Wordless Wednesday - 1964-1967 Original Buffet Server Set and with Pyrex Sculpted Lids for Oven Use Over 325 Degrees

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Classic Black and White - Corningware Buffet Server

I only own one Buffet Server.  I bought it years ago, because I had originally thought that it was an interesting round shaped Corningware Skillet without a pattern printed on it. After all, there are many Just/Simply/All White pieces out there, and my Mom's Electromatic Table Range came with a plain white skillet as well.  So I just assumed....  Well, you know what they say about assuming.

It was always lidless, but it came with an interesting handle that, at the time, I had never seen before.

It is a P-series compatible version of what would become the A-series handle.  More appropriately referred to as P-201-HG.

Meaning it doesn't have the cut-outs on the sides to accommodate their larger handles.  Evidently, these were also made in white to accompany the Avocado & Butterscotch Round that was release in 1968.  (I just found that out)

What I didn't know at the time of purchase, was that it was not initially intended to have a clear glass lid.  That is not to say that a clear glass lid will not fit.  For though the original Solid White Buffet Servers were produced only between 1964 and 1968, the shape was revived several times with the introduction of Avocado Round...
 

and Butterscotch Round... 

as well as the Cook and Serve line made to match Centura dinnerware,

and finally in 1975 with the release of Merry Mushroom at Sears.  This was the "round" Corningware that I was familiar with as a child.

So I spent several years looking for a "Merry Mushroom" lid to fit this little 1 quart (B-1) saucepan.

That was before I found out that it was suppose to have a white pyroceram (Corningware formula) lid with an ultra sleek & chic bakelite knob.  (although in 1965 they offered Red and Yellow lids too) Well, I FINALLY found one at the Thrift store the other day.  OK, I should qualify that...  I found one that didn't have a "blistered" bakelite knob because someone used the lid inside the oven set for over 350F degrees.  Which is a definite NO, NO; and one of the reasons later versions had either Pyroceram knobs or Ceramic knobs.

Now Buffet Server is complete.  WooHoo!!

And now it's looking better than ever.

Where is your Corningware??
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About Town with Corningware - Merry Married Mushroom

When I was a kid, Sears was like this magical place at the end of the Rainbow.  This was primarily due to the fact that shortly before Christmas, the special edition of the catalog would arrive and it was FILLED with toys...  We would sit for hours, pouring over the toy section, with no small amount of drooling, our eyes full of toy lust.  every page seemed to hold something more amazing than the last.  For any younger readers out there, this was LONG before the World Wide Web, where everything you could possibly want to see was a mere click away.  The Christmas Catalogs from Sears, JC Penney and Montgomery Ward (may it rest in peace) were the be-all, end-all of Toy Nirvana, the Holy Grail of playtime fantasy.

If dad had to go to Sears for tires or a battery for the car (cause they did automotive work too) we would begin hopping up and down in anticipation of going there.  We wanted to see all the toys in the catalog, of course, we didn't really care so much about the tires or battery.  Dad would indulge us while the car was being worked on and let us scamper about this Shangri-La of toydom.  There were never as many toys in the actual store as there were in the catalog, but we didn't care.

It was at this time, in the 1970's, that Sears was really good at marrying with other companies to bring product lines to the public.  There was the Winnie the Pooh stuff that my baby brother was smothered in.  EVERYTHING was Winnie the Pooh from Sears.  Curtains, bedding, pajamas, bottles, binki....  You name it, it had a yellow bear on it.  Countless manufacturing companies were all licensed to produce the specific design exclusively for Sears, Roebuck and Co.

There was another design...  I remember the next door neighbor lady was redoing her kitchen with it just before we moved out to the farm.  It was called Merry Mushroom.  Dishes, Sugar Bowls, Pitchers, Canisters, Coffee Pots, Burner Covers, Towels, Place Mats, Throw Rugs, and of course... Corningware.  All made to coordinate together.  Though the "Merry Mushrooms" line was available throughout the 1970s the Corningware pieces were a later arrival and were not available for long.

Merry Mushroom (1975-1977?) is surprisingly rare in it's entirety.  I have seen pieces, but it's usually only the bottom half.

There was something very special about Merry Mushroom.  It wasn't square like all previous patterns had been.  The body of the piece was based on the round Buffet Servers (which originally came in White, Avocado Green and Gold). 

The second thing was the lid.  While the buffet servers had either Pyroceram lids or Centura lids, the Merry Mushroom had a special dimpled Pyrex lid.

(photo courtesy of Coe's Mercantile)

This is why I have never seen a piece in person in it's entirety.  The lids get broken and people marry up the base with any old Pyrex lid that fits, but it really doesn't match the piece.  I see it ALL the time.

So watch those lids folks.  If it ain't got dimples, it's goes from a Merry Mushroom to a "Married" Mushroom.

Where is your Corningware??
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