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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