The ABC's of Vintage Glass
The ABC's of Vintage Glass
This week’s blog will be a bit different than what I’ve done so far, but I hope to be able to utilize this format from time to time from here on out. So, without further ado, I present to you: “The ABC’s of Vintage Glass!”
A. Akro Agate
Akro Agate was a glass company founded in Akron, Ohio in 1911, but moved in 1914 to Clarksburg, West Virginia. The founders were George T. Rankin, Gilbert Marsh, and Horace C. Hill. The company primarily produced marbles and toys, although marble production was ceased in 1932 and the company permanently closed their doors in 1951.
B. Burmese Glass
Burmese Glass is an opaque two-toned glass that fades from a rosy pink to a cool yellow. Satin finishes are considered to be the most common, whereas a shiny finish would be considered rare. The products mainly composed of Burmese glass included tableware glass, small ornamental vases, and dressing table ornaments. Burmese Glass was first created in 1885 by Frederick Shirley at the Mount Washington Glass Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Burmese Glass was also a personal favorite of Queen Victoria. And thus in 1886, a British company, Thomas Webb and Sons, and marketed it as "Queen's Burmese". After 1970, Burmese Glass was also produced by the Fenton Glass Company. Burmese glass is a uranium glass, which means it will include uranium oxide, which gives it the yellow color. A tincture of gold is responsible for the rosy pink hue. The longer the glass is left in the furnace will determine the intensity of the color.
C. Custard Glass
Custard glass is a creamy pale, yellow, opaque glass (mostly pressed) and made primarily in North America circa 1895-1910 and then again as kitchen glassware in the 1930s-1950s. The leading producer was Northwood Glass, but was also produced by many others including Heisey, Tarentum, Dithridge, U.S. Glass, McKee, etc. Custard glass gets its unique color from uranium oxide, making it an uranium glass as well.
D. Depression Glass
Depression Glass was produced in the United States during the Great Depression years of the 1920s-1930s and was generally made by machines in many different colors. Depression Glass products consisted mainly of tableware and kitchenware by Anchor Hocking Glass Company, Hazel Atlas, Jeannette Glass, and the Federal Glass Company. The most common colors were amber, blue, black, crystal, green, pink, red, yellow, and white. Depression glass was often given away as a promotional item for other items purchased. It was also given out in cereal boxes or flour sacks, and at the movie theater, gas stations, and grocery stores. Depression Glass is supremely popular among collectors today.
E. Elegant Glassware
Elegant glassware was produced parallel from Depression Glass because it was a higher quality pressed glass. Many times it will feature a ground pontil and has been fire polished. Elegant Glassware was produced mainly by Heisey, Cambridge, Fostoria, and Imperial Glassworks Ohio and was sold through jewelry and department stores and was often given as a wedding gift.
F. Flash-On Color Glass
Flashing is the application or fusing of a very thin coating of colored glass over a gather of clear or a different colored glass. These layers are then blown together into a desired form. Ruby Flashed Glassware like the examples below was also called Ruby Stained Glass and was popular in the US from the 1890s- to the late 1920s. It became a popular glassware to be sold at fairs and train stations. It was often personalized to include the year and a name.
G. Goofus Glass
Goofus Glass is an American term for pressed glass that has been decorated with unfired enamel paint in the early 20th century. Products made included plates, bowls, vases, oil lamps, dresser sets, salt and pepper shakers and candleholders. Common colors seen included red, green, and gold, with gold being the most popular. Major companies that produced Goofus Glass included the Indiana Glass Company, Dugan Glass, and H. Northwood. Goofus Glass excludes milk glass and other glassware items produced after the 1930s.
H. Hand Blown Glass
Hand Blown Glass is produced using a technique that dates back to the first century B.C. and involves inflating molten glass with a blowpipe to form a soft glass bubble that can be molded into glassware for practical or artistic purposes. It is generally thinner and more graceful in its appearance than machine made glass. Hand blown glass will not have a seam and may also have bubbles present and visible.
