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Click here for information on Utilities Specialties' glass flips.

Blue Willow

Blue Willow was offered in two sizes with a Utilities Specialties stamp impressed under the lid and on the bottom of the bowl. Neither size is easily found, but the smaller ones are far less common.

While these decals were probably available to any manufacturer to purchase, it is likely that this bowl was made by Hall. If you refer to the Hall page, scroll down to the pink flip with the Utilities Specialties backstamp. Even though it doesn't have a Hall backstamp, there is no doubt but that it was made by Hall.

You will see by the photos of the sizes side-by-side below that the decals on the smaller ones are spaced farther apart.

The Pearlized Flips

Sixty, seventy or eighty years later, this is one funky set of flips with their weird tie-dye appearance that almost looks intentional for those of use who were part of the Sixties!

The finish is slightly marbled – though it's likely this is from wear and washing – and it definitely has a pearlized sheen/lustre that is unique among flip glazes.

The wear suggests that the lustre-like glaze was low-fire and has not held up well over time. The pieces are reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's lustre stained glass, and with the exception of the burgundy, the palette is atypical of most commercial ware of the time.

It was offered in two sizes: 5 5/8" x 3 1/2" and 4 5/8" x 3". Known colors are shown below: soft blue, soft green, rich burgundy and deep purple – and some color that has degraded into a mottled combination of mauve and green.

Nothing is known about the manufacturer, but it must be assumed one of two things: that Utilities Specialties specifically requested these unusual colors and the manufacturer complied with the order without a lot of glaze testing, or an inexperienced manufacturer was chosen that had little experience with commercial glazes.

Backstamp was either Utilities Specialties Co. Inc., Jersey City, N.J., or as above, Utilities Specialties Co. Inc., 206-208 VanVorst St., Jersey City, N.J.

More Conventional: Green and Red

These do not have a manufacturer's backstamp, but it should be noted that the red bowl on the right has a lid marked H. Friedman & Sons, a New York City distributor, and a bowl backstamp for Utilities Specialties. That's strange, considering that U.S. was a lid-maker, but H. Friedman & Sons was a known distributor of Hall China, so that bowl – and other so-called mystery bowls – could have been made by Hall.