Depression A

Welcome to the Pyrex Museum in the Attic. We feature vintage Pyrex glass by Corning, including loaf pans, bean pots, utility pans, and a nice variety of etched and mounted casseroles. The pieces you will see here are almost all pre-WWII, and most are from the pre-1930s period. Pyrex was first marketed in 1915, and here we have quite a few pieces whose first production was in 1917. Exact dating is not simple, as the old records are not that accurate. We have tried to detail the history of each piece as best as possible. If you can add anything to our descriptions, we would deeply appreciate it.

Thanks, George and Linda, curators

AuGratin Dish
This piece is a #331, 9" au gratin dish. This particular piece was also known as a shirred egg dish. The #331 was first produced in 1926. This particular piece is spotless, without even any roughness from sliding on a shelf!! About 85 years old and almost perfect!!

Platters
This is a small platter, measuring 10" x 7 1/2". The back stamp is the Pyrex name with $$ symbols above and below. Stamped #733 along the rim. Guarantee: food has never touched this piece - immaculate. We have found no reference to it anywhere - probably rare!?!?!

This, because of the utility based design, is named a 'Well and Tree' platter. This piece was introduced by Corning in 1927. This particular piece is decorated with the etched 'Spray Design.' It measures a whopping 15 1/2" x 11 1/2", and weighs 3 lb 10 oz!!!


Platter or cake plate
This is a beautiful, large, etched piece of vintage Pyrex. We have seen this called a platter, cake plate, or table server. It probably served all three purposes. This piece, like the one above, carries the 'Spray' design, which was applied as early as 1918. This is a 10" wide, no. 710, serving tray with handles. It also has three feet so the tray could be used under hot dishes and still protect the table. We have an ad similar to the one shown here that gives the price of this exact piece as $3.25 (in '18).

Cake Dish and Loaf pan
Both of these pieces show the difficulty of dating certain Pyrex items.
This is a nice cake dish. The number is #221, and it is 8 1/2" across. When first produced it cost 75¢, a high price at that time. This dish is interesting because of it's longevity. It first was produced in 1917, and was produced up until the mid 1960s. Because of the numbering system that Corning used and the re-use of old molds, there is no way to identify the exact date this was produced. However, even if it was produced in the 1960s it is almost 50 yeaars old!

This is a loaf pan, #213, which is 8 1/2" long. It was first produced in 1926, and was listed in catalogs until 1934. It was re-introduced into catalogs again in 1953, and from 1955 to 1959 it was the only loaf pan available from Corning. This loaf pan remained in production until the late 1960s.

Trivets or Tiles
On the left and the right are nice pieces which were produced by Corning in 1940. They produced these to mark the 25th anniversary of Pyrex. These beauties are 6" across and is embossed with an "O" and an "E" in the centers. Marked "Pyrex" on the bottom edge.

	This is a nice piece which was produced from 1922 - 40s. It is a round, 6" tile. It is #706, and has the Pyrex logo in the center.

Tea Pots
Corning produced some awesome teapots during the early years of Pyrex. The tea pot production began in 1922 in a four man shop , so they were hand made rather than machine produced. This made all of the tea pots made during this time very individual. These were produced until 1934, when the master artesan died. After that all tea pots and beverage servers were machine produced.

These little beauties were produced from the mid 1930s until the mid 1940s. Their short lifespan was because of the advent of Flameware teapots. These pieces were alternately called teapots or beverage servers. They are both four cup servers as shown in the ad.

The squat teapot below is a #6406, and was produced from 1964 until the early 1970s. Then it ... disappeared!! We are fortunate enough to have one in beautiful shape, and complete with the glass and aluminum brewer insert.

We don't know a lot about this piece, except it is large!! This is a 12 cup, and the bottom is embossed in green with "Pyrex Ware for Teamakers Inc." We do not know the vintage, but the green embossed logo on the bottom should date it to the WWII era, similar to the four cup servers shown above.

