Mary posted pictures of two Madrid light pink bowls and asked for help to evaluate which is real and which – if any – is a reproduction. Madrid can be hard to tell apart.
Federal made Madrid in the depression in amber, pink, a lovely blue, green and a little bit of clear. They reissued Madrid in the mid 1970s but marked each piece with a 76. If you see a 76 then your piece is from the bicentennial reissue.
Indiana Glass bought the molds when Federal went out of business. They reproduced the pattern in clear, a different shade of pink, an icky aqua, a blue and amber. The amber is hard to tell from the original although it feels different.
Mary a second picture which shows a slight difference in the mold etched pattern by the rim. She pointed out that wing shapes on the left bowl descend right into the edge of the rim, but stop short of the edge in the right hand bowl. I have read comments where people state there are differences in the design, but I have never read what the differences were.
My trusty Gene Florence book shows a picture of pink Madrid and notes that Federal did not make the butter dish, creamer, sugar, dinner plate, soup bowl in pink. I am always leery of any Madrid cereal or soup bowls because Indiana made a ton of them. The reproductions are common as mud while the real ones are scarce in any color.
I’m not sure which pieces Mary has, but the only real pink Madrid bowls are the 5 inch sauce bowl, 9 3/8 inch round large berry bowl, the 10 inch oval bowl and the rimless 11 inch low console bowl. Any others are reproductions.
Florence mentions the reproduction pink is washed out. That will be a good tip but only if someone has seen the original pink beforehand so they have something to compare. If one of Mary’s bowls is lighter than the other then she is wise to suspect it is a reproduction.
I always find the newer pieces don’t feel right, the glass is thicker or just doesn’t feel good. It is hard to describe the difference and certainly I’m not an expert on Madrid vs. Recollection. I can usually spot the reproductions but I’m not that confident. I avoid the pattern since I find Patrician just as enjoyable without the reproduction worries.
If you have advice for Mary please leave a comment here on the blog or better, on her Facebook post. Thanks for your help!