When was that Pyrex pattern or piece introduced?
Part One: 1940s to 1950s 

Dates determined from print advertisements and catalogues, from 1945 to the 1980s.  Jump to:  1950s ... 1960s ... 1970s ... 1980s

1940s

Multi-colour bowls (1945)
This set is the first consumer product to be made from opal Pyrex, and full-scale production began in September 1945.  At some point before 1949, the 404 became available for individual purchase in yellow, plus a new colour, red.

The shape of 400-series bowls would change sometime within the first five years.  Older bowls have a highly-arching well-defined foot, while the bottoms of newer ones are much more flat, and once this new shape was established it would remain practically unchanged for four decades. 

Red 402s & 404s of earlier manufacture are a lighter orange-red colour, this would evolve to a darker true red shade.  The other three colours also varied a bit over the lifespan of this set.  Multi-colour bowls in blue, red, green & yellow and the single red 404 were made until 1968.

Red 404s:  The foot of the older bowl (left) is more pronounced.  A flat bottom (right) is the more typical shape for 400-series bowls.  The colour difference is evident here too.

From 1945 to 1950, advertisements rated the capacities of the bowls at 4 Qt, 2¼ Qt, 1¼ Qt, and 1 pt (or ½ Qt).  Following this was a period where their volumes were not mentioned at all, then beginning in 1953 they were described as 4 Qt, 2½ Qt, 1½ Qt, and 1½ pt.  For 401s, 402s & 403s this is essentially an increase of 1 cup, but it does not mean that the size of the bowls had changed.  It is simply a difference in the way the capacities are stated.  Older thicker bowls and newer thinner bowls both hold the larger quantities equally well, filled to the very top.

Multi-colour refrigerator set (1948)
This set includes two red 501s, one blue 502, and one yellow 503.  Although it was emphasized that the dishes were suitable for absolutely any purpose, the 502 was ideally designed to hold one pound of butter and to be held easily in an average woman's hand.  Red, blue & yellow refrigerator sets remained in production into the 1960s.

Red Tulip: Decorated Clear Pyrex (1948)
Clear Pyrex items with a red & green tulip design on a frosted band were introduced in September 1948.  The product line was still offered during 1949, but otherwise this unique method of decoration seems to be short-lived.  In advertising it was described as: "… so inexpensive and practical.  Decorated with frosty borders of dainty red tulip and green leaf designs, it will add a cheery note to any kitchen."  The frosted/etched surface allows the coloured stain to adhere better to the glass.

Red Tulip was available on: three round casseroles with pointy knob-top lids (022/622, 023/623, 024/624); two custard cups (462 & 465); square cake pan (222), loaf pan (212), rectangular utility dish (232 maybe, size uncertain); rimmed nesting bowl set (322, 323, 325).

Hostess sets: Red, Yellow (1949)
Hostess bowls are characterized by their square circumference and round base.  A large Hostess set comprised one 2½ Qt serving bowl & four 12 oz ramekins.  The small set did not debut until 1950, with one 1½ Qt serving bowl & four 7 oz ramekins, and this set generally included a lid. 

(Photo: Red 407 (7 oz); Yellow 410 (12 oz); Yellow 015 (1½ Qt), with 515 lid; Red 025 (2½ Qt).)

All four sizes were sold individually too, and serving bowls could be purchased with or without lids.  With a lid, they were called casseroles.

Red and Yellow Hostess bowls disappeared in the mid 1950s, but the shape was resurrected in 1959 for a Turquoise chip & dip set.  Rose-coloured 2½ Qt Hostess bowls with lids also exist, but dates are unknown and the official name of the colour is not known either.  It is a unique shade that does not match the usual Pink or Flamingo products.

1950s 

Princess dinnerware (1952)
Made of opal Pyrex, Princess dinnerware was available during 1952 & 1953.  A deeply embossed ripple design on the rim gives it a thin and delicate appearance.  One advertisement called it a "gadroon edge".  The brand name on the backstamp is Corning, and most pieces are also marked with "Toughened ... Heat-Resistant" and a five-pointed crown logo.

Princess dinnerware, small side plates.

Princess was sold in 20 piece sets with four place settings, including: dinner plate, side plate, cup & saucer, soup/cereal bowl.  These five pieces plus a dessert bowl could be purchased in open stock too.

(Photo: Princess cup & saucer.)

This product is closely related to tableware produced in Cremax and Monax during the late 1930s & early 1940s.  The shape and size of Princess plates, bowls and saucers is borrowed from Oxford and the plain ribbed "piecrust" pattern, but the cups are a new design.  Some Princess pieces carry no brand name at all, and are marked only with concentric rings and "Made in U.S.A.", just as the older patterns had been.