This is a nice carafe complete with server/warmer. A small candle in the server and your drink is sure to stay at a nice, warm temperature. The piece comes complete with the original cork and plastic stopper. The carafe itself measures 9" tall, and in the server stands over 12" ! The green Pyrex label, marked on the center of the piece, again indicates the age to be from the early 1940s - nice piece of 70 year old glass.

Bean Pot
This is #504, a 1+ qt bean pot with lid. This is a rare piece, a RD (Red Decorated) bean pot. RD was only produced for 2 years (1936-37) because the red oxide used was poisonous to those applying it during production.

One Quart Round Casserole
This is a 1 qt casserole numbered #022-622 - this is a cute little casserole, only measuring 7" across. The lid is a matching #622-C, and has a beautiful floral etching. The lid is a Victor cover, sits on the inner rim of the bottom and extends out to the edge of the bottom. The #622 was first introduced in 1926.

One and one-half Quart Round Casserole
This is a 1 1/2 qt. round casserole first produced in 1917. It is numbered #168-268, meaning it could be purchased with or without the cover. The lid is a #623, and must have replaced the original at some point. The #623 was first produced in 1926. A beautiful mounting that sits right on the table.

One and one-half Quart Octagon Casserole
This is simply awesome! This is an eight-sided casserole, numbered #673. You can't see it in the pictures, but the glass has the distinctive deep yellow tinge of the earliest Pyrex. It also has ornate handles the type of which we have not seen on any other pieces. We do not know when it was made, but do know that it also had a lid (which we will find!). In addition, the beautiful mounting is signed Farberware, maker of much of the metal accessories for Cambridge Glass.
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Round Casserole with molded design
This is an extraordinary piece of Pyrex. We have never seen a piece such as this until we found this casserole. If it was not marked Pryex we would have a hard time believing that it really was. But ... it is a #696, and both the lid and bottom are marked. The design is molded everywhere, not etched, and the bottom sides are really at that angle! We would like to find a reference to this piece, so, if you have any information please share it with us.

One and one-half Quart Round Casserole
This is a nice #023, 1 1/2 quart casserole. It was first produced in 1926. While difficult to see in the picture, this piece would look good on a store shelf today - it is perfect! But, ... it is in the museum because of the beautiful mounting. It is engraved silver and has a William A. Rogers Oneida label on the bottom. Pyrex cookware with silver shows the versatility of these Corning pieces in the early 20th century.

One Quart Round Casserole
The lid is marked #167, which would be the lid for a 1 qt. round casserole first produced in 1917. The bottom is completely unmarked, very unusual for a piece of Pyrex!! The etchings on both the top and the bottom lead us to believe that these two pieces have always been together (another mystery from the depths of kitchenwares past). The lid is even etched on the knob and the base of the knob!

Fry Glass Co. Oval Casserole
The museum would not be complete without some beautiful Fry glassware. Corning gave Fry the rights to produce Pyrex Ovenware glass, and Fry did so from 1920 - 33. Fry added aluminum oxide to produce the blue opalescence, and the addition of mountings made these pieces beautiful. These are both no.1932-9, 9" long casseroles, with different mountings. The mounting on the right is signed "Quality Rusko Ware, Chicago, USA."


This is a no.1938-8, a 8" round casserole, with still another different mounting. Can you imagine what the table set with these serving pieces must have looked like in the 1920s and 1930s? Even the poorest people must have felt rich when using these pieces for both cooking and serving.

This is a popcorn popper, and is really beautiful. Can you imagine making popcorn in this electric popper (as opposed to putting a bag into the microwave)? The wooden handle on the top of the Fry Glass lid can be spun by hand to mix the corn. I remember when mom had to pick the pot off of the stove to shake it - none of that here, just spin the handle. Be sure to check out the hexagon shaped design on the lid ... beautiful

Utility pieces
This is a #231 utility dish, first produced in 1917. It is the FIRST Pyrex utility dish produced, appearing in catalogs in 1917. Notice that there are no handles on this dish - this is indicative of the early age of a Pyrex piece. This piece has NOT been used for food!! With the exception of a few 'fleas' on the inner rim it is in perfect condition.

