Nothing to Get Depressed About

QUESTION: My mother loves Depression Glass. She’s been collecting for over 20 years. I love the colors, but all the patterns confuse me. Other than being made during the Great Depression, why did so many companies make this type of glass and why is it so popular with collectors?

ANSWER: Of all the collectibles out there, Depression glass is one of the most popular with collectors, most likely for its rainbow of colors and its myriad of patterns. Depression glass is far from a depressing collectible. In fact, companies made it in such bright colors to raise the mood of people going through one of the worst times in their lives. They also made it affordable so that this little bit of joy could reach as many people as possible.

The common belief is that this clear, colored translucent, or opaque glassware got its name because it was made during the Great Depression. This is a bit of a misnomer because decorative glass of this type had been around since as early as 1914 and as late as 1960. However, the production of Depression glass did indeed reach its peak during the years of the Great Depression.

During the first half of the 20th century, the Ohio River Valley was the epicenter of glass production. Companies like Westmoreland and Fenton Glass had access to the raw materials and power they needed to keep their glass production costs down. Over 20 manufacturers made more than 100 patterns of Depression glass, some in entire dinner sets.

Although mass production of this low-quality molded glass made it fairly inexpensive at the time, not everyone could afford it. Everyday essentials were far more important, but thanks to glass companies like Indiana, Imperial, Federal, Jeanette, Hazel Atlas, and Anchor Hocking, the wares were available to everyone for a few pennies or nothing.

For instance, a bag of Quaker Oats flour might include a premium piece of dinnerware. The company also made laundry detergent, in which it packaged “a little extra something” to make the drudgery of  wash day more bearable. The pattern, size, and color were a mystery to the user until she opened the box. Collecting the pieces to use became a common pastime and made people’s lives a little brighter.  Other companies followed Quaker Oats’ lead and began using Depression glass as a premium to help sell their products.

Depression glass pieces also lined the shelves at five-and-ten-cent stores like Woolworth’s or if people went to the movies on Tuesday or Wednesday nights when patronage was low, they might win a set of dishes. Some theater owners handed out small pieces just for attending a show.

The Cherry Blossom pattern, made by the Jeanette Glass Company from 1930 to 1939, came in both pink and green. While most collectors of Depression glass favor the color green, it also came in a rainbow of other common colors, including crystal (clear), pink, pale blue, green, and amber. Less common colors included canary (yellow), ultramarine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, ruby (red), black, amethyst, and milk glass (opague white).

Later Depression Glass, made during the 1940s and 1950s, included American Prescut, sold only in clear crystal, and other patterns in ruby and forest green. The top-of-the-line pattern has always been Pink Miss America, made by the Hocking Glass Company from 1935 to 1938.

While over 100 companies made Depression Glass during the Great Depression, by the time it had ended, only half that many were still producing it. And of these, only seven—Federal, Hazel-Atlas, MacBeth-Evans, and U.S. Glass—produced this glass exclusively through the mid-1940s.

The Imperial Glass Company produced the first pattern, Fancy Colonial, in 1914, well before the Great Depresssion began. Westmoreland Glass has the distinction of making the English Hobnail pattern the longest.

The most colors made for any one pattern are 11, done for Moondrop and Rock Crystal, followed by English Hobnail by Westmoreland, Lincoln Inn by Fenton, and Floral by Jeanette, all with 10 colors each. 

Identifying Depression glass by mark can be difficult because few of the companies marked or labeled their wares. The only way to identify a maker is to know which company made the pattern. Using the numerous books and Web sites on Depression glass available today, it’s a fairly easy process. Some of the most common include Adam, American Sweetheart, Block Optic,Cherry Blossom, Dogwood, Floral, Georgian, Hobnail, Lake Como, Manhattan, Starlight, and Windsor. While some of the names reflect the style of the glass pattern itself, most do not. 

