Platters: Comparing Clear Pyrex & Flameware 

The first selection of oval platters in clear Pyrex were introduced during late 1921 or early 1922.  Two sizes were offered: 313 (13¾") and 315 (15¾").  Both have plain smooth bottoms, with no well & tree contours.  Their rims curve upwards, similar to a shallow bowl shape.

Pyrex platter, either 313 or 315.  This rim is plain and unembellished, but not flat.  Image from 1924/1925 booklet.

Pyrex 313 & 315 platters.  The oldest Pyrex platters do not have a well & tree shape.  Image from 1924/1925 booklet.

Two entirely new Pyrex platters with wide flat rims appeared about 1927.  Both are the same size, but one is a plain utility platter (316) and the other has a well & tree shape (372). 

Literature from the late 1920s & early 1930s state that they are 15-5/8", but during the late 1930s & early 1940s the same items were reported to be only 15" in length.  So it seems that newer platters might be smaller, or the information could be inconsistent.

Pyrex 312, 316, 372 platters.  Image from 1931 booklet.

About 1930 a small 312 (12") debuted, and it is the same style as a 316, with a plain smooth bottom.  The 316 & 372 remained until 1943, but 312s were discontinued before then.

Pyrex well & tree platter, 372, 15" long.  Its rim is perfectly flat and level, with no embossed design on the ends.  The width of the rim is the same all the way around the circumference.

Platters returned in 1947, and these examples differ significantly from the previous grouping.  This time, they are made of Flameware glass and were thoroughly re-designed to have a more stylish and graceful shape.  An 812 (12¾") utility platter has a plain smooth bottom, and an 815 (14¾") is a well & tree platter.

Flameware well & tree platter, 815.  The little canals are more shallow than those of the older version.  The flat rim is narrow along the sides and wider at the ends to form handles.

Although these platters are not specifically branded as Flameware, their markings state: "For oven and broiler use only".  Ordinary Pyrex has never been intended for use under the broiler, and most platters of this style are blue-tinted, the same colour as Flameware saucepans.  Unlike typical Flameware products, they are excluded from stove-top use because they are too large for the burner, resulting in uneven heating and breakage.

Clear colourless 812s & 815s also exist, and they look like ordinary Pyrex.  Many examples of this type carry a recommendation for broiler use, but some do not, so it is unclear whether any of them are made of Flameware.

Flameware utility platters, 812.

The 812 & 815 have flat rims as the older platters do, but at either end the rim is embellished with an embossed design.  Any platter with this decorative swirled rim cannot be older than 1947.  These shapes were available into the early 1950s.

Flameware 815 platter: Swirling rippled design on rim.

The 815 well & tree platter was revived decades later in the Pyrex Fireside product line.  Its exact introduction date is unknown, but in general, Pyrex products with this dark brown amber tint were manufactured from 1977 to the mid 1990s.  With a Fireside tint, the 815 is intended to be ordinary Pyrex ovenware, and it is marked: "No Stovetop or Broiler".

Fireside Pyrex 815 platter.  Its shape is practically identical to the 1947 version.


Related Articles:

1922 Pyrex Leaflet 
1924-1925 Pyrex Booklets: Part Two 
1927 Pyrex Booklet
1931 Pyrex Booklet: Part One 
1934 Pyrex Calendar: Part One 
1937 Advertisement: Pyrex & Flameware
1940s Flameware Use & Care
Tinted Clear Pyrex: Fireside, Cranberry, etc.