This is a #232 utility dish, measuring 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 3/4. This must be one of the earliest Pyrex dishes to include both the piece number and the size on the bottom. We don't know exactly when it was produced, but the white opalescent Pyrex pieces were only produced in the early 20s. Very few were sold to the public because they probably stained badly. This is the only white piece from this era that we have ever seen!

refrigerator dish
This is a nice piece, an early refrigerator storage dish. This piece is numbered #663. It measures 6" square and is 3" deep. This piece was first produced in 19xx, and continued for only a few years. We included a more modern Pyrex refrigerator dish inside of this one to compare the sizes of the two. The 1960s dish easily fits inside of this piece!

Wooden Handled Flameware
Wooden handles were introduced by Corning during WW II. They were an experimental series developed to limit the use of metals for saucepans during the war. They never reached the retail market, but there are still some around from the experiment. The ones we have seen still have had excellent wooden handles.

We were really lucky to come across this 6 cup. From the inside components to the wooden handle it appears to never have been used. It is listed and pictured in our reference books, but never given a price in the listings!! The shape is like none of the other Flameware coffees that we have seen.


.When selling Flameware Corning simply 'dropped' a label into the bottom of the piece. When opened up it gave instructions on use and guarantee for a free replacement piece. Simply 'click' the image on the right to see a large copy.

The "Originals"

According to Rogove and Steinhauer, Pyrex by Corning, production of Pyrex Glass began in 1915 with the introduction of 12 different pieces. We are happy to have some of theses, and they are definitely the 'treasures' of our museum. We hope to find more in the future - so many flea markets, so little time!!

8 1/2" Pie Plate #201
The #201 was introduced in 1915, but the backstamp on ours has the patent date for Pyrex, May 27, 1919. Since the #201 was discontinued in 1920 we can easily date our particular piece. It is pristine, and could have been produced yesterday!! It is also THICK. It weighs 1 lb 12 oz, while a 9" #209 produced in 1920 weighs only 1 lb 5 oz.

3 1/2" Custard
This little beauty is a #402 custard or ramekin. We were fortunate to find two at one time, and suspect they have spent the last 95 years together! They are in excellent condition, and perhaps one day I will be able to get a good picture. The backstamp is simply the reverse dollar signs, the earliest of the Pyrex backstamps. The stamps are poor, and the rim stamps are almost illegible. So much for quality control!!

Empty shelf

If you have a minute or two, we would really like your feedback on the Museum. We have never tried anything like this. We simply want it to be fun ... and informative ... for anyone who visits. We hope you enjoyed it. George and Linda.

Our Mailing Address: attic@nettally.com

Loaf Pan
This is #212, measuring 8 1/2" x 4 1/2". It was produced in 1921 as a successor to the original loaf pan, produced in 1917. This piece is pristine, still carrying the original label.

One Quart Oval Casserole
This oval casserole was first produced in 1917. This piece held one quart, and was made to fit a standard mounting. One of these here is shown on the left. Corning started etching their cookware and fitting them in fancy mountings to reach a wider audience. This piece is numbered #193.

Two quart Oval Casserole
This is a #194 two quart oval casserole. The #194 is a large casserole with a beautiful mounting. It is numbered 194-294, indicating that it was available with or without a lid. The lid has the classic 'fern' etching.

Etched Pie Plate
This is a #209, 9" pie plate with a wide rim. Corning took advantage of the wide rim to etch the rim all the way around. The #209 enjoyed a long run, from 1920 until at least 1943. This was probably one of the earlier pieces, made when the etched ovenware pieces were most popular.

Utility Cover
This is a utility cover for a 1 1/2 qt round casserole. The number is #723, and this particular piece was produced beginning in 1938. this cover sat on a round casserole which was 4" deep. Evidently it did not sit there much as the label is in almost perfect condition, as is this lid.

Buffet Server
This electric buffet server came with three Pyrex bean pots. It could be use for keeping food hot during a meal. Similar to the larger versions found in restaurants today, the server was filled with hot water kept hot by coils under the bean pots.