The best way to determine a genuine piece of Depression glass is to learn the pattern, dates of manufacture, colors the pattern, and any other known identifying marks. One example is the Cherry Blossom pattern by the Jeannette Glass Company, introduced in 1930 and made until 1939. The set consisted of 43 pieces different pieces, and the company made it in seven different colors—green, pink, crystal, yellow, ruby, jadeite, and dark green.

Depression glass was never made to be durable as it was only made to meet people’s immediate needs. Due to its popularity as a collectible and its breakability, Depression glass is becoming harder to find. Rare pieces often sell for several hundred dollars. Popular and expensive patterns and pieces have been reproduced, and reproductions are still being made, which has watered down the market for some patterns.

What a Sweet Idea

QUESTION: My mother collected honey pots almost all of her adult life. When she died, she had over 200 of them. Now I have her collection. And while many of them are fun to look at, I know very little about them. What can you tell me about my honey pots? How did they get started and what can I do to maintain and continue my mother’s collection.

ANSWER: First, it’s great to hear that you want to continue collecting honey pots. Too many people inherit collections from their parents, only to sell them off or leave them to collect dust in their attic. Continuing a collection is a great idea, but you need to know something about the items you’re collecting.

People use honey pots to hold the sweet viscid material produced from the nectar of flowers in the honey sac of bees. Bees, beekeepers and honey have been documented since ancient times. One of the more interesting discoveries made by archeologists in the tombs of Egyptian kings was containers of honey. Considered the golden liquor of the ancient gods, two honey pots pulled from New Kingdom tombs, dating from 1400 BC, still had their contents intact. And the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III made sure he was in good with the Nile gods by offering them 15 tons of honey.

Honey is one of nature's great miracles. In fact, honey discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs is still edible today. Since bees depend on honey for substance during the winter, they need to create something that will last a long time.

While the most popular form of honey pot is the skep-shaped pottery, honey pots can be found in numerous shapes and sizes. The pots can be found in rectangular, round and box shape. Most collections include a myriad of designs, colors and patterns from many different countries. The United States, France, Germany, England, The Netherlands, Spain, Scotland, Norway, Japan and Ireland are some of the countries represented in many collections.

Although rare pots sell for as high as $1,000, many vintage ones can be found at flea markets or antique malls. The most expensive pots have back stamps by potteries such as Irish Belleek, Limoges, English Moorcroft, Spode, Wegdwood, Royal Winton, and Noritake. Several leading companies represent the United States, including Lenox, Cambridge, Fostoria, Westmoreland, and Imperial Glass. The Indiana Glass Worlds produced a red honey dish in the late 19th century designed to hold one piece of honeycomb. The dish design contains four beehives and 40 bees. The Indiana Glass Works later produced a replica of the same piece.

In countries around the Mediterranean, potterers inscribed the word “Miel” or “Mel” or “Miele” on their pots. England and Germany have a rich tradition of beautifully decorated honey pots. However, in Holland, people didn’t make very much of setting an elaborate table with a separate piece of matching china for each category of food. So, honey was kept in very simple pots covered with cork or parchment paper. In the 1950's the Dutch honey firm Mellon a issued some very nice white pots with a brown lid, a honey pot made of glass and a honey pot in the shape of a bee.

Pots can also tell a lot about other cultures. Scandinavian pots are very modem, English pots are richly decorated, American ones have bears on them, as do Russian pots. Southern European honey pots are mostly made in the form of a Grecian amphora.

The stinger in collecting honey pots is trying to find all the pieces intact—the pot, lid, spoon, and under plate. The weakest part of any honey pot is the bee’s wings. Before you buy a honey pot for your collection, be sure to check for chips, restorations, an in particular, re-glued wings. Only be tempted to buy such pots if they’re inexpensive or exceptional.

Ping the base of a pot with your fingers. You should hear a ringing sound. A thud, or muffled sound should immediately arouse suspicion, as there may well be invisible cracks.

Check that the pot has the correct lid. Flea market dealers, in particular, often match lids with the wrong base, whether on purpose or not. Slight variations in glaze color between the lid and the base can be normal.

