Seein' Stars - Unknown Black Atomic Star Pattern??

It all started with a conversation on Facebook in one of the Corning Ware collector's groups...   Someone had found a 2 1/2 quart saucepan with an elongated black star pattern on it.   None of us actually knew what the name of it was, cause none of us have seen a boxed piece. Up to that point, the only piece I had ever seen was a chipped and cracked 4 quart P-34-B dutch oven on Etsy over a year ago.  I did not purchase it, nor did I archive a picture of it.  At the time, I assumed it was just a test pattern piece, and I don't really collect those.  Several names were thrown out from Black Star and Atomic Start to Hyper Space and Event Horizon.  I contacted CMOG via email, but have not heard anything back yet...  Honestly, I am still waiting on a reply to an email I sent 6 months ago regarding the Green Wheat/Harvest Wheat/Wheat Floral pattern.

But true to Corning Ware form, cause these things go in waves, a 1 3/4 quart size appeared on eBay less than a month later.  I promptly purchased that one, so I could get a good look at one of these pieces.  It proved to be unmarked on the bottom.  No P-series mark, no embossing.... Nothing.   Which makes even attempting to date it's production virtually impossible, other than "prior to 1972" because of the P-series sized handle lugs.  (top piece)

Sadly, I lost an auction for a 1 quart sized piece last Tuesday, (Which is where this photo is from) So I did not get to add that piece to my collection.

But as with most things, when one door closes, another opens.  I became the owner of a 2 1/2 quart size piece just this morning, thanks to a fellow Facebook user with whom I worked out a trade.  (Thank you Terence!!)

I figured I should have at least 2 pieces in my possession before I wrote a blog post about it. Not that I am going to be able to do a "Big Reveal" on the name or anything, but this post will provide at least SOME information out on the internet about this pattern.

I would be up to only 4 known pieces, if it had not been for the original conversation on Facebook... You see another member graciously posted a picture of a 1 quart Saucemaker she had seen a while back.  (Thank you Heather!!) 

So to date, even though none of us know the name of the pattern and CMOG has not been forthcoming via email, we know there is at least a 1 quart, 1 3/4 quart & 2 1/2 quart saucepans, a 4 quart Dutch Oven (P-34),

a P-10-B Skillet

a 13 inch P-21 Roaster

and the 1 quart Saucemaker.  There even seems to be a P-119 Percolator.

That seems like an awful lot of pieces (8) for it to have been simply a test pattern.  This leads me to believe it may have been one of the patterns made available to Corning Employees in the Employee shop... Like the Christmas/Holiday pieces.

Where is your Corning Ware??

Anybody out there have this pattern with a box??
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Update:   There is a similar pattern to this one, but with a more complicated star pattern.  It has a medallion in the center of the star...    This piece is a 1 1/2 quart size PH-1 1/2-B.

It's the same type of "black", being sort of a dark gunmetal grey color with a slight sheen to it.

Aside from this 1 1/2 quart dish, there also appears to be a PH-34-B (4 quart dutch oven) piece as well.

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A Starburst Is Born - 9-cup Black Starburst Stove Top Percolator

So, once again, I found a "find".  Though, considering that I wasn't foraging for a "find", I guess, in essence, the "find" found me.

I was at the large Salvation Army Family store on 82nd Avenue looking for an interesting (and cheap) cocktail glass for an alcoholic beverage post I was preparing for Culinary Alchemy.  It's true, none of my cocktail glasses match.  But I look at it this way, they're .99 cents and nobody will get their drinks confused at a party.  I'm just sayin'

So there I was, glancing over the goblets, studying the stemware and browsing the beakers when I saw it.  Quite out of place amongst it's clear crystalline brethren.  A Corningware stove top percolator.  Not just any stove top percolator, mind you.  Oh no.

A Black Starburst percolator!  Oh yeah!

That, oh so, rare (1959-1963) "pattern d'homage" to the "Space Race" sat before my very eyes in all it's stellar beauty. (similar patterns are found all over Pyrex percolators and coffee carafes from this time period as well)  And all this time, I thought astronauts only drank Tang, go figure.