Lime, Flamingo bakeware (1952)
These solid-coloured pieces include 080, 023 & 024 round-bottom casseroles, 212/213 loaf pans, 209 pie plates, 221 cake pans, 222 square pans, and 231 & 232 rectangular pans.  Some items did not arrive until 1954, namely: 080 casserole, loaf pans, 231 rectangular pan.  These colour choices in bakeware were discontinued in the late 1950s.

Lime 212 Loaf Pan, Flamingo 221 Cake Pan.  During the 1950s, a 212 was wider and more shallow than a 213, but they have the same capacity.

Heinz Forest Green (1953)
This unique rectangular baking dish with a 1¾ Qt capacity was "designed exclusively for H.J. Heinz Co."  By purchasing three cans of Heinz products, the baking dish could be obtained for an additional 79¢ at participating grocery stores.  The colour was described as "soft forest green", and it seems to match the Heinz baked beans label.  The model number is 507.

Lime, Flamingo, Turquoise, Dove Grey dinnerware (1953)
Regency Green, Royal Burgundy dinnerware (1954)
In general, Lime, Flamingo, Turquoise and Dove Grey were sold as a 16 piece service for four, with more items available in open stock.  Gold trim was optional at a higher cost.  Eventually 16 piece starter sets would be offered for Regency Green and Royal Burgundy too, but usually these colours were assembled into 34 piece sets with six place settings plus four serving pieces.

On packaging and in literature, the latter two sometimes were named Forest Green and Royal Scarlet, and two of the earlier colours were referred to as Flamingo Red and Turquoise Blue at times.  Flamingo, Dove Grey and Turquoise, without gold trim, remained in production into the early 1960s, while the other colours and trim options were discontinued about 1957.

Pyrex Dinnerware: Flamingo soup/cereal bowl, Lime cup & saucer, Turquoise side plate, Dove Grey dinner plate.  Gold trim also available.

Desert Dawn bakeware: Desert Pink, Desert Yellow (1955)
These solid-coloured pieces with a brown speckle effect include 024 round-bottom casseroles, 213 loaf pans, 209 pie plates, 221 cake pans, 222 square pans, and 231 & 232 rectangular pans.  These colour choices were available for about two years.

Pink bowls & bakeware (1956)
Turquoise bowls & bakeware (1956)
These solid-coloured pieces include 023 & 024 round-bottom casseroles, refrigerator dishes, 213 loaf pans, 209 pie plates, 221 cake pans, 222 square pans, and 231 & 232 rectangular pans, plus 300-series and 400-series bowl sets.  The 300 set and 024 casserole were available into the early 1960s, and the other shapes were dropped earlier.

Pale Yellow bakeware (1956)
These solid-coloured pieces include 023 & 024 round-bottom casseroles, 213 loaf pans, 209 pie plates, 221 cake pans, 222 square pans, and 231 & 232 rectangular pans.  The 024 casserole was available into the early 1960s, and the other shapes were dropped earlier.



045 casserole with 945 lid, White Snowflake on Turquoise.

Daisy: Pink (1956)
Snowflake: Charcoal, Turquoise, Opal/Turquoise (1956)
From late 1956, these four colour and pattern choices also represent the debut of oval 043 & 045 casseroles, dubbed Decorator Casseroles.  They are the first opal Pyrex pieces to feature a printed pattern.  Charcoal with White Snowflake was the first of this group to be discontinued, about 1960.  Other shapes & sizes in these patterns appeared after 1956: Space-Savers (1957), divided & non-divided dishes (1958).

Space-Saver Casseroles (1957) 
Appearing early 1957, these rectangular casseroles were available in two sizes.  A 548 (1¼ Qt) is more shallow than a 575 (2 Qt), and a 550 lid fits both of them.  Either size could be purchased singly with a clear Pyrex lid.  Additionally, a 550 set included both sizes, plus one Pyrex lid (550-C) and two flat metal lids (550-M).  The latter were provided for freezer storage, and were meant to be sealed with freezer tape to be air-tight.

When Space-Savers debuted, they were decorated with Snowflake and Daisy patterns, matching the oval Decorator Casseroles.  Golden Acorn appeared later, in 1960.  The Space-Saver shape was made for a relatively short time, disappearing in 1964.

548 Space Saver, White Snowflake on Charcoal.      

Bright Yellow bowls (1957)
This shade of yellow is unique, and it was available only on 300-series and 400-series bowls.  It does not match the familiar yellow 404 of the multi-coloured set.  The yellow 300 set was available into the early 1960s, and the 400 set was dropped earlier.

Family Flair dinnerware (1957) 
There were five patterns to choose from when this coupe-shaped dinnerware was introduced: Field Flower, Pine Cone, Chinese Grass, and Quince which was available in Pink or Yellow.  Within one year Field Flower and Pine Cone were dropped and the remaining patterns were re-named.  Quince became Pink Petal & Yellow Petal, and Chinese Grass became Sea Isle. 