If any of the pots you purchase contain honey, empty them as soon as possible. Honey can sometimes stain them or leak from under the lid.

Step Right Up and Try Your Luck

QUESTION: I just inherited my mother’s collection of carnival glass. I always admired it while growing up, but she never really told me much about it. Now that I have it, I’d like to continue collecting, but I have no idea where to begin. Can you give me some background on carnival glass and also some tips on growing and maintaining my mother’s collection?

ANSWER: Carnival Glass is pressed glass—glass that has been formed by being pressed into a mold while in a hot molten form—that has had an iridescent coating applied. As it cools, it takes on the shape and detail of the mold. Once removed from the mold, and while still somewhat hot, the glassmaker sprays it with metallic salts in liquid form which gives it an "oil-on-water" multicolor appearance. He then refires the piece.

The Fenton Glass of Williamston, West Virginia, first produced carnival glass, which it called "iridescent ware," in 1907. The company called its first line Iridill and labeled it "Venetian Art."  They wanted to mass-produce a product that could compete with the expensive, iridescent art glass made by Tiffany and Steuben. Though half a dozen companies, including Northwood, Imperial, Millersburg, Westmoreland, Dugan, and Cambridge, originally made it, Fenton did so longer than any of the others.

Competition became so fierce between makers that new patterns appeared regularly, so each company ended up making a wide range of patterns of most types adding up to a panoply of choice.

Its eye-catching multicolor shimmer seems to change colors when viewed at different angles. Over the years, carnival glass has been dubbed "Taffeta," "Cinderella," and "Poor Man's Tiffany," as it gave the average housewife the ability to adorn her home with fancy vases and decorative bowls a prices she could afford.
   
But this new type of glass didn’t catch on with the public the way Fenton had hoped, especially since they tried pricing it higher than their regular pieces without the carnival finish. Unfortunately, most consumers didn't see carnival glass as quality glass and refused to pay higher prices for it. Other glass manufacturers soon began making carnival glass using the same iridization techniques. This overloaded the market and soon prices plummeted. To get rid of their excess inventory, carnival glass makers at first began giving it away to carnival owners to use as prizes, but later sold sample pieces to them in hopes that winners could then purchase additional items in the same or a similar pattern. Together all the manufacturers produced over 2,000 different patterns.

This new market for carnival glass was a boon for Fenton, which produced iridescent ware in 150 patterns up until the late 1920s. Carnival glass sold for pennies at five-and-dime stores, and businesses could buy it wholesale at minimal cost. This allowed movie theaters and grocery stores to give it away as premiums. For example, Imperial Glass struck lucrative deals with companies like Woolsworth's and Quaker Oats.

Fenton's earliest patterns included Waterlily and Cattails, Vintage, Butterfly and Berries, Peacock Tail, Ribbon Tie, Wreath of Roses, Thistle, and Diamond and Rib. Among Northwood's first glass patterns were Waterlily and Cattails, Cherry and Cable, and Valentine, but Grape and Cable became their most popular. Millersburg collectors look for Hobstar and Feather, Blackberry Wreath, and Rays and Ribbons.

Collectors call the most popular color of carnival glass “marigold,” although the companies, themselves, didn’t call it that. Marigold has a clear glass base and is the most easily recognizable carnival color. The final surface colors of marigold are mostly a bright orange-gold turning perhaps to copper with small areas showing rainbow or 'oil-slick' highlights. The highlights appear mostly on ridges in the pattern and vary in strength according to the light.

Carnival glass is highly collectible. Prices vary widely, with some pieces worth very little, while other, rare items command thousands of dollars.

However, identifying carnival glass can be a challenge. It involves matching patterns, colors, sheen, edges, and thickness from information contained in old manufacturer's trade catalogs, other known examples, or other reference material. Many manufacturers didn’t include a maker's mark on their product, and some did for only part of the time they produced the glass. Since many manufacturers produced close copies of their rivals' popular patterns, carnival glass identification can be difficult even for an expert.

