The Pyrex Collector Blog

Found the 471 and 472 to complete my Old Orchard Cinderella round casseroles. Would have preferred to find with the brown lids, but clear lids were supplied on OO starting about midway thru its lifespan ('77 catalog shows brown lids, but it was published Oct. '76) so they're not necessarily incorrect. Anyway, for $5 each, I couldn't complain too much. Seller apparently unfamiliar with BKF.

Things that make you crazy. Left, bottom to top: early multicolor red 402, late multicolor red 402, 1970 Bowl-a-Rama poppy 401 single (or alternate Friendship open stock 401 depending on what you read/believe). Right, bottom to top: 1970 Bowl-a-Rama gold 402 (too light to be Daisy, different from bright yellow on top), Bowl-a-Rama gold 401 (because it just is), bright yellow 401 (thick rim, deep foot, no capacity marking). The golds look closer in person than in this photo.

I've never been much of a fan of the later, brown hued patterns, but I always appreciate any Pyrex in absolutely pristine condition, especially if at a bargain price. This Old Orchard 480 set is as MIB as any could be, except for the lack of a box. So minty in fact, the 474 lid has a ghostly transfer image of the original pamphlet packed atop it. Otherwise, not even a pinhole.

New for 1979, Autumn Harvest featured a complete range of then-current Pyrex opal ware shapes, with one glaring omission. The 045 2-1/2 quart oval casserole here is not the shade of rust red that, along with the orange of the 043 atop it, comprised Autumn Harvest's base colors. The prior year, this brown 045 had been released, accompanied by a rectangular wooden trivet, as a promo simply called "Wheat". The absence of an AH 045 seems odd, unless you consider that no subsequently released standard patterns included any oval casseroles.

Revised Butterfly Gold, 1979. Both shades are different from the original 1972 color; one lighter, one darker. The lighter is very much like 1980's "Garden Medley" Bake 'n' Carry, the other similar to but not quite the same shade as either Old Orchard or the Daisy 404.

Typically seen without its original accessories, this 403 is normally called Turquoise Diamonds. It's really a third party product by Dainty Maid, sold 1959-1960.

Was feeling pretty smug about the Nouveau Floral underplate for $1.50, until I got to the next stop. Finally, the elusive red Friendship 502. It was part of a lot marked "3 red dishes with lids".

Nouveau Floral, 1968, with original woodgrain plastic underplate. If you can't read the sticker on the previous photo, it said $3.00. But everything was 50% off, so...

Found ITW at an estate sale liquidation warehouse.