If summertime gets you yearning for delicious fruit pies, turn that longing into an antiquing opportunity: Look for antique pie dishes. Caveat: They won’t necessarily be the round tin or glass versions you might first envision.

“Covered game dishes or open vegetable dishes made by 19th-century British potters, such as Wedgwood, Ridgway, and the like, were used as pie dishes,” says Dennis Berard of Dennis and Dad Antiques, in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire (603/585-9479, www.nhada.org/dennisanddad.htm).

Early pies in both England and America were often savory (meat, game, fowl) versus sweet. “If you think shepherd’s pie or meat pies, you get the idea,” says Dennis, whose wife, Ann, is his business partner.

Covered game dishes in caneware typically have a hole in the cover to release steam; the finials of the cover are often fruit or animal motifs, such as the leaf-motif finial of the 19th-century caneware covered game dish the Berards have in their inventory right now, priced at $595.  Shapes for the covered game and open vegetable dishes range from oval to rectangular. “Expect to pay $500 to $800 for early 19th-century covered game dishes,” says Dennis.
 
Also look for vintage pie dishes from the 20th century:

GLASS
1930s-1960s Pyrex, Fire-King, and CorningWare pie dishes are highly collectible and affordable, ranging from $10 to $50. You’ll see them in white, primary colors, and patterns. The “Snowflake” Pyrex and “Cornflower Blue” CorningWare may trigger nostalgic memories of your mom’s or grandma’s kitchen.

GRANITEWARE
This enamel-coated iron or steel kitchenware is easily recognized by its grey-and-white color (although it also was made in blue, green, red, and other colors). Graniteware has been made since the mid-1800s and is still made today. Mid-1900s graniteware pie dishes can be found for $10 to $25. (www.graniteware.org; the National Graniteware Society’s annual convention takes place July 27-28, in Terre Haute, Indiana).

Photo courtesy of Dennis & Dad Antiques