Detective work on Rodney Kent, imposter??

I have been really busy this June and didn't get to write. Before I knew it, it was July. Still while I wasn't blogging, I was still collecting.

Item # 1 - Salt shakers

 

I have never seen a table set with salt shakers, so I bid on these because they had such a nice shape and the glass bottoms were in good shape. Probably not Rodney Kent since it is missing all the signs, but they were calling me none the less. Plus, bidding started at $1.00.

 

 

 

Then maybe I am wrong because I came across the above photo 3 years ago and I just saved the photo that the seller had posted since I wasn't sure about the piece. Lo, and behold, there are the salt shakers. The exact salt shakers. So maybe I was right. More research is needed, and if anyone has any input, I'm waiting.

 

I write to sellers on eBay and other sites and ask them about their finds. I meet some interesting people and learn a lot So while my foray into salt shakers with aluminum tops didn't help my detective work a lot, this next conversation did.

  

2. The elusive pitcher - Southern Living or Real RK?

 

 

 

 

While bidding on another piece, I wrote to the seller  about how she knew there was a pitcher in the set she was selling. I have only seen a glass pitcher once in my searches, and I was stupid enough to pass it by. The seller, in turn, miraculously found this photo (see, I am not the only one that clips photos for reference) of what she said was posted as the Southern Living Set. This may have been a promotional set through the magazine Southern Living in their Home section. Now the job is to find out if it was offered at a contemporary time or it is a reproduction. The eBay seller that I have been in correspondence with says that She has had two separate  eBayers tell her this is a reproduction group. The above photo was sent to her with the note that it is a copy of the magazine ad.

 

 

the butter dish that I know is RK

 

the sugar bowl with tray that belongs to the creamer

 Another view of the sugar bowl

 

the case for the divided square glass holder

 

the sugar and the square glass sugar packet holder or maybe tea bag holder. I don't want to discriminate against tea drinkers..

 

So the creamer is square shaped with a pressed pattern in the glass like the triple rib shown in all the RK pieces. And it sits on a tray. As for the divided glass piece, it could have been to hold sugar packets.  But I have always had issues with these pieces. I thought that the quality was just deteriorating. The butter dish is a staple in the Rodney Kent line and was used with various sets. Most butter dishes with older sets ( and I have some still in their original boxes), had good quality stamping and a picot edge on the lid. The trays of one of the stand alone dishes was stamped 470. These  poorly stamped butter dishes have no stamp. The metal is thinner. The picot edge is barely there. I still would like to get my hands on the pitcher. The idea that this may have been a promo or reproduction piece from Southern Living magazine, which I understand is no longer in print, could possibly explain the piece below.

 

 

These two jars have the recognizable mini tulip lid finial of the RK line, but nothing else about them seems correct. All the little jars by Kriescher are globe-like and small jars like this, often meant for condiments had notches cut in the lid to allow for a spoon. The ribbing on the glass has always been the triple rib design, not this equal all over rib. Lastly, the hammered stamping quality never showed the circular machine head in the stamping. The idea that this is a reproduction makes a lot of sense. Pretty as they are, they probably don't merit being included in the collection list.

 

Now I will have to review my whole collection again and see if any other pieces show the  issues of these four pieces or if these indeed are reproductions as some claim. Any input or dates would be appreciated.

 

Rodney Kent #420 - The Bridal Basket

The Bridal Basket, as it has been called is probably the one piece that shows the evolution of the Rodney Kent line from it's first debut as a piece that Krischer GiftWear probably had a gift show, to it's evolution into other designs. When I first got the idea for a blog, well really for a book,  this is how I planned to begin. It is the only design that has the three oldest stamps. While keeping the silhouette, many changes went on with the details.

The tray is a rectangular shape with folded edges. The picot edge is just hinted at with irregular crimping of the curved part. The ribbon handle has a high shine and no patina. The stamp is smaller and centrally located and the Hammered effect is not close to the bas relief stamp. The detail of the tulip bouquet is beautiful. Very dimensional. Some of the hammering encroached on the design and hammered out edges of the leaves.

  

The central part of the ribbon handle is polished. The weight of the handle and the tray feel substantial.

 

 

 

Stamped with the" Krischer GiftWear" logo, the bottom of the tray was completely hammered. It is my estimation that this was produced  in 1930, give or take a couple years.

 

The next time the bridal basket is marketed, it has a new look. The bouquet is larger, but still a beautifully detailed bas relief. The center of the ribbon handle now has small hammered texture.

 

And it comes with a new logo, The Rodney Kent Silver Co. Production time 1933 to about 1938, in my estimation.

 

 

Version 3 is late 30's with the addition of a black patina to enhance the detail of if the Gros Grain ribbon handle and the large tulip stamp.

 

  

The stamp is now the most recognizable, shield saying "Hand Wrought Creations by Rodney Kent"

 

 

The fourth version has the patina, but the stamp has been reduced in size to the original Krischer GiftWear size. This basket has it's original tag. Since the use of the postal code in the address was not required until 1943, we can confidently say this is early 40's.

