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Pyrex: More than Just Pretty Colors by Maxine Carter-Lome

here was a time when no respectable casserole or with it but not before leaving a legacy of millions of
Jell-O salad was served in anything but a brightly pieces of beloved and well-used glass cookware items
Tcolored piece of Pyrex glassware — and every behind in what is estimated to be 80 percent of
cupboard was stacked high with functional mixing American households.
bowls, baking dishes, and storage containers. They were Today, the dated (now dubbed vintage) look of
a kitchen staple – decorative, functional, and instantly Pyrex has immense appeal for collectors and among
recognizable for their shapes, colors, and patterns. decorators, designers, and vintage devotees for its
Pyrex was developed in Corning, New York in 1908 distinctive period look, colors, designs, shapes, and
at the Corning Glass Works. Here, the company timeless functionality. For decades, these items could be
developed a borosilicate glass that could withstand picked up for dollars at thrift stores, tag sales, and flea
extreme heat and cold without breaking. markets. Not so anymore. Shows such as
They called the glass “Nonex” and used it “Mad Men” and “The Marvelous Mrs.
in battery jars and railroad lanterns. Maisel” have brought Pyrex back into style,
Ironically, Nonex’s strength meant battery sparking a vibrant resale market.
jars and lanterns no longer broke and According to a recent article in the New
needed replacing, so the company looked York Post, “Pyrex dishes are fetching big
for other ways to use its heatproof glass. bucks as dealers make rare finds they call
As the story goes, it was a woman the ‘holy grail’ and snap up nostalgic
named Bessie Littleton, who was married kitchen pieces as seen in their favorite
to Corning scientist Jesse Littleton, that Pyrex primary colors Netflix shows.”
found Corning’s new use for Nonex glass mixing bowl set. Louis Prizzi, 35, a vintage dealer in
in 1913. After an earthenware Long Island, New York, told Fox
baking dish cracked in her hot News Digital that he casually
oven, Bessie asked Jesse to bring picked up a small blue Pyrex
home a Nonex battery jar for her “Butterprint” bowl at a flea mar-
to experiment with. The sponge ket, which he turned around and
cake Bessie baked in the jar sold for $2,100 on eBay after the
turned out perfectly, and the jar reaction he got from Pyrex enthu-
stayed intact. This sent Corning Vintage Pyrex “Pink Daisy” Space Saver 575 siasts online. “So, it’s a never-pro-
Casserole and Lid 2 Quart Size for sale by
down a new path: cookware. ParkwoodTreasures on Etsy. duced fifth piece – and that’s the
Corning launched its first reason it is rare and desirable, and
Pyrex line (Pyrex combined “pie” and “Nonex”) in commanded that price,” Prizzi said.
1915. Here, too, women, traditionally the keepers of the At Cedar Chest Antique Mall in McGregor, Texas,
home, played a substantial role in the Pyrex story, store manager Tim Dowdle said a set of bowls in the
working with Corning designers and engineers to harder-to-find “Gooseberry” print, produced between
develop products that would appeal to the burgeoning 1957-1966, sold for $699 last month.
women’s consumer market. By 1919, 4 million pieces of “Lucky in Love,” a one-quart casserole dish featuring
Pyrex cookware had been sold in the U.S. green grass and clovers with pink hearts scattered
The colors and patterns most collectors covet for throughout, most likely a test piece or limited-release
their Pyrex collection were not introduced until the fall item that was made only in 1959 according to the
of 1945 and, later, new styles and decorative patterns Corning Museum of Glass, sold for over $4,000 on
would further enhance the attractiveness of the color eBay in 2015.
ware line. Seasonal design releases became popular in the Yvette Egan, owner of the Etsy shop,
1950s and 1960s and quickly became popular gift ParkwoodTreasures, says ‘space savers,’ called such
items. New standard patterns and promotionals because they could fit in the refrigerator and go from
continued to be introduced up until about 1983 when oven to refrigerator, especially the “Pink Daisy” pattern,
the decorative appeal of Pyrex waned, making them are hard to find and in her shop those in mint condition
look dated in the face of new cookware items can bring in over $2,000!
and materials. The next time you are out thrifting and antiquing,
Corning divested itself of the Corning Consumer take a closer look at the Pyrex that catches your eye. It
Products Company (now known as Corelle Brands) in could be worth a whole lot more than the memories,
1998 and production of consumer Pyrex products went color, and functionality it can bring to your kitchen.