Stories from the Past and Present: PYREX Part 2: Love made with Science

Past and Present Home Gallery is the antique store with character and part of the character comes from all of the wonderful people we get to meet and the stories you tell us. Over the past week we have heard some great stories about your Grandmothers and that special bowl she had that she used for just about everything. And now you have that special recipe in your own home and you need to find that special PYREX bowl because it’s just not a family tradition without it. As we continue to help you find those perfect treasures for your home, let’s take a look at the continuing story of where they came from in the first place:

PRYEX: Love Made with Science

In Part 1 of this story we heard about Jesse Littleton bringing home a sawed-off batter jar for his wife to bake a cake in and how that simple act of love inspired Corning, Inc. to begin manufacturing kitchen glassware under the name of PYREX. The idea was a hit and by 1915 PYREX was a household name. However, things weren’t as easy as pie.

The first generation of PYREX kitchenware was made using borosilicate glass which has a unique blue-ish-green tint. Today's clear PYREX is made using a very similar material and will also have this tint.

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In the 1920’s sales of PYREX products decreased considerably. This made the Corning executives look outside the box for better ideas about their products. They consulted with the J. Walker Thompson Company who were breaking new ground in magazine advertising and marketing. The consultants looked at everything from how the product was made to how it was sold and came up with several points of improvement. At the time, retail prices were too high because of an inefficient production process and marketing for the product needed much improvement. So with a long list of what to fix, Corning, Inc. contacted professor Melvin Copeland of the Harvard School of Business to help them put their ideas into action and it worked: in 1929 Corning, Inc. hired a full-time home economist and a full-time scientist just to help educate the customer about their amazing product. In 1931 the Test Kitchen was opened to evaluate and test new products before they came to market.

Through these scientific innovations, the love that sparked PYREX grew. Corning, Inc. was able to purchase additional factory spaces and expanded what the brand had to offer. Over the years PYREX has remained strong, even expanding into Europe, Africa, and the Mid-East. In 1998, Corning, Inc. sold PYREX to its current owners, World Kitchen, and it is estimated that 50 million pieces of PYREX are sold each year.

It is estimated that more than 150 patterns were created in the Colors line of PYREX. These beautiful bowls were discontinued sometime in the 1980's.

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We can all thank Grandma for her amazing potato salad made in that special bowl; and we can thank PYREX for giving her the tools to get the job done right. We would love to hear more of your stories about the love made in a PYREX bowl. Stop by Past and Present Home Gallery and browse our collection of PYREX and the many other one-of-a-kind finds and collectibles throughout our store.

Can’t wait to see you at Past and Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!

Stories from the Past and Present: PYREX Part 1: Made From Love

At Past and Present Home Gallery we get to hear all sorts of heartwarming stories about the items which remind you of your grandmother. That dresser set with the mother-of-pearl on the back, she had one just like it that you used to play with when she wasn’t looking. Or that sewing basket that always sat right next to her chair. And then there are all of those family dinners with that special bowl that held your favorite potato salad or mixed your favorite cookies. Well, chances are, that favorite bowl was PYREX.

PYREX has been a household name since 1915 and has made kitchen ware in all sizes, shapes, and colors. These beloved dishes have been passed down from generation to generation and have served in kitchens around the world. Now we also consider PYREX as a highly collectible item and we search high and low for those rare patterns and shapes. But where did these glass measuring cups and mixing bowls come from to give us all of these fond memories? The story goes something like this:

PYREX: Made From Love

A long time ago, there was a man named Jesse Littleton who worked for a company in New York called Corning, Inc. which manufactured glass products for various industrial applications. One day, Mr. Littleton’s wife broke her casserole dish and requested her husband bring home something from work that she could use in its stead. He settled on a sawed-off glass battery jar and Mrs. Littleton baked a cake in it. And just like that, in 1908, PYREX was born.

The glass that Corning Inc. specialized in was used for industrial applications, such as railroad signal lanterns, where an intense difference in temperature (a flame inside and a cold night outside) would make regular glass crack and shatter. Jesse Littleton had stumbled on something quite amazing when he brought that sawed-off battery jar home. The same qualities needed in industrial glass were also needed in consumer glass and Corning Inc. knew it, too. The formulas were tweaked slightly to make the finished product more consumer friendly and by 1915 their clear glass ovenware was a staple in American households under the name PYREX.

The amazing history of PYREX continues so make sure to like our Facebook page so you can find the next part of this story. Also, come and visit us at Past and Present Home Gallery to check out our PYREX collection and many other collectibles and vintage kitchenware.

Can’t wait to see you at Past and Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!

Stories from the Past and Present: Antique Flow Blue

At Past and Present Home Gallery, we know that antiques and vintage items are viewed very differently than they were a few decades ago. As collections are passed from generation to generation, sometimes the stories that made these collectibles so interesting are lost. That’s why we love telling these stories from the past so they can be appreciated in the present. One such story we stumbled upon recently is the unique history of “flow blue”, which, put simply, is a type of china with a specific decorative glaze. While items within this category can be incredibly different from one another, they all share the same origin:

Flow Blue: A Very Beautiful “Oops”

"Flow Blue" are white and blue china pieces where the blue glaze bled, or "flowed" during the firing process.

As trade between the East and West grew in the 1700’s, Western markets fell in love with the beautiful blue and white china being imported from the Orient. These hand painted pieces depicted a variety of romanticized scenes in a bold, cobalt glaze on top of stunningly white porcelains. Imported pieces were extremely expensive and so only the higher classes could afford them. To capture a part of this growing trend, European potters were determined to recreate the process for their customers.

Some historians state that it took 100 years for the Western manufacturers to create a white porcelain and cobalt glaze that could compete against the Eastern china. And even though it may have taken that long, things didn’t turn out exactly as they had planned. When European potters finally found the right salt-glazed earthenware that sparkled like its Eastern cousin, they eagerly applied the newly formulated cobalt oxide glaze. But when fired in the kiln, the blue glaze bled out of its stencil or “flowed” creating a blurry effect. Although this was definitely not the intended result, the public adored these items and snatched them up in a hurry. During its peak in the mid and late 1800’s it is estimated that more than 1,500 different “flow blue” patterns were created and manufactured.

More than 1,500 flow blue patterns have been manufactured. Styles of patterns range from floral to pastoral scenes, oriental scenes, and brush stroke designs.

Antique and Vintage Flow Blue in America

Here in America, we often saw the “factory seconds” of the European potters. These items bled “too much” out of their original stencils and the European public was not as thrilled by them but American markets were eager to add them to their collections. However, during World War I, the flow blue market decreased significantly all around the world and many European manufacturers stopped shipping to North America altogether. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the trend was rediscovered in American markets and items were re-manufactured, sold, and collected.

Stop by Past and Present Home Gallery to view our own collection of flow blue—some pieces dating all the way back to the late 1800’s, along with other collectibles like Red Wing. Also, “like” our Facebook page to keep in touch with us and be the first to learn more about the one-of-a-kind items we have.

Can’t wait to see you at Past and Present Home Gallery, the antique store with character!