Depression Glass Companies

By Murray Hughes

Just before the advent of the Great Depression, more than a hundred companies manufactured glassware in the United States. At the end of the Depression, fewer than fifty percent of these companies remained in business. Of these companies, seven became major players in the production of Depression glass, and these seven companies utilized a little more than 90 patterns to decorate their wares. Indiana Glass, Hocking, Federal, U.S. Glass, Jeanette Glass, MacBeth-Evans, and Hazel-Atlas manufactured hundreds of thousands of pieces of this popular and inexpensive glass, creating a bright spot in the lives of everyday, working-class people during a grim epoch of American history.

Before Depression glass came along, colored and patterned glass existed, but only for the wealthy. Because the beautifully hued and intricately designed glassware of the times was hand-blown, and the cost of manufacturing such pieces proved prohibitive for most people, this type of glass was simply out of reach for many households. However, with the invention of mass-produced, machine-pressed glassware that produced colors and patterns – albeit ridden with flaws such as air bubbles and mold marks – a new versatility in glassware could be made available to households all over America. Because of this, even the poorest families could now have cheerful pieces from which to serve their meals, hold sugar, salt, pepper, and other condiments, contain candy, and more – even to shake their martinis, if they could scrape up the money for the bathtub-made gin!

Adam, Cherry Blossom, Iris and Herringbone, Sierra (Pinwheel), and Windsor make up some of the most popular and now-sought-after patterns produced by the Jeanette Glass Company from 1928 through the 1970s. From 1932 to 1942, Federal created such designs as the Sharon (Cabbage Rose), Rosemary (Dutch Rose), Madrid, and Columbia that fetch top-market prices today.

Anchor Hocking came into being when Anchor Cap and Closure merged with Hocking Glass in 1937, so when you see “Hocking” and “Anchor Hocking” you know you are looking at pre- and post-1937 pieces, respectively. Some of the patterns considered highly collectible today from Hocking include Coronation (banded rib), Fortune, Old Café, Princess, and Waterford. Anchor Hocking created such well-loved designs as the Manhattan (horizontal ribbed) design along with the Oyster and Pearl pattern.

Hazel-Atlas Glass Company introduced Florentine #2 (Poppy), Hairpin (Newport) and Moderntone, while MacBeth Evans brought American Sweetheart and Petalware onto the market.

These patterns touch on only a few of the most popular and sought after patterns that today’s collectors seek – many more exist from these and other glass manufacturers to entice and fascinate avid Depression glass aficionados the world over.

Many of the glass companies – at least those that survived the Great Depression – maintain museums in which interested parties can learn much more about Depression glass and the businesses that supplied it. Credit must be given to these glass manufacturers for providing something simple and low-priced yet delightfully appealing to a grateful public at a time when such items were few and far between.

So when you admire a piece of Depression glass, there’s a good chance that very same piece may have uplifted a family in what was an otherwise bleak time. And now you’ll know when you see this prettily colored or clear and patterned glass, that it’s much more than “just another pretty face!”

Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

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Is There Money To Be Made In Depression Glass

By Murray Hughes

You’ve seen the shows on television. You’ve watched the auctions online. You’ve read the stories in the newspaper.

There always seems to be someone somewhere with an old dish they’ve found in the corner of their attic that they were just about to throw away or donate to a thrift shop when someone advised them to have an expert take a look at it, or to put it up for auction online, or to place it somewhere for whatever you can get as long as it pays for your advertisement. And lo and behold! What they thought was fodder for the trash can or Goodwill turns out to be the rarest piece of glassware this side of the Atlantic, and they’ve not only paid for their advertising – they’ve got no more financial worries for the remainder of their lives!

Hearing such a story, I can guarantees it was not Depression Glass. While money can be made, given it was mass produced by many companies for a number of years and can still be bought and sold in many locations, it may be another couple of hundred years before a single piece can put you on easy street!

But the very fact that professional dealers exist is an indication that money can be made in the buying and selling of Depression Glass. And knowing the value of each piece in your collection can have other purposes.

There are times when knowing what your pieces are worth serves a practical purpose. Suppose your agent needs to know for loss-coverage purposes. Or maybe you’ve decided to get out of the Depression glass hobby and need to know an intelligent amount to place on your Depression glass pieces before you put them on the market. Or someone wanting to purchase a piece may approach you, and you need to know what amount to accept. Conversely, you may also be interested in acquiring a piece and need to have some idea of an amount that won't sound ridiculous. These are all valid reasons to know what your Depression glassware will bring on the current market. And that’s the rub – the current market.

The current market is relative to several things, which make price-guide books just that – guides. The best books can only give us ballpark figures because so many other things affect what we can or can’t get for a piece of Depression glass. Where in the country -- or the world -- you’re located, the supply and demand for whatever piece or pieces you’re buying or selling, and, of course, the rarity and condition of the glassware you’re interested in – all these factor in to determine current market conditions.

