Tea at Trianon: Vintage Pyrex

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Vintage Pyrex

From Apartment Therapy:

My fascination with vintage Pyrex started at a flea market last year in Brooklyn, on one of those unseasonably warm days in January that make New York City feel as though it’s worth all the trouble. I was browsing a stall full of mismatched dishware and cut crystal whiskey glasses, when I stumbled upon the item that ultimately stole my attention: a green casserole dish decorated with a playful floral motif. It reminded me of home, even though it looked nothing like the dishes I’d grown up with. I didn’t buy it, but upon leaving the market, I immediately regretted not doing so.
I’m still not exactly sure what it was, in particular, that tugged at my heartstrings, but I needed that dish. Thanks to some quick sleuthing online, I learned that I had been looking at a Pyrex Spring Blossom Casserole dish in Avocado Green. According to the Corning Museum of Glass, this pattern was introduced in 1972 and sold until 1979, with a second version of the pattern sold until 1981, making it one of Pyrex’s longest selling patterns. Luckily for me, I used Etsy to find an identical Spring Blossom casserole dish to the one I’d seen in-person and had it shipped to my apartment right away. It’s a handy serving dish for dips, sides, and veggies, but more than anything, I enjoy looking at it in my kitchen. (Read more.)