The nostalgia grabbed me, as did the price, as I brought these, in pristine condition, home for under $20. It is CorningWare, with its trademark “Blue Cornflower” motif. You are undoubtedly familiar with the pattern, and if you, your mom, or your grandmother didn’t have any of this in their kitchens, you are a rarity. Some of it is truly antique a lot is straight up junk. ![]() They are nostalgia wonderlands, full of old toys, clothes, tools, glass objects, cookware, home decor, old advertising signs, furniture, etc. If you haven’t been to these shops, you’re missing out. We wander into a curio/vintage/antique shop to collect some sort of chocolate confection and started to browse around at the eclectic items for sale. My family and I are there for the annual chocolate festival. It started like this: Picture it: Lewisburg, West Virginia, April 2023. How about this: I promise to write up cases/legal stuff more often if you indulge me in other stuff, like telling you about my vintage cookware collection. I know I have been slacking on the law ‘splainers around here and I intend to do better. Hopefully, you caught my recent synopsis of a fresh Supreme Court decision addressing prosecutorial overreach in Dubin v. ![]()
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