Flower Power!! Take 2 - Floral Bouquet (2nd Edition) Begins to Go Mainstream

In 1969, Corning released the Floral Bouquet Limited Edition Gift line.

Due to it's popularity, Corning decided to continue producing the pattern in 1970, though in a slightly modified form.  This, to us collectors, has become known as 2nd edition Floral Bouquet...  Though at the time, it was still called "Floral Bouquet", just like the Limited Gift line had been.

The modifications were fairly simple... First, the special ceramic knob lids used on the Gift line were replaced with the standard clear glass Pyrex lids.  Secondly, the pattern was altered by using a solid yellow background instead of a linen looking texture and the flowers were accented with blue and avocado colors to make them stand out more. Thirdly, the line was expanded slightly by the addition of a 10 inch skillet and a 1 quart saucepan.

This version of Floral Bouquet would remain in production until mid 1971, when the 3rd edition of Floral Bouquet would be released.

P-12-ES and P-22-B Electromatic Skillet set with P-12-C lid

Note the flat ground bottom....

P-10-B skillet with P-10-C lid

P-2 1/2-B Saucepan with P-9-C lid

P-1 3/4-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid

P-1 1/2-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid

P-1-B Saucepan with P-7-C lid.

Though there is a percolator to match this set, it wasn't released until 1971.  The percolators for Floral Bouquet (2nd & 3rd editions) are exactly the same.  All 9/10 cup percolators have a significant amount of yellow in the background of the front medallion (for the pattern does not wrap around like Renaissance does).  These include the P-149 stove top and the P-80-EP & E-1210 Electromatics.

P-149

 P-80-EP

All the 6 cup percolators, however, have a small single patch of yellow between 2 of the flowers.  As far as I can tell, there were only two 6 cup models produced.  The P-146 Stove Top and the P-6-EP electromatic.

P-146

P-6-EP

No matter when the percolator was produced (1971-1974) it is the size, not the edition, that determined the pattern.  For this reason, I usually leave them out of the "Editions" list... Aside from the Original Gift line P-119, they all look the same.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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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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Julia Would be Proud - The Bon Appetit Pattern

I have been waiting to post about this pattern for several reasons.  For starters, very little is, or was, known about this pattern.  Secondly, I didn't have any of the pieces; of which, there appear to only be two.  As with most things, patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait.

Over the last month, I have been able to obtain both of the currently known pieces of the Bon Appetit pattern.

The A-2-B

and the A-3-B...

I am not sure if the pinwheel lids were standard for this pattern, or not.  Both of these pieces came without lids.  It is completely by personal preference that these are sporting them.  I think the pinwheel style finishes them off nicely. 

One piece, however, did come with some interesting information.... The original sticker.  I don't think individual pieces of Corning Ware came in boxes in the late 90's, that was reserved for sets of cookware.

Thus it is, with complete confidence, that I can finally say, this pattern was produced in 1999...  Therefore, it was only available for about 1 year before Borden, Inc. declared bankruptcy and reorganized into World Kitchen, LLC and Pyroceram cookware was discontinued.

Whether this was a special promotion for Bon Appetit magazine, or not, remains to be determined.  I will admit, the fact that it has "The art of fine cuisine" printed on it as well, makes me wonder.  It really does sound like a "slogan".  After all, Bon Appetit simply means "Good Appetite".

Where is your Corning Ware??
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Visions of Flowers - Visions by Corning in Floral Patterns?

Normally, I do not cover Visions by Corning from the 80's & 90's.   I don't collect it, and I definitely am not a fan of cooking in it.  Visions, though a glass ceramic like Corning Ware, is actually a different formula known as Calexium.  While I will admit that it is kind of neat to watch your food cooking through the Amber and Cranberry hues of this cookware, Calexium tends to be stickier on the stove than Corning Ware, even if you keep the heat on the low side.  It is because of this that so many of the pans began showing up in the 90's with a teflon coating.  Which is another reason that I don't collect or use Visions... I refuse to have anything to do with teflon coatings.

That being said, a couple of interesting things have surfaced recently that I thought I should bring to people's attention.   After all, even though I do not collect Visions myself, that does not mean that others do not, and it IS a Corning glass ceramic product.  On top of that, I have covered Princess House Nouveau by Arcoflam, Pyrosil Ware and Pyroflam from Europe as well as Anchor Hocking's short lived glass ceramic cookware and, to a much lesser extent, Narumi's Neoceram, so it's ONLY fair to touch on Visions cookware as well.

Most people know that the amber colored Visions hit the market in the 1980s, but the story actually begins 2 decades earlier...... 

It was in the 1960s...   Corning Ware was already being produced and was a highly successful product.  The white cookware with the Blue Cornflower was gracing stove tops all over the country.  Corning Ware is made of what was dubbed as "Pyroceram", by Corning Glass Works.  It is opaque white because of the Titanium Dioxide that is used as a nucleation point for the crystal growth that changes it from an amorphous glass into a crystalline ceramic product.   Even though Corning Ware was a resounding success, it didn't stop Corning Glass Works from researching into new and even more inventive glass ceramic products.

Thus a new form of glass ceramics was developed.... It was translucent, even after it had been through the crystallization process.  Corning decided not to produce cookware from this new "Calexium" formulain the U.S., because they did not want to cut into the sales of their current "Corning Ware" product.  Thus, "Visions" would have to wait.

In the late 70s, when Corning Ware sales began to slump, Corning was already producing this "Calexium" cookware in France, so they decided to do a market test for this new translucent amber material.   Thus, in 1981, pieces were imported into the U.S. and market tested by Imoco in Irving, TX (the same people that would later market Corning Ware's Autumn Meadow pattern in 1984-85) and LeClair in Clinton, NJ.

