About Our Wedding Gift From Albert Wadsworth. . . .

Pastoral by Taylor Smith and Taylor - Green under glaze print
cereal bowl and fruit dish.
Tea Rose by Homer Laughlin - scalloped edge cereal bowl with
red, yellow and blue flowers.
Oven Fire King Glass Jadeite saucer by Hocking Glass Co.

Harvest by Homer Laughlin - Red fruit compote underglaze print
cereal bowl, fruit dish, saucer, bread and butter or salad plate.

In 1915 Quaker Oats first came out with the familiar
round box featuring a picture of the Quaker Man. With
the debut, they offered their first promotional premium.
If you cut out the picture of the Quaker Man and sent it
with one dollar to the Quaker Oats Company, you would
receive a double boiler to cook your oatmeal in.

After that first successful promotion, they began to offer
premiums regularly, including puzzles, trading cards and
pins. With the advent of the trading cards, Babe Ruth's
was the most popular.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Homer Laughlin, Taylor Smith
and Taylor, and Royal China jointly made breakfast sets
in several different patterns of china for Quaker Oats,
with individual pieces given away in each box of oats.

Another popular premium found in Quaker Oatmeal was
a Jadeite cup and saucer. Jadeite was first produced by
Jeanette Glass Co. and McKee in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the early 1940s, Anchor Hocking Glass Co. began
producing it's Oven Fire King Glass with Jadeite being
a favorite color. Jadeite was named for it's translucent
green color. Promotional advertising said you would
receive a piece of Jadeite "free" in each box of oats. It
wasn't exactly free, however, as you paid 24 cents for
the box of oats.

These dishes are highly sought after by collectors. You
can still find them at Flea Markets, Antique Stores, and
garage sales.

Knock Offs of the Jadeite Oven Fire King Glass are
being produced in China and Japan and so care must
be taken if you want to buy vintage pieces.

These pictures show the dishes Albert Wadsworth gave
George and I at our Wedding Reception. They are an
important part of my previous story. There is a cup to
match the Jadeite saucer but I did not want to empty
the hutch to find it. I don't know why they were not
together.

I think it is very possible that when I was a little girl
visiting Aunt Josie in her humble little home, I ate
my scone and jam or my baking powder biscuit and
molasses from one of these dishes that Albert chose,
lovingly wrapped in newspaper, and pressed into my
arms at our wedding reception on that beautiful
night so long ago.