McKee Deviled Crab Baking Shells

Today’s Museum Monday treasure from the Museum of American Glass in WV is two box sets of deviled crab baking shells from McKee. The first set is clear, while the second has fired-on red coloring. The individual shells are 5 ¾” x 2 ¾” and were no. J-116 in McKee’s GlasBake oven glass line. They are covered by design patent D124,849, filed July 16, 1940, and issued January 28, 1941, with the designer identified as Albert J. Avetta, of Pittsburgh, Pa. However, both our sets are later reissues, since both boxes identify them as being from the McKee Glass Division of Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Company. Thatcher bought McKee in 1951 and operated the factory until 1961, when it was sold once again to the Jeannette Glass Company. Our collection also includes an ashtray made from the deviled crab mould.