 

 Now the tray shape is recognizably #420, but the Gros Grain ribbon handle has been replaced with the flower and ribbon design where the ribbon becomes the feet of the tray.

 

Notice how the detail of the bouquet fades into the hammered background texture? The quality of production is failing. This may be due to the fact that the aluminum plate is getting thinner.

 

Finally, the same design is again produced, but this time under a new number, #449.

 

 

Notice how  thin the tray has become. A new handle pattern is introduced.

 

This model is the only one that I have with all the stamp changes. There are a few serving trays with different tulip stamp sizes  and the same number. I feel confident in saying that the Triangle logo was the earliest and it is that stamp that has the most design motif changes. Those models with tulip finial on their lids  evolved as well. They will be covered in other blogs.

 

As with all stories, where there is a beginning, there is an end. Next blog will be on the end of the line in the late 50's early 60's. For those interested collectors, there is a really good bargain on eBay this week. I'd buy it, but  I already have it; A double compartment Pyrex bowl in a chafing dish with the candle and the advertising. All that's missing is the box and the verification number. It could be 475, but it's not stamped and the box is missing so we may never know. Happy hunting.

 

Colored Glass Gift Pieces

 

 

I am sure that we all have those cute little pieces that were given as gifts on special occasions many years ago. Ultimately classified as worthless, these unstamped pieces were probably given to the thrift store where the glass part was separated from the metal holder. Fortunately for me, my mother held on to her pieces and so I have the full item. I will spend another blog on the metal holders and their properties. Today is just about the glass.

 

 



Many of the decorative pieces are early pieces, based on the glass identification and history. I have ton's of books that I reference and I will list their titles at the end of my blog today. You can easily find them on eBay or Amazon. I use these references to date the glass piece, hence the Rodney Kent holder. Above is the candy dish, a perfect red glass bowl sitting in the holder with a handle and an open flower (the rose shaped metal that is usually shaped as the finial on the lids of the more recognizable Rodney Kent pieces) used as feet. The glass bowl meets all the specifications of a dessert bowl in the  Anchor Hocking Royal Ruby line, produced 1938 - 1967 and then reintroduced in 1973 - 1977. Identified as the 4 1/4"  round fruit bowl, the dinnerware piece  that was so popular in the 40'sis interchangeable with the piece shown above.

 

 

This was another gift item, a candy dish with lid that used the same Ruby Red fruit bowl from the Anchor Hocking line. It, too,  had the flower pedestal. You will note that the tulip on the lid used as a finial on the right is different than the one on the left. I believe that the reason is because they were produced years apart. When I review my collection I have noticed that the older the items is (based on my research), the more detail and quality there is. The same detail that you see on the finial is also found on the footing when the flower is open. .

 

This lovely item was recently purchased from a lady in Florida through eBay. She told me that she originally acquired it years ago in its original box so I knew that the glass globe was the original.  It was up for sale for quite a while. When I see something that is new and I am not sure if it is really Rodney Kent, I usually just bookmark it. Then in my travels I found other holders with the wire handle, which is not characteristic of the Kent line. My final piece of research told me about the glass. This is exactly the right size (4  3/4" in diameter) for what was advertised by Anchor Hocking  as a "Moskeeto -Lite" These small globe shaped jars held a citronella candle and when emptied could be used as an "ivy vase". While my research has not turned up a maker, Helen Atlas Glass company produced a lot of cobalt glass. There is no mark on the glass, so I am still looking.

 

 

 

My last find of this blog is a piece Rodney Kent #463. The piece that I own is shown in Azur-ite Blue from the "Charm" collection of Anchor Hocking produced from 1950 - 1954.

 

 

This candy dish has the 4 3/4" dessert bowl  as its glass holder. Azur-ite  was marketed with the more familiar Jade-ite, as well as  Royal Ruby and Forrest Green in the "Charm" line. All were copyrighted colors of the Anchor Hocking Company. Azur-ite, Jade-Ite and Milk White glass colors were Fire King glass, a borosilicate glass that melts at a higher temperature than regular soda lime glass. I have also seen this piece sold with the Royal ruby bowl and the Forrest green, but it is hard to tell if some other wise dealer/collector knew enough to figure out what line the missing glassware could have come from and replaced it, himself. The Azur-ite color is by far the most prevalent and the only one that I feel confident in saying was original.

 

 

 

Just to review two previous blog pieces are butter dishes, obviously from the 1950's. Both have Milk White butter dish plates. I own #418 and the bottom is definitely stamped FireKing. I recently saw a butter dish in Jade-ite for sale on eBay, but I am not sure that it is an original color as the butter dish was used by Anchor Hocking in other glass butter dish designs and I am pretty sure this is marriage, not an originally purchased unit..

