Marcrest

[Brneyedgrl80]

Hey guys! My husband agreed to buy me a Marcrest set of dishes off of Ebay! What's funny is that I already own 4 little mugs that go with this set. I saw them at a thrift store for $5 so I bought them because of the pattern. Now I'll have a 62 piece set!

One question, does anybody know the name of this pattern? I can't find this pattern anywhere on the net! I know of Dots and Daisy, Swiss Chalet, Pinecone, and some of the Melcac stuff.

 

[veg-o-matic]

Oooh, nice!

I tried to get a set of Mar Crest "Citation" flatware (we must have had a set at one time, 'cause we still have a couple of pieces) from ebay one time, but the price just went through the roof.

Anyone know anything about the company? I'd never heard of 'em before.

veg

 

[Versatronic]

Not very imaginative, but

That pattern is called Blue Diamond.

Veg, here's some history on Marcrest:

Marcrest was a company started by the Marshall-Burns retail chain. They contracted with many different pottery companies including Hull to create certain pieces within that line. Under the terms of the contract, the Marcrest symbol had to appear on the pieces. The Marcrest products were used as premiums for service stations, grocery stores, movie theaters and other businesses in the 1950’s. Marcrest was made from the late 40’s into the early 60’s.

 

[petek]

There are a few replacement internet sites..
Replacements.com is one
They list this pattern as MCR10 blue diamonds.
It's expensive though using one of the web sites but when you hafta have it, ya hafta have it.

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

There's like nothing you don't know versatronic!

I didn't know that they sold a lot of service ware. That's pretty interesting. Do you think that's all they made, or was some of the stuff made for consumers as well?

Yeah, Blue Diamond is a bit obvious, lol

Veg, I love the citation ware. Keep looking on ebay, you'll find something. There was a set of 40 something pieces just recently on there that I think ended for about $21. So, you could get a nice set fairly cheap.

 

[veg-o-matic]

I dunno about that Citation stuff. The 60-or-so piece set I had my eye on ended up going for over 200 bucks!

I agree; Vers does know everything. Thank goodness. The whole "they provided stuff for gas stations" probably explains why we only ever had a few pieces of the Citation flatware. Dad probably got a place setting with an oil change or something.

And now I'm really liking that Blue Diamond stuff. Not that I need any more dishes. Still...

veg the incorrigible

 

[gansky1]

Those blue diamonds are very cool - I've seen these dishes at sales before, as well as the Marcrest name and never knew anything about it.

This weekend, we went to a sale in a small town just outside the city and I found this Franciscan set. There were lots of chipped pieces so I have some more hunting to do, but that's part of the fun. Loaded and ready to wash in the Kenmore roto-rack are what's left of the box I brought home. I've seen this pattern before and when I first saw it at the sale wasn't that interested but as we walked through the house, it kept haunting me. "Take me home...take me home..." so I bought them. They were asking $20 but I talked them down to $15 because I only had $17 in cash on me and I wanted a Corning coffee pot for $2. They seemed happy to be rid of it all and I was thrilled so everybody won!

 

[Versatronic]

Well...

I knew the pattern name, but I stole that information for the Marcrest brand from a website, so you're giving me much too much credit.

I think I have a Marcrest flatware set in my abode which I don't use. I'd have to double-check. If I have the flatware set you're looking for Veg, I'll let you know.

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

Ooooo! Great find gansky1! I love the pattern! And who cares if they are chipped, you can still put'em up for display or use'em, and you are right, it's part of the fun searching for perfect or near-perfect items, it gives an excuse!

 

[Brneyedgrl80]

Oh, I almost forgot...

This is for you veg, if you are interested.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[estatesale_gary]

Nice dishes, Greg!

Hi Greg - That is Franciscan pottery and the pattern is Autumn. This was made in about 1955. Franciscan Starburst was a competing line around that time but it had a slightly different shape. Finding replacement pieces for this set will be easier (and easier on your wallet) than some Franciscan sets. I'll do a little hunting in the garage - I know that I have some pieces of this floating around.

In a side note...thanks for being a wonderful host a few weeks back. I'll take a picture of the stove in place. Also, thanks to Mark (and Gary) for good food and good conversation!

 

[veg-o-matic]

Ooooh, vers, I'm plotzing! Hope you manage to find me some Citation!

And no, not giving you too much credit. As a former librarian, the theory is not that you have to know everything, you just have to know where to find it. And it looks like you put that to good practice!

Brownie, I bookmarked the flatware set just for giggles. I'm betting it goes over 200 bucks by the end.

veg

 

[Versatronic]

Veggie

I don't have any citation on hand. I do have a spare flatware set that has starbursts on it. Something tells me it's marcrest, but I don't know for sure. Stylistically, it's very similar the the flatware in this auction:

Pardon Our Interruption...