Another thing to always remember is this bottom line: Anything – whatever it may be – is worth whatever you are willing to give for it or to sell it for. It all boils down to how badly you want that Blue Ritz Royal Lace piece – or how badly you want to get rid of it.

So go ahead and get your hands on the most current guidebook. Study up on what people are giving and getting for pieces you’re interested in. Talk to an expert, if you can. Afterward, use that information as a tool and a guideline, only. And then go purchase or sell that Depression glass piece and get your feet wet in the marketplace.

There’s no greater teacher than experience! Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

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Depression Glass Patterns

By Murray Hughes

Collectors of Depression Glass find not only its beautiful colors fascinating, but its patterns, as well. With many glass producers making this type of glass, as you can imagine, many patterns resulted, creating a wide array of pretty, practical, and inexpensive glassware affordable to every American household in that lean era of history and making Depression Glass one of the most collectible items today.

Of the many glass manufacturers that produced Depression Glass, seven of them became major players in the field, creating a total of 92 designs. Below you’ll find some history, some trivia, some folklore, and some interesting characteristics about several of these designs.

Pattern: Cameo

This Depression Glass design, sometimes referred to as Ballerina or Dancing Girl, gets its name from the tiny dancer found on all its pieces. Some claim the Hocking Glass Company that manufactured Cameo glass created the pattern to honor the legendary modern dancer of the 1920s, Isadora Duncan, who tragically died when her long trailing scarf, of which she’d made her personal trademark, choked her to death when it wrapped around the wheel of her moving Bugatti roadster.

Duncan died in 1927, and the Cameo pattern came into being in 1930, continuing to be produced until 1934, so the story could very well be true. Regardless of the inspiration for this pattern of Depression Glass, it continues as a much sought-after design. Hocking made most Cameo glass in green, but pink, yellow, and – more rarely – crystal, which can occasionally still be found.

Pattern: Avocado

First produced in 1923, the Avocado or “Sweet Pear” pattern claims its fame for being the very first 'true' Depression Glass design. Made by the Indiana Glass Company, Avocado pieces in the form of pitchers prove to be the most difficult to find, possibly because of this pattern’s age. Indiana continued manufacturing Avocado for 10 years, until the company retired this Art Nouveau-type design in 1933.

Pattern: Royal Lace

The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company began producing Royal Lace during 1934 as a set consisting of 28 pieces. Today, Royal Lace holds the honor of being some of the costliest Depression glass that collectors covet. Hazel-Atlas manufactured Royal Lace in crystal (clear) and in five colors: green, yellow, pink, blue, and burgundy. The most desirable color consistently proves to be the blue, called Ritz Blue by the company, which actually came about as an economic accident.

When General Mills ended a deal with Hazel-Atlas’ using blue-colored glass in a Shirley Temple promotional campaign in 1936, Hazel-Atlas simply poured the leftover vats of molten blue glass into its existing Royal Lace molds to avoid wasting it. An instant success resulted. Blue Royal Lace Depression Glass reigns to this day as 1 of the most sought after and is now 1 of the most expensive of all the other Depression Glass patterns.

These samplings of interesting Depression Glass trivia make collecting it all that more appealing. After all, how many other pieces of glassware can be found in people’s homes that come with a ready-made story – at least those people in the median income range (We’re not talking Tiffany or Lalique here!)? And these have been gleaned from a mere sampling of the plethora of Depression Glass designs that have survived over the years. Imagine what stories can be found!

The next time you gaze at that lovely piece of Depression glass resting in the window of your favorite antique dealer or – if you’re lucky – sitting on a dusty shelf at a flea market just waiting for you to discover it, remember: Whatever pattern it is, a good chance exists that it, too, will have a fascinating history.

So take a chance. Buy it!

Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

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Depression Glass Trivia

By Murray Hughes

Depression glass facts make for interesting conversation, especially when you’re at a convention or talking amongst other Depression glass aficionados. So here are a few items to get you started so you, too, can have some meaningful knowledge to put on the plate when you and your Depression glass collector friends gather ‘round and chat.

English Hobnail leads the pack as the design with around the most available pieces still out there for collectors. Westmoreland Glass Company produced the English Hobnail pattern from the late 1920s to the 1980s, with the Depression-era pieces made in eight different colors. In total, 175 pieces of this particular design were created.

Rose Cameo, conversely, holds the record for the least number of pieces available in a pattern. The Belmont Tumbler Company held the patent for Rose Cameo, and only six pieces of this design made it to the marketplace: a plate, a footed sherbet, a footed tumbler, a berry bowl, and a 5-inch and 6-inch bowl. Because Belmont manufactured only tumblers and was trying to recover from a massive fire, experts speculate the actual production of this rare design happened at the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, only a few miles away. A six-piece set of tumblers – the pattern was only made in green – in mint condition can be had for between $150 and $175 (prices may have changed since I wrote this).

The Jeanette Glass Company breaks all records for coming up with the most patterns. Jeanette made 11 patterns of Depression glass between 1928 and 1946: Sunburst, Homespun, Swirl, Doric and Pansy, Windsor, Sunflower, Doric, Adam, Sierra, Floral, and Cherry Blossom.

