The Extremely Rare Vintage CorningWare Pattern Worth Spotting at a Thrift Shop

CorningWare has a surprising weakness for birds. Some of the brand’s most valuable and hardest-to-find patterns feature feathered wildlife, and the simply named “Duck” design is among the most sought-after pieces thrift shoppers can uncover. It typically shows a single speckled mallard on the front of a casserole dish and is usually paired with a tinted glass lid. Another bird-themed standout, however, is the ultra-rare Game Birds pattern.

Little is documented about Game Birds, apart from the fact that it includes several different designs, each centered on a different bird. The pattern likely originated in the 1960s and stayed in production through the 1980s. It appears to have been Corning’s answer to a broader trend, since several brands used the same transfer artwork on their own dishware.

The Game Birds lineup includes a range of pieces. One teapot, model number P-104, features four birds: pheasants, mallard ducks, Canadian geese, and partridges. There is also a P-16 skillet with pheasants, along with several casseroles decorated with the flying ducks motif. The pattern also matches Corning’s Centura dinnerware, which uses the same Pyroceram material as CorningWare and came before Corelle. If you find a casserole dish with this design at a thrift store, it could be worth about $300 to $400.

How to identify Game Birds while thrifting

Bird-themed dishware was clearly popular in the middle of the 20th century. Corning was not the only company to capitalize on the appeal of ducks, geese, and other fowl on dinnerware, teapots, and casserole dishes. Hall China and the well-known Crown Staffordshire bone china brand also used similar transfer patterns for plates and other items featuring geese, ducks, pheasants, and more.

Because of that, spotting Game Birds at a thrift store takes a sharp eye and some familiarity with CorningWare. It helps to know the brand’s pieces, including the P-16 skillet, which may or may not come with an electric warming tray, and the TK-2 Cookmates Tea Kettle, which is different from the P-104 6-cup teapot. It is also important to learn CorningWare back stamps, since they can help identify whether a piece was made by Corning and roughly when it was produced.

Earlier pieces from the 1960s usually have a printed mark on the bottom reading “CorningWare,” “Made in the USA,” along with size and model information. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, CorningWare switched to a squared-off block-style stamp with the relevant details. By the 1980s, the back stamp became embossed and metric measurements were added. Centura dinnerware with the Game Birds pattern also included information about the birds shown on the front.