I. Iridescent Glass
Iridescent Glass is similar to carnival glass but with less restrictions. Carnival glass must have a visible and noticeable iridescent sheen that is different from its base color. So all carnival glass is iridescent glass, but not all iridescent glass is also considered to be carnival glass. Common colors of iridescent glass included marigold, amber, amethyst, green, and blue. Peach, red, aqua, and milk glass were considered to be more rare colors of iridescent glass.
J. Jadeite
Jadeite, or Fire King Jadeite, was a type of opaque creamy green jade colored milk glass glassware produced in the United States in the mid 20th century. A light blue variety of jadeite called "azur-ite" was also in production for several years by Anchor Hocking. Other companies that produced jadeite glassware were Jeannette Glass Co. and the McKee Glass Company. Supposedly the bright cheerful shade of green was meant to brighten people's dark lives during the Great Depression. Some jadeite glassware is also considered to be a uranium glass and will glow a neon green color when exposed to the light from a UV blacklight. Both McKee and Jeannette Glass used uranium oxide in their jadeite formulas.
K. Kitchen Glass
Glassware products such as Glasbake, Pyrex, and Corning are the ones we are most often referring to when we use the term kitchen glass. During the Depression years however, both Hazel Atlas and Anchor Hocking produced many kitchenware items from Depression Glass. Later in the 1940s and 1950s, Fire King Jadeite as well as Fire King milk glass were often used to produce kitchen items.
L. Lucite
(Okay, I know Lucite isn't vintage glass, but it is vintage and it looks similar right?)
Lucite is an early plastic, however unlike other early plastics such as Bakelite and celluloid, it is still widely used today. In her vintage days, Lucite was all the rage in jewelry and home decor and jewelry boxes and makeup containers. Today Lucite is most often used in windows.
M. Milk Glass
Milk Glass was first created in Venice in the 16th century. Milk Glass can be opaque or translucent, although most milk glass is what collectors call "dead white" meaning it has zero translucency. Milk glass that does have translucency is sometimes called "alabaster", "clambroth", or "opalescent". 19th century glassmakers called it "opal glass" and it was available in several other colors besides white including, black, pink, blue, yellow, and brown. It can be blown or pressed into a variety of different glassware shapes.
N. Novelty Glass
Novelty glass can be any type of glassware not intended for everyday use or a piece with exaggerated design or one not meant for actual use or for functionality. Akro Agate made children's hostess dish sets which have often been referred to as novelty glass.
O. Opalescent Glass
Opalescent is a generalized term for clear or colored glass with a milky white opaque or translucent effect that extends either to the rim or the center of the glassware piece. French glassmakers like Lalique and Sabino, as well as England's Jobling all became well-known for their art deco opalescent glass productions. The production method for making opalescent glass involves the slow cooling of the thicker areas of a glassware piece, which will result in crystallization. Fenton Glass Company created many different pieces in the opalescent style.
P. Pressed Glass
Pressed Glass is a molded glass that can be made either by hand or using machines. The method of creating pressed glass was first patented by an American inventor named John P. Bakewell in 1825. It was first used as a way to created knobs for furniture. Both carnival glass and goofus glass are types of pressed glassware. A tell-tale sign of an object being pressed glass is presence of a seam where the glass was pressed together. Pressed glass made by the Boston Sandwich Company can be quite valuable.
Q. Antique Glass Bottles
Antique Bottles were made in a variety of methods including pressed glass and mouth blown glass methods. In the 1800s, tools which eliminated the need for a pontil mark were invented. Key Molds were used from 1855-1875 and they would produce a semi-circle mark on the base of a bottle. Cup Mold bases are seen from about the year 1900 and the most commonly found base is the push up base of wine bottles. Screw caps would indicate the bottle was most likely made after the era of machine made bottles.
R. Reproductions
Depression glass as well as antique bottles are two types of reproductions often found. "Cherry Blossom" is the most widely reproduced depression glass pattern. Some tips to avoid reproduction glass would be to familiarize yourself with the most well known and widely reproduced patterns, use a reference guide, and be mindful of reissues, such as the "Madrid Recollection" series. Usually fakes will be slightly heavier or the color might be slightly off. Most counterfeits will have an imperfection that makes recognizing them easier. A helpful resource in identifying vintage and antique reproductions is the website, Real or Repro.