 

 

My reference books:

• Anchor Hocking Catalogs: 1940 - present, Phillip Hopper, 2003, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa.
• Anchor Hocking's Fire King and More,  Gene Florence, 1998, Collector Books, Paducah, Ky.
• Collectible Glassware from the 40's, 50's, and 60's, 10th ed.,  Cathy and Gene Florence, 2010, Collector Books, Paducah, Ky.
• Pyrex the Unauthorized Collector's Guide, Barbara E. Mauzy, 4th ed. revised, 2008, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa.
• Mauzy's Rare, Unusual and Unique Depression Glass, Barbara  & Jim Mauzy, 2008, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa.
• Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, 18th ed., Gene & Cathy Florence, 2008, Collector Books, Paducah, Ky.
• Depression Glass A collector's Guide, 7th ed., Doris Yeske, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa.
• Fostoria Serving the American Table 1887 - 1986, Leslie Pina, 1995, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa.
• Mauzy's Kitchen Glass, Barbara  & Jim Mauzy, 2004, Schiffer  Publishing Ltd, Atglen, Pa. 

Pyrex and FireKing bowls in Cassaroles

All of those lovely serving pieces that had handles and lid, had a glass liner. It's pretty easy to figure out whose bowl was sold with it, because the shape of the aluminum bowl fits the glass liner perfectly. It doesn't wiggle or rock. And the lid sits on the glass perfectly. The earliest bowls used had tab handles. Tab handles were produced by Pyrex until 1936. So any item that came with that lid, was produced prior to that.

A good example is casserole trivet Rodney Kent #440:

 

There are a lot of the trays floating around and some of the lids, often not together.  This particular item is fitted with 1 1/2 Quart Pyrex Bowl (683-B-023-623-B  *  T.M.REG * PYREX  * Made in USA * B-H). Note how the lid fits perfectly around the bowl slightly flaring upward before folding over the  edge of the bowl. The notched openings for the tab handle fit exactly.

 

As you can see below, #440 came two ways  -- a flat picot edge and folded edge. Both are stamped #440 with the shield type of stamp ( see blog  on identifying marks).  If you look at the shapes of the indentations you will notice that the one with the folded edge has a much more rounded curve, leading me to believe that it used a later bowl with the "C" shaped handle, which had more of a curve to its bottom.

 

 

This is casserole #461 with  a similar bowl. The handles of the aluminum bottom, which is stamped with the shield stamp and has the arrow tab aluminum handles, which I believe predates the single flower handle, also has the lid that requires a tab handled Pyrex bowl. The bowl for this casserole has the imprint (683-B-023-623-B  *  T.M.REG * PYREX  * Made in USA * B-WW).

 

Below is the imprint of the bowl.

 

When Pyrex changed their handle style to the "C" handle,  Krischer Mfg. changed the lid style to on the still folded over the sides of the Pyrex bowl, but now covered the handles following its contour. The 1 1/2 Quart casserole below on a footed pedestal is #407 with the shield mark.

 

 

 

Krischer Mfg. also made a 2 Quart Casserole #434. There was no stamp on the aluminum carrier because it was stamped on the box. At this point, the lid changed into the dome type with the pie crust edge. It sat inside the bowl, no longer accommodating the glass insert's handle. The maker changed also. Now the glass liner was being purchased from Fire King.

 

This is the stamp from the original bowl that came with this set. Unfortunately it didn't make it through the mail because the glass was not separated from the lid, which was sitting upside down in the bowl and probably tapped it one too many times on its way from the seller to me. the mark is (T.M.REG  * FIRE KING * 7  * MADE IN USA * 2 QT) Having the imprint of the bottom, I was able to replace the bowl after searching eBay and the thrift stores.

 

Not to be outdone in the 2Quart casserole offerings, Pyrex provided a divided 2 quart bowl in another unstamped item,  #491 2 compartment casserole. It came with the domed piecrust lid. This bowl made it through the shipping process in one piece

 

 

The color advertisement was attached to the lid with a hole punched in it's center.

 

 

The divided bowl was stamped ( T.M.REG * PYREX  * Made in USA )

 

 

Below is the Casserole holder #418, which holds a 1 1/2  quart casserole bowl. It also has the domed pie crust lid. The bowl inside is a Pyrex Bowl with "C" handles. It is stamped:

                (023 1 1/2QT* TRADE MARK * PYREX *  R inside circle * B-18).

This also came with a green tag on a string wrapped round the flower finial of the lid, identifying it as  a Rodney Kent product. More about that in another blog.

 

 

 

 

 

The last lid style takes us back to a bowl from Pyrex. I do not have a handle on when this was produced, so maybe someone from a Pyrex group will know more. This bowl had no handles and the bottom had a pressed design of concentric circles.

 

 

The lid fit the opening exactly and it sat inside the rim of the glass. A  Casserole chafing dish also came with this same bowl. The imprint reads ( 595 * TM REG* PYREX * MADE IN USA * A-5)

 

You can see that as the glass insert changed, the lid changed with it.

 

This blog has covered all the known bowl inserts used in the many casserole iterations that were in the Rodney Kent line. There are at least 4 more types of casserole holders that I own. But they use the same glass sizes.