(Photo: Sea Isle saucer, Yellow Petal sugar bowl lid.)

Dinner plates, side plates, saucers and oval platters are patterned, and cups, soup/cereal bowls and oval serving bowls are solid coloured.  Creamers and sugar bowls are also solid-coloured, but sugar bowl lids are patterned.  It was sold in 20 piece sets comprising four place settings.  The product line was available for two or three years.

Butterprint: Turquoise (1957)
Gooseberry: Pink, Yellow/Black (1957)
Introduced late 1957, these three colour and pattern choices also represent the debut of 440-series Cinderella bowls.  Turquoise Butterprint remained in production until at least 1968, while Pink Gooseberry was dropped mid 1960s, and Yellow & Black Gooseberry disappeared in the early 1960s.

Special colour schemes for Butterprint also exist, and in these sets, every piece has a white background instead of using alternating colours: a 440 set in orange, a 470 set in pink, and 440 & 470 sets in turquoise.  These four sets are from the mid 1960s.

Also in turquoise Butterprint are round nesting bowls, sold in 400-series sets and 300-series sets.  Each bowl has a white background.  Butter dishes in this pattern first appeared about 1960.  Refrigerator dishes are also white-bodied and were available in turquoise Butterprint and pink Gooseberry.

444 Cinderella bowl, orange Butterprint.

Divided Serving Dish, Oval Open Baker (1958)
They are basically the same, but one is divided and one is not.  In general, no lid was provided for the Oval Open Baker, and a divided lid was included with the Divided Serving Dish.  When they debuted, they were decorated with Daisy and Snowflake patterns, matching the oval Decorator Casseroles and Space-Savers.  Golden Acorn appeared later, in 1960. 

Divided dishes became available in a multitude of patterns and were available until 1976, but the non-divided dish was dropped in the early 1960s.  The model number for the divided dish is 063, and 053 signifies the non-divided dish, but often they are not marked with a number at all.

Cinderella Casseroles (1958)
The small 470 set came first, consisting of a 471, 472 & 473.  The larger sizes, 474 & 475, did not appear until 1961.  Along with a 473, the latter two sizes complete the 480 set.  Most, but not all Cinderella bowl patterns also can be found on Cinderella casseroles.  Most notably, Yellow & Black Gooseberry was not available on casseroles.

473 (1 Qt) Cinderella Casserole, Pink Gooseberry.

Corning Crown Dinnerware (1958)
1958 saw the launch of a new selection of opal Pyrex dinnerware, named Corning Crown Dinnerware.  An alternative marketing approach was used, and for about two years the product line was distributed by door-to-door salespeople.  The gold trimmed version was named Gold Tipped, and platinum trim was available too.  Presumably the latter was called Platinum Tipped.  Some pieces are branded as "Corning Crown" with a three-pointed crown logo, while others are marked "Corning Dinnerware" without a logo.  Boxes were printed with the full name, "Corning Crown Dinnerware".

Corning Crown Dinnerware, Gold Tipped cup & saucer. 

(Photo: Gold Tipped soup/cereal bowl.  Dessert bowls are a similar width, but more shallow.)

Sets contain four place settings of: dinner plate, soup/cereal bowl, cup & saucer.  Dessert bowls and a cream & sugar set also could be purchased.  Bowls and saucers are coupe, and dinner plates have wide flat rims.  The cream & sugar set's shape is borrowed from the earlier line of Pyrex Dinnerware which included Lime, Flamingo, etc.  The pointy-handled cups resemble cup styles produced by Corning's MacBeth-Evans division in the late 1930s & early 1940s.  A matching gold-trimmed 400-series bowl set was also named Gold Tipped and the Corning Crown brand name appeared on its packaging.

Another decoration that seems related is Scallop Burgundy.  It also includes pointy-handled cups and coupe bowls.  But an even greater selection of pieces can be found in this pattern, equivalent to all shapes & sizes that were manufactured in Lime & Flamingo dinnerware, excluding cups.  Markings on some Scallop Burgundy items are identical to those of Platinum & Gold Tipped, but many examples carry no backstamp or brand name at all.

Also see: Part Two (1960s to 1980s).

Sources:

Magazine Advertisements, Newspaper Archives, Catalogues.

Related Articles:

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Pyrex Model Numbers 
Extra Photos: Pyrex (1950s - 1960s) 
1960 Pyrex Catalogue: Part One, Part Two
1961 Pyrex Package Leaflet
1968 Pyrex Leaflet: Part One
Who designed the patterns?
Clear Pyrex 1915 - 1950, handles, lids & knobs