Leaves Blowin in the Wind - My Pyroflam Blue Leaf Collection (Corning Ware from The Netherlands)

So....  In memory of my little sojourn to London England in 1999, I decided that it would be fun to collect some actual British "CorningWare" which, across the pond, is known as either Pyrosil Ware or Pyroflam, depending on when and where it was manufactured.  Granted, Pyrosil Ware and Pyroflam were never made in Britain, it was made in Corning's plant in the Netherlands to be sold on the English market.

Originally, Corning Ware was manufactured in the United States and exported to Britain. These are usually stamped as "Pyrosil Ware" on the bottom and feature the famed Cornflower. After Corning's Netherlander plant began production, the stamps remained "Pyrosil Ware" for a while, but were changed to Pyroflam at some point, though I am not sure exactly when.  This is the point where the blue leaf pattern emerged... Most of the other patterns were direct copies of what was being produced in the United States, but there are a few that are distinctly from the Netherlands Plant... 

The model numbers are different, for they are in Imperial Units.  This is most evident in the 2 1/2 quart Saucepan.  It is marked as PF-4 because it holds 4 British Pints... British pints are larger than American  Pints being 20 oz versus 16 oz.  Thus, 4 x 20 =  80 oz... which is 2 1/2 quarts (P-2 1/2-B)

The Teapot remains a mystery to me.... Then again, this is a 6 cup teapot, which in the United States was a P-104, which is no reflection on the amount that it holds.  SO... .I guess they just drew a number out of the hat.

So far, these are the only 2 pieces I have found in the thrift stores.  It is readily available on eBay UK, but the shipping from England is atrocious.  I doubt very much that this collection will grow all that much.  Then again, I never thought that I would find it in a thrift store on the West Coast of the United States either. (stranger things have happened)

Where is your Pyroflam or PyrosilWare??
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There is Nothing Nouveau Under the Sun - A Princess House Exclusive Arcoflam from France (by ARC)

I have been debating whether or not to post about this, but it IS "Pyroceram", or at least some form of Ceramic Glass Cookware, just like Corning Ware...  

This is Nouveau...   A Princess House Exclusive.

Made even more exclusive by the fact that it is no longer available in the United States at all, and the only piece available in Australia is a 3.5 quart oval baking dish. This piece in particular is the 10 1/2 inch Saute pan... Which is a piece I have always wished was available in the Corning Ware line. 

Made by in France by ARC, International; purveyors of other ARC-centric glassware goods such as Cristal d'Arques (crystal), Luminarc (transparent), Arcoroc (tempered) & Arcopal (opal) and yes, Arcoflam (vitroceram) cookware.  Which just happens to be what is embossed upon the very locking mechanism of the accompanying handle.

So, though Princess House had exclusive rights to this particular design, the actual product is Arcoflam, made of vitroceram in France by ARC, International who also just happens to have exclusive rights to produce Pyrex in Europe.  However, this licensing agreement didn't happen until 2005.

Now, I don't know if ARC owns the infamous Avon, France plant that began producing Pyroflam after the Netherlander plant closed down (who were making Pyrosil and Pyroflam for the European market), because this company is not really based in Avon, but in Arques; as evident from their original company name "Verrerie Cristallerie d’Arques".

Whether this is actually Corning Ware or, like Narumi's Neoceram, the result of the inevitable foray all glass companies make into the realm of ceramic glass, I have no idea.  But I thought it was interesting enough to begin amassing at least a small collection.  After all, though it may, or may not, be Corning's "Corning Ware" it IS ceramic glass, and that alone makes it pretty darned awesome in my book.

The only issue I have at this point is lack of knowledge.  My 1 1/2 quart saucepan and 1 quart casserole are both missing their lids.  Since I think it's safe to assume that they were not as "domed" as the lid for the Saute pan/steamer, that sort of leaves me in the dark as to what they DID look like.

One of the things I like the most about this Nouveau, is how flat the bottoms are, without being "ground" like Corning Ware was.  They are so flat, that when wet, they actually stick to my counter top. 

If anyone has any more information on Princess House Nouveau, please feel free to share.  

Where is your Corning Ware??
~~

Update:  I found an article in the LA Times dates November 20, 1986.... Evidently Arcoflam hit the Main Stream Market at that time.  I still do not know how long it was available from Princess house before this happened.

About Town with Corningware - Into the Unknown

I have posted pictures of every pattern that I am aware of and have seen.  This does not mean there aren't others out there traveling about the United States, Canada and Mexico.

There are 3 that I know of, that I have not seen as of yet.  "Renaissance" and "Platinum Filigree" are out there somewhere, as is the "Delicious" pattern that was printed on French White.

There is also the Classic Elegance line which includes designs like Jardin, Mille Fleur, Deco and Sticks, but I have not seen any of these and to be honest, I probably wont.  They were available for only a couple years in the 80's

There are also the round Buffet servers in White, Butterscotch, and Avocado as well as Laurel, Summerhill, and Lynnwood which matched Centura dinnerware patterns, but most of these are clearly marked as "Buffet Servers" on the bottom.  With the Centura matching pieces, only the lid had a design on it while the body of the piece was solid colored in either Green, Butterscotch, Yellow or White.

