More New Opaque Blue Glass - Table Settings

This four piece table setting in pale blue opaque glass was sold through a mail order catalog for $29.95. It included a 10″ dia. dinner plate, 8″ salad plate, 5¾″ dia. bowl, and 4″ tall cup. The dinner plate, salad plate and bowl are similar in shape to blue glass dinnerware by Anchor Hocking named Turquoise Blue, made 1956-1958. Vintage dinner plates sell for $25-30; salad plates, $20; bowls, $12.

Edges on original plates have an upturned edge; edges on new plates are flat. Original cups are low and broad; new cups are tall and almost cylindrical. Virtually all original pieces of Anchor Hocking Turquoise Blue are marked with the round, molded Fire King ovenware mark. There is no mark on the new glass.

Collectors who buy reproductions for daily use should be very careful with this new glass. It is not safe for microwave but only one of our four samples was properly marked with a warning label. We also doubt the new glass is safe for regular oven use. It is made in China and if it's like the other new Chinese glass we've tested, it is very brittle with little tolerance for even small amounts of heat.

Fig. 1 New unmarked blue opaque glass dinnerware set similar to Anchor Hocking set named Turquoise Blue.

Fig. 2 Original Fire King mark. Virtually all pieces of Turquoise Blue were marked.