By 1983, it was decided to actually bring "Visions" to the general marketplace.   Thus began the commercials showing a metal metal pan melting in a Visions pot set over high flame.   Tough stuff that. (I wonder if they had a problem with the metal sticking to the bottom of the pan?) 

ANYWAY.....   Visions was an instant success... EVERYONE had to have it.  Even the Martinsburg, WV plant was retooled to keep up with the demand.  But the issues with sticking began to surface after a few years.   By 1989, Visions would have it's bottom surface coated with Teflon.

1989 also brought about the Visions "Sculptured" line.  It appears that these pieces, which included a large roaster shaped like the F-14 in French White, did not sport any Teflon coatings.

1992 saw the release of a new color... Cranberry.    This stimulated sales slightly, but Visions was ultimately doomed in the U.S.  (Though it is still being made in France and available at the Outlet stores)

Even the Versa-Pots in 1994 that were released to promote healthy cooking, didn't stimulate the sales that Corning Consumer Products Division was hoping for...  

What has stimulated this post, however, are some interesting pieces that have recently shown up on eBay. 

Evidently, there were "patterns" on some of the Visions pieces and sold under the "Deco" line.... It is unclear, at this point, just how many patterns were produced in the Visions "Deco" cookware, but to date, they only appear on Amber Visions, not Cranberry.   This leads me to believe that they all predate 1992.

Calla Lily (1988 - From Box)

Unknown Floral Pattern on V-2.5

Where is your Visions??
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Looks Like Fine Crockery... Acts Like Corning Ware - French Bisque Collection Complete

It was April of last year when I first posted pictures of my French Bisque set.   I had originally thought the set was complete, until I discovered there were F-16 ramekins as well.   Evidently, these were sold with larger sets of the pattern.    It has taken almost a year, but I FINALLY got my hands on some...  Thanks to a friend in one of the Corning Ware groups on Facebook and a little help from Classic Kitchens & More....  

Finally, after all these years...  the entire French Bisque collection is ready for a family portrait.

So here is the breakdown of French Bisque, produced from 1982-1985 and sporting the original Pyrex Fireside tinted lids. (OK, 1 lid that is not original)

Top to Bottom:  F-5-B (G-5-C lid) - 1 1/5 quart Souffle, F-1-B (G-1-C lid) - 2 1/2 quart Souffle, F-3-B - 10 inch Quiche

Top to Bottom:  F-16 - 16 oz Ramekins, F-21 - 4.5 liter Open Roaster

Top to Bottom:  F-12-B (F-12-C lid) - 1 1/2 quart Casserole, F-4-B - 2 1/2 quart Open Roaster (The F-14-C lid is not original to the piece)

Top to Bottom:  F-6-B - 1 1/2 quart Open Roaster, F-2-B (DC-1 1/2-C lid) - 2 1/2 quart Casserole

(The DC-1 1/2-C lid will also fit on the F-6-B roaster if needed)

And there you have it ALL 8 pieces of the French Bisque Collection..  Why there were substantially more pieces made in the French Bisque pattern than there were of either the French Bleu or the Classic Black is anybody's guess.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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Still Growing Like a Wheat - My Corning Ware P-Series Mystery Wheat Collection (part 2)

I originally posted about this pattern a year ago, March 4th, 2014 to be exact, when I first came across this weird pattern.  I still know absolutely nothing about it except that it is pre-1972, because of the P-series numbers on the bottoms of the dishes.

I started out with a 1 3/4 quart Saucepan and a Roaster (P-1 3/4-B & P-21-B).  Then, thanks to a friend on FaceBoook, I was able to add a 1 quart (P-1-B) to my collection of this unusual pattern.  I posted a "My Collection" article in April of last year, hoping that some information might surface.  It took awhile, but in September, Francisco sent some photos, via email of his P-41-B Petite dishes.

Up until about December, that was the only other piece I knew of.... Then, someone in one of the Corning Ware Facebook groups posted a picture of a most fortuitous thrift store find..... A 10 inch skillet (P-10-B) in this pattern.  Since that day, I have been on the hunt for one....   I was finally rewarded and my collection grew by another piece (actually 3 pieces).

My collection of this mysterious pattern is, to my current knowledge, finally complete.... Or rather, it is complete until the next previously unknown piece comes to light.

UPDATE:   Which, as of August 2016, it has.  It is now known that a P-80-EP Electromatic Percolator (Smart Phone Photo Below)  was produced as well.  This 10 cup percolator model was released in 1966 with the advent of the Platinum Filigree Gift line, thus, we can now narrow the production dated for this pattern down to somewhere between 1966-1972.

The current count of pieces produced in this pattern is 6 so far.  They include, but are not limited to... (because there may be more as yet undiscovered pieces)

The 2 saucepans....

1 quart (P-1-B)

1 3/4 quart (P-1 3/4-B) - this piece may have been available as a Party Buffet set  (P-20)

10 inch Skillet (P-10-B)

13 inch Roaster (P-21)

12 oz Petite Dishes (P-41)

Newest addition to the line-up (08/2016) - P-80-EP Electromatic Percolator (10 cup)

To this day, the pattern name is unknown...   Green Wheat, Avocado Wheat, Wheat Sheaf, Harvest Wheat, Gold Wheat, Wheat Floral... All these names are still being thrown around, and any combination of them are used on eBay, but no one seems to have seen an original box (upon which the official name would be printed)  So for now, it remains the "pattern of many names".

As of 07-28-2022, the name of this pattern has been revealed as "Avocado Wheat" available exclusively to Atlantic Richland Company card holders (ARCO gas) around 1970.

Where is your Corning Ware??
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