Jane Ray Jadeite Dishes: Fire-King Pattern Identification Guide

How to Identify the Fire-King Jane Ray Design

Jane Ray Jadeite dishes have a rayed border design and a plain center. The same rayed design can be found on its sister pattern: “Alice”.

Learn More: Alice Jadeite Dishes: Fire-King Pattern Identification Guide

Jane Ray dishes are noticeably thinner than the heavier, more durable Restaurant Ware.

Collector’s Notes on Jane Ray Fire-King Jadeite Dishes

Jane Ray is the most common pattern of Jadeite dishes found.

You’ll find this pattern most often at antique stores and even garage sales, making it the perfect pattern for new Jadeite collectors to look for with relative success.

“Jane Ray” is not the official name for this Fire-King pattern. It was named by collectors in the late 90s/early 2000’s when collecting Jadeite dishes really took off.

These Jadeite dishes were commonly given away as freebies with purchase in the 40s and 50s, and were heavily marketed toward the everyday American (or Canadian). This makes them relatively easy to find today at antique stores, estate sales, on eBay and Etsy.

Jane Ray Jadeite cups, saucers, cereal dishes and utility bowls were given away with a 25 lb bag or larger of Town Crier Flour.

 

Interestingly, in the book “A Collector’s Guide to Anchor Hocking’s Fire-King Glassware”, the 5” chili bowl, and plain 8 oz D-handle mug are listed as part of the Jane Ray pattern. These dishes do not feature the Jane Ray pattern. I am unsure why they are photographed with this set, but maybe it’s because they are also easy to collect and do not belong to any other pattern?

Although Jane Ray Jadeite dishes are considered the easiest pattern to collect, there are still a few rare pieces for this pattern to hunt down:

The 9” flanged (flat rimmed) soup bowl. This is the most desired piece in the Jane Ray Jadeite pattern and continues to grow in scarcity. At the time of this article, one is for sale on eBay right now for $475 with no recent sales.

The 6 ¼” Bread and butter plate is very rare.

Rayed saucers. Jane Ray saucers come in two styles: with rays, or without rays on the back. The saucer with rays is more difficult to find. And its cup ring is slightly larger than the saucer with the plain back.

The Demitasse cup is also rare. This one in our collection features the original foil label!

The sugar bowl in good shape is hard to find as the handles or lid are commonly found with chips.

Collect the creamer to complete the creamer and sugar set:

The Jane Ray boxed starter set, marketed as a “Jadeite Fire-King Heat Proof Starter Set”, came with 12 Jane Ray pieces including 4 cups, 4 saucers, 4 9 ⅛” dinner plates. With some patience, the decorated boxed set can sometimes still be found for sale, but don’t expect it to be in great condition. Only 2 have sold on eBay in the last 3 months. This is an excellent showpiece to have in your collection, as other Jadeite sets were sold in plain boxes.

Fire-King Jadeite Markings

Years Made

Jane Ray Jadeite dishes had a long production run and were either made from 1945 to 1963, or 1946 to 1965.

Learn More: The History of Jadeite Dishes

Learn More: The History of Fire-King Anchor Hocking (Part 1 of 4)

Other Colors

Along with Jadeite, Jane Ray Fire-King dishes were produced in these colors:

• Ivory (off-white)
• Vitrock (white)
• Peach Lustre

According to the book “A Collector’s Guide to Anchor Hocking’s Fire-King Glassware. pg 39), the authors confirm they have seen Jane Ray mixing bowls in forest green and crystal (clear). However, these should be considered extremely rare. None can currently be found on eBay.

Occasionally, hand painted Jane Ray plates come up for sale on eBay. These are original, and were likely produced in the 1950s. Possible designs include animals and nature scenes. These hand painted plates can go for 5x or more than regular Jane Ray dinner plates.

Fire-King Markings for Jane Ray Jadeite Dishes

Because Jane Ray Jadeite dishes had such a long production run, there were a number of different trademarks that were used:

1. OVEN Fire-King GLASS (1940s)
2. OVEN Fire-King WARE (1940s)
3. OVEN Fire-King WARE MADE IN U.S.A. (1951+)
4. Unmarked

Learn More: How to Identify Fire-King Jadeite Dish Markings

Fire-King Jane Ray Dishes Made in Jadeite

These are all the Jadeite dishes made in the Jane Ray pattern for you to collect: Cups:

• 8 oz Cup
• 3 ½” oz Demitasse Cup

Saucers:

• 5 ¾” Saucer (found with rays and without rays on the back)
• 4 ½” Demitasse Saucer

Plates:

• 6 ¼” Plate
• 7 ¾” Salad Plate
• 9 ⅛” Dinner Plate
• 7 ⅝” Soup Plate (this is a bowl, but it’s referred to as a soup plate)

Bowls:

• 4 ⅞” Dessert Bowl
• 5 ⅞” Cereal/Oatmeal Bowl
• 8 ¼” Vegetable Bowl
• 9” Flat Rimmed Soup Bowl

Servingware:

• 12” x 9” Platter
• Sugar Dish with Lid
• Creamer

Research Sources

Learn more about Jadeite dishes with these collector guides, available on Amazon:

Florence, Gene. Anchor Hocking’s Fire-King & More: Identification & Value Guide including Early American Prescut and Wexford. Collector Books, 1998.

Ross, David, and Joe Keller. Jadite: An Identification & Price Guide. Schiffer Publishing, Limited, 2014.

Wilkins, Jerry, et al. A Collector’s Guide to Anchor Hocking’s “Fire-King” Glassware. K & W Collectibles, 1991