Morning Coffee with Avocado Medallion

We are all familiar with the Avocado Medallion percolators that were sold as an accompaniment to the Avocado Round Cookware series.

Both stove top models....

and Electromatic models.

But did you know that there were Centura coffee cups to go along with the percolator?

I didn't either until a few months ago; but they make a great morning pairing.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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Early American - Corning Ware, not Pyrex

Most of us that collect anything even remotely connected to Corning Glass Works are familiar with some of the Pyrex patterns.  Early American Pyrex Ware, in it's lovely shades of Brown, White and sometimes Gold was a fairly common pattern in it's day. (1962-1971).

There was, however, another Corning product by the same name, though not nearly as common nor well known.  Corning Ware also came in an Early American pattern.

Granted a much simpler pattern, featuring a lone bald eagle in black, and devoid of superfluous accoutrements like weather vanes, cats, coffee grinders, bellows, kerosene lamps and ears of corn.

Very little is known about this pattern, but thankfully some of the original boxes have shown up, so the correct name has been verified.  All the pieces seem to be unmarked, however, the saucepans have P-series handle lugs, so production was prior to 1972.  The fact that there are 2 percolators in this pattern (P-119 and P-116) suggests that date should be lowered from 1972 to 1970, because Corning discontinued the P-119 in lieu of the P-149, which made it's debut in the Renaissance Limited Edition Gift Line from 1970.  Recent developments have also revealed the existence of a P-23-EP (1st generation Electromatic Percolator)... Since these were discontinued in favor of the P-80-EP model in 1966, this firmly places this pattern to a 1962-1966 production window.

There is a variation on this pattern where the eagle has a solid black head.  (As seen on this MW-11 piece)

Whether it was a test pattern or not remains a mystery.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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In The Beginning - Corning Ware 2nd Generation BPE (Before P# Era - 1960-1961)

It's time for Act II of Corning Ware's first Era (AKA: Fin Lid Era) from 1958 - 1961.  The first "Act" involved the embossed bottom pieces from Generation 1 from 1958-59.   The second Act encompasses the blurry blue ink generation (Gen 2) produced from 1960 thru 1961.  This generation also includes a new percolator design, but more on that later.  Let's go all the way back to the beginning......   (this is a recap of the "In The Beginning - Corning Ware 1st Generation BPE" post)       

In the beginning of the beginning there were no P, B, W, N, A, C, S, DC, F, G, U or L model numbers..   You see, Corning was unsure how well their cookware would be received by the American housewife, so they made a limited number of pieces for the initial release in the fall of 1958 to test the waters.....  These would be the 1 quart, 1 1/2 quart and 1 3/4 quart saucepan with fin lids (similar to the Pyrex FlameWare design) along with the 10 inch skillet topped with the infamous pyroceram lid adorn with more cornflowers.  With only 4 pieces, it was pretty easy to keep track of what was what, so no model numbers were really needed at this point.

Corning Ware ended up being such a hot seller that, by Christmas, retailers were screaming for more.  So, in spring of 1959 Corning unveiled 2 additional skillets (9 inch and 7 inch with fin lids), a 2 1/2 quart Saucepan and the famed 8 cup & 6 cup pyroceram lipped percolators (which would later be referred to as P-108 and P-106).

All these 1st Generation pieces, percolators aside, had an embossed stamp on the bottom stating either "Corning Ware" with a volume measurement or, in the case of the skillets, width in inches while others simply had "Corning Pyroceram" embossed on the bottom with no other identifying marks other than mold numbers for QC purposes.

By 1960, the embossing on the underside was dropped in lieu of blue ink...  blurry blue ink.  Though these pieces still have the 1st Era fin lids, these pieces have become known as the 2nd Generation of Corning Ware. The marks on these pieces can be very difficult to read sometimes.  It's not just that the ink is blurry, which it is, but the printing was less than perfect as well.  Thus, they can be REALLY light, or only partially printed, or even smudged to the point of complete illegibility.  Saucepans are marked with volume size and skillets by width in inches. 

Unlike the 1st Generation, Generation 2 saw ALL the pieces being produced at the same time.

 1 Quart

1 1/2 Quart

1 3/4 Quart

2 1/2 Quart

7 inch Skillet

 

9 inch Skillet

10 inch Skillet with Pyroceram lid

It should be noted, that Trefoil was released in 1960 as well.  Thus, some of the first Trefoil pieces (1960-61) have blurry blue ink marks on the bottom, instead of P-series model numbers.  These pieces should be paired with Fin Handle Pyrex lids as well.

It was in the Fall of 1960 that the original P-108 & P-106 Percolators were removed from the market.

It had come to Corning's attention that pyroceram lip was a weak point in their percolator design... Thus, the 1st edition of the P-119 and P-116 with a stainless steel rim were released. The 1st generation of the P-119 & P-116 can be identified by the design of the handle.

The stainless steel rim was glued onto the pyroceram body, then the handle was bolted to the rim.

These bolts were covered by a small piece of black plastic.  The Black Starburst 9 cup percolator (P-129) is designed this way as well.

