I remember vividly the first time I saw a
Starburst pattern dish from Franciscan Ware. I was browsing through an antique store in the City of Orange, CA with my mother when she suddenly made a beeline to a set of very atomic looking dishware. The story that unfolded involved my mom reminiscing that when her family moved to CA from NY when she was in elementary school her mother decided to "modernize" by buying this very pattern of dishes. The really cool thing was that my mom lived so close to the Franciscan plant in Glendale that she remembers going with her mother to buy them directly at Gladding-Mcbean & Co. As with most family heirlooms, we have no idea where my grandmother's set dispersed too over the years. Missing the family "treasure that never was" I was always drawn to these dishes but felt discouraged from collecting them based on their price.
Well, until earlier this week.
I almost fainted when I saw a listing on
Craigslist for a 61 piece lot of Franciscan
Starburst pattern for the fraction of the cost of eBay or Replacement.com. Although buying the entire lot was no small chunk of change, I knew that this one purchase would save me years of searching for that “bargain” dish the conventional way (although once I did score a mint condition creamer for $5). Surprised that someone else did not beat me to the chase, I crossed the Golden Gate to take a peak at Jim's collection. The moment I glanced inside the box I knew that Jim was my new best friend. Hearing his journey as to how he obtained each piece, I felt a little guilty that I was able to cut in line, so to speak, as I drove home with two boxes full of atomic bliss in my backseat. Once I had laid out my new possessions onto my living room floor, the guilt subsided. My dilemma now is where to store them to avoid my bad habit of accidentally breaking things. A challenge I think I can handle.
An extra curricular reading assignment on
Franciscan Starburst.
Those who know me are aware of my fondness for Franciscan Starburst dinnerware. So it should be easy to imagine my excitement last Sunday when I spotted a table full of these adorable atomic dishes at the Alameda Point Antique Faire. It was an addict's dream come true. Among the mix was a sugar bowl with lid. It was flawless. Already the proud owner of not one but two creamers, I have been on the hunt for a sugar bowl for some time now. And there it was just waiting for me. A match made in heaven.
So I blame my obsession on my mother. Recently she shared with me that when her family relocated to California from the East Coast back in the late 50s her mom decided to modernize their dishware. Since the Franciscan factory was within walking distance to their Glendale home, she accompanied her mom to pick out the new pattern. You guessed it. They chose the Starburst pattern. But this story takes a sad turn. No one knows what ever happened to that set of dishes. Likely sold or given away after my grandparent's deaths, these once cherished dishes could be in your kitchen right now (or perhaps mine without even knowing it). The good news is that my grandmother was among the masses that helped make these dishes popular back in the day. Pretty cool, huh?
