Summertime Blues!
Is there a cure for the summertime blues? Sure there is - it’s Pyrex! We found several great items at the latest flea market we attended. One of our best finds was the casserole in the front, which is a Promotional Decorator Casserole with a lovely turquoise pattern called Meadow. Although it came without a lid or the cradle, it was a steal at 4 bucks. One note: if you are going to try and sell Pyrex, you owe it to yourself to at least wash the item with some soapy water and a sponge. This piece was almost completely covered in brown/black dust which came off easily - I think it would have been more like 6-8 bucks if the seller would have just washed it.
On that same note, we found that smaller Butterprint Bake-Serve-Store #472 1.5 pint dish without lid in the back that seemed thrashed, but it turned out quite nice after using a little Magic Eraser. $2.
Lastly, this Snowflake Blue mixing bowl came into our possession for $2.50. While it’s not the rarest pattern, it seems that of all the more common and modern of the “vintage” patterns (for instance: Butterfly Gold, Spring Blossom, Autumn Harvest, Old Town) Snowflake Blue seems to be the one that is most in demand. We haven’t been collecting this series really, but now we might have to! =)
June 10th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Just wondered how you know that it’s called Meadow? I have the Mauzy Collector’s Guide (3rd edition) and she doesn’t identify it. It’s a very pretty pattern. I was thinking that the promotional patterns perhaps weren’t given names but I guess that’s not so.
I also don’t understand selling pieces without washing them first except that the thrift stores don’t seem to have sinks either.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Jennifer - thanks for your comment. I did see Mauzy listed that pattern under “unknown”… one thing about her book is that many of her patterns are either unknown or unlabeled - I think she is focusing more on the pictures and items than the names - she has many patterns that are officially named where she doesn’t list them (for instance she calls Old Town as “unknown”).
For the Meadow pattern we found the name first from sellers on Ebay who listed it as such, then we found the name on another website, and finally we saw it listed as “Meadow” on an old vintage Pyrex ad, so we were relatively sure about it. But you are correct that many promotional patterns either aren’t given names or have confusing nomenclature. Because we don’t like to list things as “Unknown #1, #2, #3″, we will ALWAYS name a pattern whether or not it has an “official name”. We first try use a name commonly used on Ebay and then if not, we will make one up. Later, if we find out that this has a real official name, we’ll change it.
RE: washing items - yes, we have no idea why people don’t at least try a little plain soap and water first, it would take only 10 seconds!
June 13th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I’d like to see a before picture so I know what Mr. Clean Eraser is able to do
I finally found a piece of butter print that is in decent shape. Also our Value Village has a ‘misc lids’ section. I wonder if I should root around for matching lids?
Sorry to clog up your comments with my weirdness.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
leah - funny you mention it, we have an article planned on magic erase coming up! It just takes so long to do the before and after pictures… probably in the next month or so we should have something up!
June 14th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Woo! Lucky me
I know all this stuff takes a lot of time. I suppose I could just *try* it myself instead of being so lazy too 
July 29th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I found a piece at an Antique Mall today that I have never seen before. It is the Butterprint pattern in the large (no. 444) Cinderella bowl but it is white with a blue pattern on it. I have several of the blue with the white pattern in this size but have never seen the white with blue pattern in this size. Does anyone know if hits is a rare piece?
July 29th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
nancy - hmm, I don’t recall seeing a 444 with white on blue before either, that’s interesting. You’re sure it wasn’t a 404 mixing bowl, the ones w/out handles? I don’t know if it’s rare but I’ll try keep an eye on Ebay now to see if there are any being sold!
July 30th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
It is definatly the Cinderella Large bowl…