This handle would be updated in 1963 (2nd Edition) though the model numbers on these two pots would not change.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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Separation Anxiety - The FACTS about the Corning Ware Percolator Recalls

I have not wanted to tackle this subject because of the controversy it might ignite, but in light of eBay's recent Gestapo-esque actions, I think it's time to clear up a few things, once and for all.  So before you, as a buyer, decide to "report" a seller's Corning Ware Percolator listing to the ePTB (eBay Powers That Be) you better be darned sure that you have identified the percolator correctly.

Before I begin, let me first states that....   Regardless of the recalls (and I use the plural because there were two) these percolators are still a Collectable Item.  I, myself, who cannot stand percolated coffee, own 19 percolators of various models and patterns... (How's THAT for irony).  I hardly ever use any of them, though I occasionally use my P-280-EP as a water boiler.  (which was a recalled model BTW).  The point is, that they are of paramount importance to collectors, intact. 

The 1st recall....    1976

It was brought to Corning's attention in 1974, that there was an issue with the E-1210 Electromatic 10 cup Percolator.  The metal collar, which was attached with Epoxy, had a tendency to separate from the pyroceram pot after repeated heating & cooling cycles.  Corning stopped production in September of 1974, redesigned the pot at the attachment point, improved their epoxy curing procedures, then returned the model to production.  But, by 1976 it had become apparent that the issue with these pots was a little more wide spread than originally predicted.

So, Corning issued a recall for the E-1210.

ONLY for the pots made before the redesign.

How do you tell if you have an E-1210 that is safe for use?  There is a number etched on the metal band to the right of the handle....  The numbers vary slightly, but ANY number means it is NOT a recalled pot.

I will repeat, NOT a recalled pot, NEVER was and NEVER would be, as you will see.

Production of Percolators dwindled off in 1978... Simply because the auto-drip coffee maker had taken over...  After all, America was gearing up for the 80s and it was all about instant satisfaction... Programming your coffee brewing to begin 15 minutes before your alarm went off so you could "tumble from the bed, stumble to the kitchen" and immediately "pour yourself a cup of ambition" was much preferable to setting up, and waiting for, the percolator while staring blearily at your newspaper.


The 2nd recall.....   1979

By 1979, as more reports of separation came in, it had become apparent that the epoxy problem extended to more than just the E-1210 pot.  Thus, in September of 1979, a larger recall was issued, encompassing 1961-1976 models (almost every model manufactured prior to the redesign of the E-1210 in 1976)  This recall encompassed not only the Electromatic Percolators, but the Stove Top models as well.

This is the Recall that gets a bit tricky.... Here is the list of the dangerous percolators.

Let me give you more of a visual, since most percolators don't have model numbers on them.

These are the Recalled models........ (NOTE: Every single one of them has a Stainless Steel rim)

The P-119, P-129, P-139, W-11, P-219 (9 cup Stove Top - Cornflower, Trefoil, Wheat, White) and the P-116, P-126, P-136, W-116. P-216 (6 cup Stove Top - Cornflower, Black Starburst, Trefoil, Wheat, White) all of which look like this.  This also includes several other patterns that did not receive special model numbers such as 1st edition Floral Bouquet from the 1969 Limited Edition gift line as well as the Avocado Medallion released to accompany the Avocado Round.

P-146 (6 cup Stove Top - Various Patterns)

P-149 (9/10 cup Stove Top - Various Patterns)

P-6-EP, P-206-EP, P-406-EP, W-6-EP (6 cup Electromatic - Cornflower, all/just White,  Platinum Filigree and Wheat)

W-23-EP, P-23-EP, P-223-EP & P-13-EP (Original 10 cup Electromatic - Wheat, Cornflower, White, and Trefoil)

P-80-EP, P-280-EP, P-480-EP, W-80-EP (Cornflower, White, Platinum Filigree, Wheat) there were several other patterns that fell under the generic P-80-EP model number as well..  Such as the 4 special percolators French Spring, Tropical Summer, American Autumn, Nordic Winder, Mallard Ducks, Early American Black Eagle, Avocado Medallion, 2nd & 3rd Edition Floral Bouquet etc.

E-1210, E-1210-4, E-1210-8  (All patterns of the E-1210 without a serial #)

Centura percolator C-609

I have not been able to find any reference, aside from the documentation above, to a P-176 or P-179 Percolator.   Thus I have no photos.

Here is the list of those NOT recalled.  There are only 4 Corning Ware Stove Top models and 1 Centura Stove Top models on this list along with the redesigned E-1210 and the 4 weird looking Electromatic Percolators.

The P-106 (Cornflower, Black & Platinum Starburst)

The P-108 (Cornflower, Black & Platinum Starburst)

The P-124 (Cornflower & White?)

The P-166 (Cornflower, Spice O' Life, White & Wildflower?)

The Centura C-604 (Centura 4 cup percolator "right"- Seen here with the Beverage Server "left")

E-1210 (with the serial # ONLY)

and the odd Percolators that don't really look like the normal Corning Ware Percolators...

The E-1108

The E-1112,

The E-1208

and the E-1212 (which was also available in Spice O' Life pattern)

Hopefully this finally clears up all the confusion.

Oh, one more thing.   Corning Ware Consumer Products Division no longer exists.  The Corning Ware name is owned by World Kitchen, LLC.   They have nothing to do with either of these recalls.  Please do not attempt to call their customer service and ask about refunds or returning these pots.

Where is your Corning Ware (Percolator)??
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