Vintage Pyrex

Bring a vintage look to your kitchen with Pyrex

Butterfly Gold Nesting Mixing Bowls

Pyrex comes in so many patterns and colors that there is sure to be one to match your vintage kitchen style. In addition, it’s useful as well as decorative which is important in any kitchen where space is often at a premium.

Whether your style is bold or country cottage there is a pattern to complement your taste in a variety of pieces including loaf pans, casserole dishes in a selection of shapes and sizes, mixing bowls, pie pans, refrigerator dishes and more!

Primary Color Casserole Dish

Pyrex got its start in 1908 when Corning Glass Works was manufacturing Nonex, a borosilicate low-expansion glass for lamp globes and battery jars. The story goes that Jesse Littleton of Corning discovered the cooking potential of borosilicate glass by giving his wife a casserole dish made from a cut-down Nonex battery jar. Corning then reformulated the glass removing the lead content and started a line of kitchenware. Hopefully Mrs. Littleton received one of the new lead free pieces and got rid of the cut down battery jar!

Early American Refrigerator Dish

Gooseberry Refrigerator Dishes

 


Another Pyrex story is that the name was created using one of the first products produced, a pie plate, combining that with the EX from the end of Nonex and sticking an R in the middle to make it easy to pronounce. Good thing because I think PIEX would have been quite the tongue twister.

At first all Pyrex was clear glass and then in 1947 Corning Glass Works began producing Pyrex in the colors and patterns we all know and love. New designs were continually introduced to the modern homemaker to keep up with latest trends and a love affair began! 



From mid century designs in turquoise to the harvest gold and avocado green designs so popular in the seventies there is a Pyrex pattern to match your taste and to make tasty meals with too!

Butterprint Refrigerator Dishes

Alas all good things must come to an end and Corning discontinued its production of Pyrex products in 1998 but still licensed the Pyrex brand to other companies. You should be aware that new Pyrex is made with a different glass formula, soda-lime glass, which has been linked to some complaints to the Consumer Product Safety Commission by users reporting that their Pyrex glassware had shattered at high temperatures.



 Another good reason to buy vintage Pyrex!

Primary Color Loaf Pan

To learn more about Pyrex including how to clean and care for your vintage pieces and other useful and

interesting information please visit PyrexLove.com

About the Author

 Karen Mantone-Pillar is one of the founders and admin of Got Vintage Shops. She currently owns and operates two online shops; Charmings Collectibles on Etsy, and a stand alone web store CharmingsCollectibles.com.