But, there are some patterns that I HAVE seen and have no idea what the pattern name is.  May these were test patterns that never made it to market, but managed to make their way into the thrift store.

Mysterious Wheat pattern that I just began collecting.  I have no idea what it's name is, nor do I know how many different pieces were made.

Strange avocado green vine pattern.....this may, or may not be the mysterious "Morning Glory" pattern (not to be confused with the Corelle pattern of the same name... which is blue)

Pink blossoms of some sort......

Then there is this one....  Though it is from the Corning Factory in the Netherlands (Pyroflam), produced for the UK market in the 70s.  I only have 2 pieces of this... a 2 1/2 quart and a 6 cup teapot. 

I have no idea what the name is, but through several searches and piecing bits of information together, it appears that this Blue Leaf design was a promo for "Blue Band" butter.  Simply save the vouchers and you could turn them in for this "Vitroceramic" Pyroflam (that is what Corningware is known as in Europe) Cookware.

Another European piece from the 70s,

marked as Pyrosil Orange or Electro depending on where is was marketed.

These pieces had lids just like the Merry Mushroom that was marketed in the United States.

Where is your Corningware??
~~

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Neoceram - First Neoceram Find???

It has finally happened, or at least I think it has.

As I have divulged earlier, Corningware products produced in France for other markets other than the United States were sold under the name Pyroflam or Arcoflam instead of "Corningware" or "Pyroceram".  (though in the early years, when manufactured in the Netherlands, they were marked "Pyrosil Ware" for U.K. consumers)

That being said, I think I have run across my very first piece of foreign made Corning/Pyroflam/Pyrosil Ware. 

The shape is different than what I normally see on the U.S. Market, but the shapes sold in Europe are different than what was available here as well.  It does have handles that are the same size as "P" series pieces in the United States, meaning they are narrower than the later post-1972 handles.  But I don't know if (or when)  foreign market Corningware made a "handle-size change"

It has a "flame" on the bottom which makes me believe it is older Pyroflam from the Asia-Pacific region, but there is no way for me to ultimately tell, since I cannot read the language.   Maybe this is a piece of Anchor Hocking Cookware. (yep, Anchor Hocking had a "Corningware type" product that was pulled from the U.S. market because they lost a court battle with Corning over patent infringement)

Evidently, a well traveled piece.

UPDATE:  02/16/2014 - A fellow enthusiast from a Facebook group happened across another piece of this particular cookware.  Though the design was different, it was the same shape and had the same foreign language on the bottom.   Luckily, her piece also included the name of the company in English as well.  So now I know that this is Neoceram made by Narumi.  Not Corningware at all.

Narumi is a Bone China Manufacturer in Japan that "invented" a ceramic glass product of their own in 1962.  The formulation of Neoceram is slightly different from "Corningware" and "Visions".  The differences in formulation are small but Neoceram contains Phosphorus Pentoxide and lacks the Zinc Oxide & Ferric Oxide found in Corningware.

UPDATE:  03/26/2014 - New evidence has come to light regarding the FIRE & ICE brand of ceramic glass cookware that Mikasa use to sell in the late 80s.  This product, made in Japan, may have been constructed of Narumi's Neoceram formula...  Narumi had been producing some of Mikasa's china already, as evident in their Bolero pattern.......

UPDATE: 9/24/2014
Another piece of Narumi Neoceram.

Same shape (though slightly deeper) as the Vegetable pattern above, however this piece has absolutely nothing printed on it.

The patter looks like an extreme close up watercolor interpretation of Corning Ware's Wildflower pattern.

Interesting.  But what makes this pattern even more interesting, is that this pattern, known as "Just Flowers" was the replacement pattern for Sears' Merry Mushroom (which was made by Corning, of course). 

This IS indeed Narumi Neoceram, and the china pattern that matches was also available from "Mikasa/Narumi"

Here is a picture of what I call the Avocado Tulip pattern.  I think this particular design is significantly older (1960s) than either the Vegetable or the Wildflower-ish pattern.

I also found, what I believe to be, another pattern on Ebay recently done in a wrap around fruit design.

Where is your Corningware?? or Fire & Ice?? or Narumi??
~~

Across the Pond With Corningware - Corning in the U.K.

So, I have already posted about the new old Corningware now available in the United States after a decade of "exile", as it were.  During it's absence, Corningware (Pyroflam) was busy "backpacking" through Europe, apparently.  Here are some of the patterns that are currently available as well as a couple of discontinued ones (though I have no specific dates for the discontinued lines from Europe)

All of these pictures are from the World Kitchen UK site.

Kobe

(I believe this is discontinued in the UK)

European Herb

Sakura

(I believe this is discontinued in the UK)

Cool Pansies

Warm Pansies

Lilyville

Pretty Pink

Apricot Grove

Provincial Blue

(Yep, Still available in the UK)

Hot Dots

(The picture is terrible, but its the only one I can find)

Country Cottage

Plum

(discontinued - but available in the Simply Lite line)

Curious about what is available on the "Asia Pacific" site?  There were too many for me to even begin thinking about posting.  So here is the link for both the Classic Cookware line (Square) and the newer shaped Dimensions Cookware line (The shape is the same as both the Pansy designs above and Lilyville)

Where is your Corningware/Pyroflam??
~~