S. Swung Glass
Swung Glass is a Mid Century Modern glassware type that can be seen used in the production of vases, candy dishes, and decanters. The popular vases made by Viking Glass, L.E. Smith and Fenton Glass Company are great examples of swung glass. The effect is achieved when the hot glass is literally swung and as it cools the edges are allowed to "free-form" to become the shapes that collectors have come to adore.
T. Tiffany Favrile Glass
Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of the most influential figures of the Art Nouveau period and introduced his Favrile Glass at the 1900 Paris Exposition, where he was awarded the grand prize. Favrile, which gets its name from the word 'fabrile', which means handmade, is an iridescent glass patented by Tiffany in 1894 and first manufactured in Queens, NY in 1896. Products made using this type of glass include lamps, chandeliers, vases, bowls, and candy dishes. Favrile glass earned Tiffany worldwide recognition with because its colors were so distinct. This was due to the method of embedding the glass's color within the actual glass itself. Favrile glass was inspired by medieval stained glass in London.
U. Uranium Glass
Uranium glass refers to a glassware object that has had uranium oxide added to its mixture before melting to affect its colorization. Uranium was discovered in 1789 by a German chemist and not long after that it was being added to glassware for its fluorescent effects, although its use can be traced all the way back to 79 AD. Uranium glass was first marketed by James Powell's Whitefriars Glass Co. of London and was most popular from 1880 to the 1920s. The uranium found in uranium glass varies from containing only trace amounts to about 2% uranium, although some 20th century examples contain as much as 25% uranium. Uranium glass began to fall in popularity when its use in glassmaking was banned as a result of the Manhattan Project from 1942-1958.
There are several types of uranium glass including depression glass, Vaseline glass, Burmese glass, custard glass, jadeite, and some cobalt blue glassware.
V. Vaseline Glass
Vaseline glass is a greenish-yellow neon hued glass that has been produced as glassware since 1830. named after the popular brand of petroleum jelly of the same color. Vaseline glass contains uranium oxide, therefore it is a type of uranium glass. The name Vaseline glass was given to the glowing glassware in the 1930s. Like other types of uranium glass, Vaseline glass glows green when exposed to UV blacklight. Although, it is radioactive and will register on a Geiger counter, it is regarded as safe. In the UK and Australia, Vaseline glass refers to any type of translucent glass. Vaseline glass is responsible for inspiring the motto, " If it doesn't glow green, it's not Vaseline!"
W. Wedgwood Jasperware
Wedgwood Jasperware is technically a stoneware that received its name as a result of the similarities between it and the natural stone, jasper and the hardness of each one. Jasperware is a fine grained, unglazed stoneware introduced by an English Potter, named Josiah Wedgwood. It resulted from a series of over 5000 failed experiments which had been an effort to determine had started as a an attempt to determine the method for producing porcelain. To clean vintage Wedgwood, use warm soapy water and a soft nail brush or toothbrush and then rinse and allow to air-dry. Also be sure that you never use vintage jasperware in the microwave, refrigerator, oven, or dishwasher. To do so can cause severe cracking of the piece. If you are looking for more information on vintage Wedgwood or its current products (which are still made in Staffordshire, England), a helpful resource can be found by clicking here.
X, Y, Z...
I hope you enjoyed this week's post on the "ABC's of Vintage Glass", and that you'll come back next week for another post on vintage glassware! Be sure to subscribe to the blog so that you don't miss a post. And be sure to check out the new weekly feature Think Ya Know? Thursdays.
In case you don't already know, the March 30% off sale is going all on month long at TheVintageVixenShop and to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, if it's green, it's on sale! No exclusions and no minimum purchase amount. And yes- that means uranium glass is on sale all month long! And as always, we are proud to provide free shipping with every order!
Until then, Happy Hunting!
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