Second Sunrise Archive: Anchor Hocking Fire King Jade-ite Mug

Fire King Jade-ite Mug

Maker - Anchor Hocking
Era - Mid 20th century
Acquired - by Second Sunrise in January 2018

The Fire King 
Jade-ite is the name of a series of kitchenware that was made in USA by Anchor Hocking in mid 20th century. The kitchenware was made from Jade green opaque milk glass that was manufactured with the idea to make durable and affordable kitchenware for everyday use!

The production started out in the early 40's and back then they were commonly used as promotional items. As an example, they could be concealed in bags of flour and one could also buy them in grocery stores. The products were made up until 1975 and the bright greenish color has been synonymous with kitchenware in North America during the second half of the 20th century. The everyday kitchenware designed to be affordable has gained in popularity lately and are considered as collectibles where the Jade-ite color seems to be the most popular.  

Anchor Hocking are still producing the Jade-it in reproduction lines but the new stuff is made with different shapes and marking to prevent them from being mixed up with the vintage ones.

Fire King Jadeit mug

On our recent trip to New York in January this year we went into a small vintage shop by the name of Rugged Road located in Williamsburg and although the shop was quite small we were stunned by the selection of high quality vintage offered there. It's mainly a clothing store but in a corner of the shop there was some kitchenware aswell, and thats where we found two cups of Fire King Jade-ite. We were happy to see them because we had been talking about adding a few cups to our stores cupboards, because we drink a lot of coffee with our visitors and a pair of Fire King mugs felt just perfect.

Fire King Jadeit mug

Underneath the cup the makers mark is visible and it reads "Anchor Hocking Fire King Wear Made in USA" with a small anchor in the design.

So if you stop by the shop and feel like having a cup of coffee you might get it served in a Fire King mug now! We appreciate them because we think the color and the fact that they were made to be functional goes well with the products that we carry and I read somewhere that earlier versions of the so called depression glasses were made with colors that hopefully could bring some happiness when times were tough and I believe that the same goes for the Jade-ite used in these ones because the color sure makes me happy when I get to drink my morning coffee out of it.

Last week we talked about giant cloths and advertising making big products in the form of a pair of super long Lee Rider jeans from our archive and if you want to read more about them you will find that post here!


Leave a comment