Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Wordless Wednesday With the Wonderful World of Wheat




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8 comments:

  1. Nice finds. I hit a lot of the local thrift stores quite often and I don't think I have ever seen a single piece of the wheat pattern. I'm envious!

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  2. Shane, I have a question about the corning ware lids. For the p-7-c lids (among others), I've noticed the early knob versions have two circles or seams around the knobs. The later versions have just one circle. Any idea when this change occurred? The two circle versions appear in every ad and Corning catalogue I've seen from 1963 to 67. An ad from 1970 shows the single ring lids. But then an ad from 1971 shows Corning Ware with the double ring lids. I have a P-7-C with a ceramic screw on knob that belongs to the first (woven) version of the Floral Bouquet circa 1969. It has a single seam. So I'm assuming the change over happened around then. I'm trying to match my set with the correct lids, so I'd be interested in knowing.

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  3. Believe it or not, I don't think there is a definitive date on amount of rings on the lids. I think it was determined by which plant it came from. I believe that when the Martinsville, WV plant opened, the lids produced were different, while the double ring ones were being produced in the original plant. This is only conjecture though, but the time line seems to fit.

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  4. While we're on the subject of lids, here's one that may throw you. I picked up a P-7-C lid at Salvation Army that has a single ring and small knob. However, the entire bottom side is frosted -- like that glass they used to make bathroom windows out of back in the 70's. Was this part of a promotional series? A fluke? It's certainly unusual. I know world kitchen still makes replacement P-series lids. But those have ridges between the knob and the circle, have a blueish-green tinge, and usually say "Pyrex" on the lip. This one has none of these characteristics.

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  5. I am very glad you just asked me that question. Because I was just having a discussion a couple weeks ago with someone on Facebook about this and it's an excellent opportunity for me to get it down in writing before I forget about it. She had purchased a Renaissance patterned piece (P-84) and it had a "frosted" P-12-C lid with it. She was wondering if this was normal or not. I was not sure at the time, and thought that it may just be a production anomaly. Now that you have asked as well, I am beginning to think that some of the promotional pieces had specially designed or textured lids. The promotional version of Floral Bouquet is another great example of this strange lids. Originally, the clear P-series Pyrex lids had attached white ceramic knobs that were the same size as the later A-series knobs. However, when the pattern went mainstream in 1971, the special lids were dropped and they came with regular P-series (small knob) lids. Harvest Gold (Square Butterscotch) was the same way, though the ceramic knob was the same golden color as the bottom dish. The Natures Bounty bread pan (P-315) came with a sold colored Yellow plastic lid, instead of the translucent one that the Cornflower, Wheat and Floral Bouquet pans came with.

    In general, Corning was really good at throwing out special lids for certain pieces over the years. Sadly, they are not documented all that well in any of the available books.

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    Replies
    1. I think you're right. I think it's a lid to a renaissance saucepan. A google search finds two renaissance saucepans with frosted lids.

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  6. Were there only two saucepan sizes in renaissance? i've only seen a 4 qt and a 1 3/4 qt.

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  7. There is also a 2 1/2 quart (P-2 1/2-B) out there as well as the Broil and Bake tray (P-35), and a 9 cup Percolator, which I am not sure about which model number it is, but it has the glued on chrome spout that is smooth and has no secondary band like some of the earlier chrome spout models.

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