And then at the other end of the spectrum, the Fenton Glass Company produced only a single pattern of Depression glass – the Lincoln Inn.

Of the 200+ patterns of Depression glass created, footed salt and pepper shakers from Hocking’s Mayfair design demand some of the very highest prices. Don't flinch when (or if) you have a close encounter with one: They go for more than $9,000, which makes them 1 of the most expensive items of all Depression glass patterns at the time of writing this article.

Hazel-Atlas produced the Aurora pattern in beautiful cobalt blue for one year only – from 1937 to 1938.

Jeanette and Federal glass companies manufactured the two most reproduced patterns, Cherry Blossom and Madrid. Jeanette produced 43 pieces of the Cherry Blossom design from 1930 to 1939 in five colors. Federal’s Madrid output numbered 45 pieces in five colors from 1932 to 1939. The popularity of these designs, of course, made reproductions impossible to avoid, but also makes the original Depression-era versions that much harder to detect.

This article, perhaps, may inspire you to dig deeper and find out even more about the Depression glass products we’ve all come to love. Hopefully, with these bits and pieces of trivia, you’ve learned something you didn’t already know. If you haven’t, then you need to be writing your own articles on Depression glass trivia and enlightening the rest of us! But if you have benefited, you can safely know that the next time you’re sitting next to that 40-year collector at convention, you, too, have more comments to make than just about “all those pretty, Depression glass colors!”

Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

http://www.depressionglasssecrets.com/DPweb-articles/depression-glass-trivia.htm

If you enjoyed this article by Murray Hughes, then visit http:Depression Glass History now and enrol in the free Depression Glass course "The 5 Essential Steps To Becoming A Depression Glass Collector" For AOL users: Depression Glass Secrets

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Collecting Depression Glass - Where to Start

By Murray Hughes

Okay, so you’ve been bitten by the Depression Glass bug, and those pretty patterns and pastel colors beckon you from the shelves of an antique dealer’s shop, a friend’s home, or maybe you’ve even discovered this special glassware on the Internet. How ever it’s come about that you’ve developed a yen for Depression Glass, you need to know where and how to start collecting it – unless you’re made of money, have oodles of time on your hands, and don’t care whether you get the real thing or not. But if you’re like most of us, and those things don’t apply to you, here are a few tips to get you started on the road to what may very well become a fascinating and lifelong hobby.

Step 1

– Buy the latest edition of the book, The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass by Gene Florence that boasts a recommendation from the National Depression Glass Association. Mr. Florence’s comprehensive book covers all the known patterns with photographs and current price listings, short histories of the manufacturers, information on detecting fakes and reproduction pieces, along with the production dates and colors of each design. All this, including the author’s own personal anecdotes about this addictive hobby, make this book not only one of the most useful tools from which to learn about Depression Glass, but turns learning about the subject into entertainment, as well.

Step 2

– Go to glass shows and conventions, join Depression Glass clubs, and visit antique shops in your area that carry it. It’s imperative to learn about this type of glass from hands-on knowledge in order to get a true feel of how it looks “in person.” Soon you’ll learn many, if not all, the colors and patterns, and be able to distinguish reproductions – most commonly made in Mexico and India – from the genuine article. Color, patterns, weight, mold markings – even the bubbles – of real Depression Glass hold a uniqueness all their own.

Step 3

– Subscribe to magazines, newsletters, and other periodicals that focus on collecting Depression Glass. The National Depression Glass Association offers an online newsletter subscription on its site at www.ndga.net, and Collector’s News, a print magazine, frequently features articles of interest to Depression Glass fans.

Step 4

– Meet and make friends with an expert! There’s nothing like having a mentor to guide you when you’re in the process of learning something new – especially about Depression Glass. Such tips as learning to use your tactile sense of feel to detect chips and cracks, holding a piece up to the light to help determine its authenticity, and other helpful information usually come from personal relationships. Attending shows, joining clubs, and visiting antique shops all provide opportunities to make friends with people who’ve been involved in collecting Depression Glass – some for as long as 40 or 50 years.

The most important thing to remember when you begin your Depression Glass hobby, however, is to have fun! Even if you do make a mistake, get occasionally “rooked” with a fake, or buy or sell something you later regret, you’ll always have the experience of appreciating an interesting and fascinating hobby. And then, when you do make the find of your life – well, that’s what it’s all about! All those “mistakes” soon become laughable, fond memories when you proudly display your wonderful Depression Glass discovery!

So get out there and make your start today or look for the next beautiful piece to add to your growing collection.

Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

http://www.depressionglasssecrets.com/DPweb-articles/collecting-depression-glass.htm

If you enjoyed this article by Murray Hughes, then visit Depression Glass Identification now and enrol in the free Depression Glass course "The 5 Essential Steps To Becoming A Depression Glass Collector" For AOL users: Depression Glass Patterns

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