Needless to say, cocktail forgotten, I snatched it up before anyone else could abscond with this heavenly object of galactic importance to my collection and blasted off towards the check out.

The best part was the price.... It just happened to be 1/2 price day (Wednesday) which completely sent me over the moon.

So my $4.99 became $2.50; which made me an extremely happy camper, or rather, an astronaut in orbit, as the case may be.

Luckily, the condition of this pot was significantly better than the Electromatic one I purchased a couple weeks ago.  Though I will say that it is obvious it has been used on a coil burner, since the coils burned their impression into the bottom.  But on the whole, much better and easier to clean up.

All it really took this time, was some Weiman Glass Cook Top Cleaner and some "Barkeeper's Friend".....

There is one significant fault with the pot.  The Bakelite handle has a small chip out of the top left corner.  But the rest of the handle is quite shiny, when compared to some of my teapot handles.

I want to say that it actually dates from about 1960 (P-119), since the original pots from 1959 (P-108) didn't have chrome spouts and the starburst design was done in shiny platinum enamel.  Originally the stove top percolators were designed just like the teapots, but being bigger and slightly bulkier, they were hard to manipulate when washing and the spouts got chipped rather frequently.

Corning changed the pot in 1960, so those original pots are extremely rare.....

(original P-108 percolator design, discontinued in 1960)

Mine isn't made from 1 piece of Pyroceram with a clamped handle (like the teapots) But even though this one has the chrome spout, the the handle is weird.  It attaches differently than the ones I normally see ...

(Handle with hidden screw design)

Mine bolts from the outside instead of from underneath (which seems to be the more common handle design)  Maybe there was a piece of Bakelite that slid over the bolts to cover them up, and now it's missing.  Maybe that is why they changed the handle later to a 1 piece with a hidden screw underneath.  I don't know, and there isn't any information out there.  Argh!!!!

As you can see, even though the chrome spout is glued on, there is a secondary piece that clamps around the body of the pot, near the rim.  I'm assuming this percolator was not part of the recall, and is completely usable. (since it's both glued AND clamped)

Update 1/1/20:  Please read the newer post "Separation Anxiety" for information on recalled percolators...  (and yes, this is a recalled pot) 
You can also follow this link for a pictorial guide to every known safe percolator.

That makes me even more happy, or orbitty, than before....  I don't know what year(s) this particular handle design was being used.  It's kind of like a hybrid between the original and the final version.  I can tell you that once the chrome spout pots were released, the Platinum version (shiny metal enamel) of this design was discontinued and replaced by the Black colored Starburst.  Which is what I have here.

In other words... If it has a chrome spout, it's a Black Starburst..... not a Platinum Starburst. 

And while the Platinum Starburst would still be the ULTIMATE "find" for me, this one is pretty darned special and shall hold a prominent place in both my Corningware Collection AND my Coffee Brewing collection. (Methinks I have too many collections)

10-cup Cornflower Electromatic Percolator, 8-cup Cornflower Drip Coffee Maker, 9-cup Black Starburst Stove top Percolator

In Back....  8 cup Chemex, Cory 8 cup Glass Stove top Vacuum Pot (with hot plate), Cory 8 cup Stainless Steel Electric Vacuum pot (still has glass filter rod)
In Front....  2 cup "Flip-Drip" Napolitano Coffee Maker, Bialetti Mukka Express (Moka Pot)

Copper ibrik with miscellaneous accoutrements, Bodum 6-cup Copper French Press

This is really only part of my coffee brewing paraphernalia, but it is all I could photograph at the moment without beginning a major undertaking. I still have stuff in boxes because I just don't have room for it all in my kitchen right now.   Let's not even talk about the Corningware Collection. Between the Cornflower, the French White, the Grab-it line and the Wheat, not to mention miscellaneous pieces of microwave browning, I am swimming in it.  Thus, a lot of it is boxed up as well.  Someday, when I have the time, I shall have to dig it ALL out and take a big family picture.  LOL

Where is your Corning Ware??
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