Category Archives: Serving Ware

Vintage Supermarket Dish Purchases

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One of the things I’m constantly attracted to are supermarket dishes. Starting in the 1950s, supermarkets had promotional dish sets to attract housewives to their stores. Each week you’d go in and there’d be a different part of the set of dishes or maybe a different patten. These were popular for quite awhile – maybe for a good three decades. I remember going to the supermarket with my mom back in the early 1980s and her picking up an extra set of dishes for the house.

These dish sets were quite the collectors items. People remember growing up with those sets and nostalgia has made them collectors items once again. Some of the more popular ones (and my personal favorites) are from the 1950s and early 1960s. They were usually produced by Royal China or Marcrest. Patterns such as Blue Heaven, Star Glow and Blue Spruce have a huge following and I can understand why. Their patterns are timeless and just as cool today as they were 50+ years ago.

Take a look at these ads to see how they were sold. If only we could buy such cool dishes for 99 cents today!

Anchor Hocking Chips and Dip Bowl in Rose Red / Pink

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This chip and dip bowl will be the conversation piece of any party. The larger bowl is a great place to put your chips, while a metal brass stand holds up a little dip bowl to place salsa, guacamole or whatever condiment you like.

This set of bowls was produced by Anchor Hocking and is part of the Modern Accent line. It has an ombre effect, with the bottom being a rosy red or rose pink and slowly transitioning into clear glass as you get to the top of the bowls.

Fire King Primrose Pattern

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One of my favorite patterns by Fire King is the Primrose pattern. It features flowers in red and pink on stems in grey, with grey and black leaves on white milk glass. What I love about this pattern is how versatile and feminine it is. The pattern and colors allow the retro, shabby chic style of this dish ware to match a variety of decor.

The Primrose pattern was produced by Fire King’s Anchor Hocking in the early 1960s. These were produced for everyday use, rather than just special occasion use.

Pictured are several sets of Anchor Hocking’s Primrose kitchenware. There are several baking dishes – two rectangular baking dishes and a circular baking dish. There is also a set four snack trays and four cups. The trays have handles on each end for easy carrying and little indentations in the corner in which to sit your cup.

Franciscan El Patio Dishes

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This is a classic dinnerware set by Franciscan, known for it’s simple lines and rich colors. The line is called El Patio and was the first dinnerware produced by Gladding McBean. The El Patio line was produced from 1934 to 1954. The El Patio set is known for its durability and quality.

Many of these dinnerware pieces were made in California. The line includes a vast array of shapes & colors, including the ones below. Some were matte, like the grey set, while others are glossy like the green apple, purple grape and bright yellow below.

Dorothy Thorpe Atomic Star Glasses

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Here’s a set of glasses that is a little different. They have a similar look to the Queen’s Lusterware ones but actually fall under the Dorothy Thorpe category. Dorothy Thorpe glassware has a thicker silver band around the tops of the glasses with no ombre effect.

Dorothy Thorpe created glassware design for Marshall Fields and other stores from the 1930′s onward. She would do this by purchasing blank, clear glasses from manufacturers, then etching her own designs onto them through a sandblasting process. Many of her designs were floral and included eucalyptus, irises, roses, and narcissus flower designs. Despite this, she is most famous for her simple, classic design – glassware with thick silver and platinum bands around the rim.

These are probably not Dorothy Thorpe glasses because of the star design around the glass, but are probably inspired by her. These glasses have both a Hollywood Regency and a mid century modern feel to them, thanks to the silver rim (Hollywood Regency) and the atomic starbursts (mid century modern). They are tall and make excellent kitchen drinking glasses or a fancy set of tall bar glasses.

Ombre Chrome Glass Bowls

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Within days of spotting the Queen’s Lusterware roly poly glasses, I happened to spot this pair of ombre bowls. What a perfect match! This set was also produced by Queen’s Lusterware and produced in the 1950’s or 1960’s. It’s got that same smoky mirror-like silver color that is typical of lusterware.

Lusterware is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence, produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze finish, which is given a second firing at a lower temperature in a reduction kiln. It dates back to as early as 3 A.D., when luster was used to paint on glass.

This set of lusterware bowls is perfect for candies or just as a display piece. Personally, I’d love to see them next to the set of glasses. They look beautiful next to each other.

Queen’s Lusterware Roly Poly Glasses

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As I started circling back to the entrance of a church sale, I spied this lovely set of glassware in a carrier. I decided to pick them up. It definitely leans towards the mantique genre. After I brought them home, my husband said that if I don’t sell it, we should definitely keep it. Not knowing much about it, I did a bit of research.

Mad Men has made these glasses popular again. This set of glasses is from a company in Brooklyn, NY (props to my home town) called Queen’s Lusterware, a company known for their high-quality silver fade glassware. These particular glasses are roly poly glasses produced in the 1950′s, though their heyday was in the mid 1960′s and 70′s. The rim has a mirror-like silver that gradually fades away as it nears the bottom. This style is referred to as silver ombre.

Usually only the glasses are found. This set has all eight glasses, along with its original caddy. The caddy itself is most likely a sterling silver, though it has a chrome look to it. It’s so mod and would make a great bar set.

Tri-Color Sizzling Dishes

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This set of three enamelware pieces imported from France is a wonderful colorful addition for your place. They come in three different sizes – large is a cherry red, medium is a turquoise blue and small is a sunny yellow. All have black handles on both sides. The underside is marked “Sizzling Servers Caravelle Imported from France.”

As with all vintage items, there are minor imperfections. The yellow pan has a couple of minor scratches. The red pan has a very slight fading. None of the three pans has any rust or cracks and the bottoms of all three are in great condition.

You don’t have to use them as just cooking ware. They can be wonderful serving platters to display party yummies, organizing trays for your jewelry or a place to put your keys and other knick knacks by your entry way.

Hall Monterey Green Gold Label Casserole Dish

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Here’s a piece I found at an estate sale in an old mansion in a now semi-derelict area. I couldn’t pass on the classic look of gold on mint green that’s just as stylish today as it was when it was initially produced. A quick look on the bottom showed that it was produced by Hall China Company.

Hall (sometimes referred to as Hall’s) started in Ohio in the early 1900s. They started a process that emulated pottery made in China during the Ming Dynasty. This technique – a single fire process – created a durable, non-porous pottery that wouldn’t craze. Over the years, Hall produced a variety of kitchen and cookware.

This particular Hall piece is one of the more rare Hall China pieces and likely produced in the 1930s. This piece is referred to as the Monterey Green Gold Label Casserole Dish. It is mint green with gold embellishments. Floral squares circle the dish in a checkered pattern. The lid has a leafy pattern that circles it. It also has a gold trim that circles it, along with a gold knob. There is a mark on the underside to authenticate this dish. It reads “Hall’s Superior Quality Kitchenware” in a gold box. Over the box it reads “76″ and underneath “Made in USA 09.1 GL.”

Marcrest Nordic Mint Leaf Dinnerware Set

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This set of dishes is called Nordic Mint and was produced by Marcrest back in the 1950s or 1960s. Nordic mint leaves in aqua blue, red and black circle are hand-stamped underneath the glaze around the inside of the dishes, while an aqua blue trim circles the edges of the plates and bowls.

The underside reads “Hand Decorated, Made in America, Oven Proof, Detergent Proof, and Underglazed”. There are small hairline cracks on a couple of the dishes and chips on four of them (see last picture – you can PM more for more pictures). Overall, a great colorful mid century modern set to add to your home.