Punch Bowls and Sets 1940-58, Part III
by Mark A.
Nye
Issue No. 135 - July 1984
Note: All three of the punch bowls discussed in this article are illustrated in the Catalog page at the end of the article (below).
Continuing with punch bowls available in 1940, we have the Virginian #478 12" punch bowl in crystal, holding seven quarts. With the bowl came the #488 5 oz. punch cup and the #170 16½" plate, both from the Virginian line. To complete the set, Cambridge used our old friend, the #1402/111 ladle.
The cups were made in crystal or crystal with amber, royal blue or Carmen handles. The Virginian line was introduced in 1938 and disappeared from the Cambridge line during the 1940s. No exact date span for production of the punch set has been established.
Simplest of the Cambridge punch bowls is the Pristine #476 and it was made in crystal only. The Pristine line was introduced around 1936-37 and some portion of it appeared in every subsequent catalog and price list until the final plant closing. The punch bowl, in production by 1940, remained in the line until the end. The punch set was composed of the bowl, 12 #P486 5 oz. cups, the # P169 17" plate and the now familiar #P485 ladle. The #485 ladle was still shown with the set as late as June 1949, but by September 1940, a chrome ladle was being used with the set.
Two decorations were used in conjunction with the Pristine punch set during the early 1940s. The first is D/Astoria (D/450), a gold band edge; and the second is D/1050 etched Laurel, gold encrusted. These sets were discontinued prior to 1949-50. During the reopen period the Pristine punch set was made plain; engraved Starlite; or with "Decorated Gold." The later is quoted from the 1956 price list and no other description was provided. The 1958 price list omitted any reference to decorated Pristine punch bowls.
Beginning in 1953 and continuing thru the final price list, the Pristine listings included a #15 6 oz. punch cup. It was never listed as a part of the punch set nor was its position in the Pristine price lists anywhere near the punch bowl. This cup has a "Hook" handle and is very similar to, if not identical with, the cup listed and shown as the Cambridge Square line tea or punch cup, #3797/15.
One of the two largest Cambridge punch bowls is the Martha #478 15" footed punch bowl with a capacity of 10 quarts. Made in crystal only, this bowl was introduced in early 1939 and continued in the Cambridge line until the end of 1958. The under plate for the set is the Martha #129 18" cabaret plate or tray and this cup is the Martha #488 5 oz. punch cup. The ladle listed with the set in 1940 was the Tally-Ho #1402/111 ladle. The June 1949 catalog pictured the set with a #111 glass ladle (similar in shape of the #1402/111 but without the Tally-Ho design) but by September 1950 the ladle used was a chrome one.
Beginning with its introduction in 1939, the Martha punch set was available plain or etched Blossom Time, Chantilly, Wildflower and Rose Pont until sometime during the 1940s. From 1949-50 until the final plant closing, it was produced plain only.
With the Martha set, we come to the end of the Punch bowls and sets from the 1940 catalog and price list. The next group to be covered are those introduced after 1940 and they number four: Cascade; Square; Caprice and Jenny Lind.
To be continued ...
