Indiana made several full lines of dinnerware during the 1930s when their depression glass patterns, such as Lorain or Horseshoe, added color and gaiety to millions of homes. Indiana continued to produce glass for dinner use after the depression with patterns like Pretzel, which they called Number 622.
You can get Pretzel plates, cups and saucers and bowls for table use and they aren’t terribly rare or costly. Pretzel offers a modest selection of serving ware, although you won’t find a candle holder or candy dish.
Look for bread and butter or sherbet plates which are 6 inches across, or mid size plates for lunch or salad which are 8 3/8 inches, or full size dinner plates, 9 3/8 inches. And if that’s not enough there are also some square snack set plates, just over 7 inches across and cute 6 inch plates with tab handles. The snack plates have cup rings and are a nice size for coffee and a sandwich. I found all these sizes on Etsy, Replacements and eBay just now.
Sometimes you will see Pretzel plates with an intaglio fruit design in the center. These are also true Pretzel and the fruits look good on this simple pattern.
What I noticed the most about Pretzel availability is how easy it is to find most bowls. I have not seen the tiny fruit cup bowl 4 1/2 inches across in person, nor the advertising bowls which are shallow and 5 1/2 inches. I have had the soup and larger berry/serving bowls in stock and used to see them quite often. Bowls are available on Etsy, Replacements and eBay today.
I’m not sure why Pretzel bowls are so easy to find. Collectors find soup bowls challenging in most depression glass patterns and even the smaller sauce dish size bowls can be harder to get than small plates. I wonder whether the bowls were premiums or included with sets.
Pretzel lacks a complete line of serving pieces. The large berry bowl is round and rather shallow, big enough to use to serve food for a small family.
There is no oval vegetable bowl nor oval platter. Instead look for the 11 1/2 inch round sandwich plate for serving use. The pickle dish is oval but it’s only about 8 inches long and would hold only smaller amounts of vegetables.
Of course there are Pretzel creamers and sugars. They both have a pedestal design with a square base.
The relish tray is the 7 1/2 inch square plate with dividers. Florence mentions this has an indent, presumably for the cup, but the ones I’ve seen pictured look to be flat and smooth, no cup ring.
The hardest and most expensive pieces to find are the pitcher and tumblers. There are three sizes of tumblers and these will set you back, if you can even find them. Today Replacements has the 5 and 12 ounce size in stock but there aren’t any on Etsy or eBay nor does any site have the pitcher at this time.
Tables set with Pretzel look amazing. The curvy design catches the light and is so appealing. Add in the easy availability and affordability and this is a winning pattern for your vintage table.