By 1925, carnival glass started to fall out of favor with Americans, and many U.S. glass companies quit producing it during the Great Depression.

Fragile as Lace

QUESTION: My mother always liked decorative glass. She had an eclectic collection, some of which was Depression Glass. I now have her collection, but I know little about glass and almost nothing about Depression Glass.  I have four plates that I particularly like. Each has a pierced rim. Can you tell me anything about them?

ANSWER: Your plates are a pattern known as Old Colony, made by the Hocking Glass Company from 1935 to 1938. Back then your plate sold for only 10 cents at stores like F.W. Woolworth’s 5 and 10 Cent Stores.

When the Great Depression began, glass makers began producing inexpensive, colored translucent glass ware, which they sold for 5 and 10 cents. Some food manufacturers and distributors, such as the Quaker Oats Company, put pieces of Depression glassware in boxes of food as an incentive to purchase. Movie theaters and businesses also handed out pieces to customers simply for coming in the door.

More than 20 glass makers, most located in the central U.S. where access to raw materials and power made manufacturing inexpensive, produced over 100 patterns, including  entire dinner sets in some patterns, and in a variety of colors—clear, pink, pale blue, green, and amber.

Collectors commonly call the Old Colony pattern “open lace” or “lace edge.” However, this can be misleading since other companies like Westmoreland, Duncan & Miller, and Imperial also made lace-edged Depression Glass.

Of all the patterns they produced, Hocking’s Old Colony is by far the most popular with collectors. It comes mostly in a deep pink and clear, also known as crystal. And all pieces have some sort of ribbing incorporated into their design. Other manufacturers also produced lace-edged glass but in a lighter pink. Color is an important element in determining various patterns of Depression Glass since no mark appears on glass as with china. Hocking (later Anchor Hocking) eventually did embed their logo into the bottom of their glass pieces, but not their Depression Glass.

While all Old Colony pieces are open lace, not all open lace pieces are Old Colony. A variety of companies made lace-edged pieces in shapes and colors that are different from Old Colony. The Lancaster and Standard Glass Companies, both of which came under Hocking's control in 1924, made some open lace pieces in the late 1920s and early 1930s which were similar in style and shape to Old Colony.

Some people collect only Old Colony pieces. Others, who like the open lace style, find other companies' pieces complement` their Old Colony collections, especially pieces that don’t come in the Old Colony pattern, such as sandwich plates.

To sort out the various patterns, colors, and manufacturers of Depression Glass, collectors usually consult guidebooks on the subject. However, the information from one guidebook to another can be incorrect or misleading. For instance, in some books, luncheon plates list as measuring 8¾ inches in diameter while the less common and more expensive salad plates measure 8¼ inches. But, in fact, the salad plate actually measures only 7¼ inches. And while there’s an 8¼-inch plate, it’s the luncheon plate. Plus, there are no Old Colony plates sized between the 8¼- inch luncheon plate and the 10½-inch dinner plate.

This confusion can be especially problematic on auction sites like eBay where dealers don’t always do thorough research of their wares. The Old Colony salad plate usually sells for around $22  on eBay while the luncheon plate sells for $13-15. And even though this isn’t a huge difference in price, collectors often pay the higher amount for a luncheon plate if they really want it. The true salad plates, measuring 7¼ inches, are much less common than the 8¼-inch luncheon plates.

Old Colony pieces can also be found in frosted glass. These sell for half of what unfrosted pieces do, so collectors can buy and collect frosted pieces for half the price, especially for the more expensive ones.  
                               
An unfrosted console bowl in mint condition, for instance, lists for over $200. This howl, which measures 10½ inches across and sits on three legs, sells for $25 on eBay in its frosted edition.

But there’s a downside to collecting Old Colony. The lace edging chips and cracks easily on all lace edge pieces. Many of the more unique pieces have chips. Unfortunately, the supply of Old Colony, as with other unusual patterns of Depression Glass, is drying up as collectors have amassed collections which has taken a lot of it off the market.