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Friday, May 17, 2013

Still Crazed-y After All These Years


No rest for the weary at That Old House,
not if you are a piece of aged, crazed,
possibly cracked, ironstone.


Yes, we put old crackpots to good use.
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I am bowled over by old ironstone bowls.



I love their shapes, their heft, their creamy color.  

These 19th century bowls belonged to my mother.

They lived in her everyday dishes cupboard, and were used.
Almost every day.

One is quite crazed at the bottom.
Not crazy. . That's reserved for me.

From what I have read, using crazed china is safe if you follow some basic rules.  
Don't cook in it.  Don't store foods in it.  You don't want food taking up squatters' rights in crazed crockery.
But to use a beautiful but crazed old dinner plate?  As long as it's soap-and-hot-water clean, go for it.

Two of these bowls are similarly shaped.  
The larger one is marked Homer Laughlin.  The other is unmarked.

The smallest bowl, which is wide and low, has a significant crack.
I don't use it for food.  I use it for soap.

For a really big bar of soap at the kitchen sink.


  I put this bar of soap in the kitchen at Christmastime.  I love it; it's huge and locally made,
and it makes me feel like a French housewife in a rustic farmhouse.
Yes, I have a strange fantasy life.  

This soap was bigger 5 months ago.
It barely fit in the bowl back then, but now there's plenty of room.


What delights you in your own home?
Is it something small or otherwise insignificant?

I get joy from seeing this hefty century-old bowl at my sink,
and joy from the feel of the smooth soap in my hands.
Simple things.  Like me.  :-)

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And now, it's leftovers for lunch.
Spaghetti squash, with a "pasta" sauce of ground turkey, roasted garlic, onions,
and New Jersey-grown-and-canned tomatoes.


In an old ironstone bowl.
Sorry.  Only enough for one.

Enjoy the weekend!  We're planning more yard work.
Ah, Howard's favorite hobby . . . .   -- Cass

P.S.  Ironstone was first patented in 1813 by the Mason company in the U.K.  It was quite heavily decorated, as it competed with the Asian wares that were so popular.  White ironstone didn't become a thing until the English manufacturers discovered that U.S. housewives preferred their dishes white, and unadorned . . . and Presto! white ironstone was born.  That was about 1840.  Shortly after that, the first white ironstone was produced in the United States . . . in Trenton, New Jersey.  Of course.


Link Parties!

At My Romantic Home, it's Show And Tell Friday Click here!
Feathered Nest Friday makes its home at French Country Cottage.  Click here!
The Charm of Home features Home Sweet Home on Fridays.  Click here!
It's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground.  Click here!





11 comments:

  1. I have a similar bowl from mid 1800s brought over from Holland by my great-great g. and my mom said it was used for "sketti." so far I just enjoy looking at it but it seems in good shape except for two small holes around the rim which I'm guessing was used for string to hang it on the walls. One of those "oh the stories it could tell!."

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    1. Oh if only it could tell stories! Although, now that I think of it, I might not want MY dishes telling my secrets to future generations. Hmmm . . . .
      Have a great weekend!
      Cass

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  2. I love your old ironstone bowls. I have a set of white pudding bowls and one in pink and one in turquoise plus a couple other pieces. It's so practical but I use mine for decor only. I'm glad to know that crazed dinner plates are still safe to use as I use my grandparents 100 year old flow blue china often. Your bar of soap sounds wonderful and certainly lasts longer than most. Enjoy the weekend. Pam

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  3. Your bowls are great and it's so nice they are staying in your family and being USED! I love that! I have some old mixing bowls with a lot of crazing and I use them to serve food in rather than for mixing, I'd cry if they broke! My mom was a 50's housewife and all I remember is lots of Tupperware!

    XO,
    Jane

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  4. I have a Homer Loughlin platter (white with light blue decoration around the edge)that was my grandmother's. I don't use it but I can't part with it. I do use her mixed sets of silver plate (one set was a wedding gift to my grandparents in 1923)at family gatherings of any size. I still miss her.

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  5. Those crazings are like smile lines on the bowls!

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  6. Ironstone is wonderful. I have Mister's set of white ironstone, Johnson Brothers, that we use every day. Simple pleasures, I think, are often the best. Here, it is watching the seasons, soapstone counters, the patina of the old-and irreplaceable-wood this house is built of, enthusiastic birdsong. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

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  7. We share a love of old white ironstone, yours is exceptional.
    ~Jo

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  8. these are wonderful, how great that you still have these. I love white ironstone bowls and always keep my eye out for them, but they're hard to find!

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  9. I just think it's so great that you've found the time to post pics of your old family bowls. I have one just like your Homer Laughlin which was our cat's water bowl for the longest time and I just noticed the stamp on the bottom so I decided to see what I could find out about it online —and voila! here are your bowls with info about them being 19th century. Now I want to find more. They're so simple and sturdy! Thanks for your fun blog!

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  10. I just think it's so great that you've found the time to post pics of your old family bowls. I have one just like your Homer Laughlin which was our cat's water bowl for the longest time and I just noticed the stamp on the bottom so I decided to see what I could find out about it online —and voila! here are your bowls with info about them being 19th century. Now I want to find more. They're so simple and sturdy! Thanks for your fun blog!

    ReplyDelete

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