Friendship Flourish Variations

The bright red and orange design of the Friendship pattern makes it a favorite among many collectors. When launched in 1971, the 3 Piece Bake, Serve, and Store Set (470 Set) and 3 Piece Casserole Set (480 Set) included clear lids with the Friendship pattern. The lids were changed to opal with the Friendship design in mid-1972 until the pattern was discontinued in 1974.

Recently a collector contacted me to ask if I had ever noticed a difference in the color of the flourish above the birds closest to the handles on the 473 1 Qt. Round Casserole. I had not. She pointed out that the 473 casserole pictured in Pyrex Passion had a single red flourish above the bird, but hers had a double orange flourish. Everything else about the pattern was the same. This piqued my curiosity and led to digging through my Friendship casseroles as well as various reference documents. Sure enough, Corning produced two different Friendship 473 casseroles with this tiny design variation. 

Friendship 473 1 Qt. Round Casserole. Top: Double Orange Flourish. Bottom: Single Red Flourish.

Coincidentally, I had just purchased a Friendship 470 3 Pc. Set with opal lids, which included the original box, the weekend before at a small antique shop. This set had the single red flourish. 

Friendship 470 Boxed Set. The Warranty pamphlet inside dates this set to late 1973.

May 1971 Woman's Day advertisement for Friendship pattern.

Some digging through old catalogs and advertisements revealed a Mother’s Day ad which appeared in Woman’s Day magazine in May 1971, that shows the 473 casserole, as part of the 480 Set, with a clear lid and a double orange flourish. 

It’s tempting to conclude that the double orange flourish was produced with clear lids and the design was later changed to a single red flourish when opal lids were introduced. However, there’s currently no concrete evidence that the flourish design and lid changes took place at exactly the same time. What is certain is that the double orange flourish was being produced in 1971 and the single red flourish was being sold in 1973.