Depression glass
Encyclopedia
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The Quaker Oats Company
Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
, and other food manufacturers and distributors, put a piece of glassware in boxes of food, as an incentive to purchase. Movie theaters and businesses would hand out a piece simply for coming in the door.
Most of this glassware was made in the central and mid-west United States, where access to raw materials and power made manufacturing inexpensive in the first half of the twentieth century. More than twenty manufacturers made more than 100 patterns, and entire dinner sets were made in some patterns. Common colors are clear (crystal), pink, pale blue, green, and amber. Less common colors include yellow (canary), ultra marine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, red (ruby & royal ruby), black, amethyst, monax, and white (milk glass).
Although of marginal quality, Depression glass has been highly collectible since the 1960s. Due to its popularity as a collectible
Collectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
, Depression glass is becoming more scarce on the open market. Scarce pieces may sell for several hundred dollars. Some manufacturers continued to make popular patterns after World War II, or introduced similar patterns, which are also collectible. Popular and expensive patterns and pieces have been reproduced, and reproductions are still being made.
Depression Glass Manufacturers and patterns
- Anchor Hocking Glass CompanyAnchor HockingAnchor Hocking Glass Corporation is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob Collins. That company merged with the AnchorCap and Closure Corporations in 1937. Anchor Hocking is primarily located in Lancaster, Ohio...
- Manhattan
- Oyster and Pearl
- Queen Mary
- Royal Ruby
- Belmont Tumbler Company
- Bowknot
- Rose Cameo
- Dell Glass Company
- Tulip
- Diamond Glass-Ware Company
- Victory
- Economy
- Round Robin
- Federal Glass Company
- Colonial Fluted
- Columbia
- Diana
- Georgian
- Madrid
- Mayfair
- Normandie
- Optic Paneled
- Parrot
- Patrician
- Raindrops
- Rosemary
- Sharon
- Twisted Optic
- Fry Glass
- Hazel-Atlas Glass CompanyHazel-Atlas Glass CompanyThe Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was a large producer of machine-molded glass containers headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania, as the merger of four companies:...
http://www.hazelatlasglass.com- Aurora
- Beehive
- Cloverleaf
- Colony
- Colonial Block
- Crisscross
- Florentine No.1
- Florentine No.2
- Fruits
- Moderntone
- New Century
- Newport
- Ovide
- Ribbon
- Roxana
- Royal Lace
- Ships
- Starlight
- Wagon Wheel
- Hocking Glass Company
- Ballerina
- Block Optic
- Circle
- Colonial
- Coronation
- Fire-King dinnerware
- Philbe
- Fortune
- Hobnail
- Lake Como
- Mayfair
- Miss America
- Old Cafe
- Old Colony
- Princess
- Ring
- Roulette
- Spiral
- Vitrock
- Waterford
- Imperial Glass CompanyImperial Glass CompanyThe Imperial Glass Company is located in Bellaire, Ohio with a factory located on 29th Street and the offices located on Belmont Street. The factory was razed in 1995 to make room for commercial development and the Belmont Street location was transformed into a museum known as the National Imperial...
- Beaded Block
- Diamond Quilted
- Laced Edge
- Little Jewel
- Molly
- Twisted Optic
- Indiana Glass Company
- Avocado
- Cracked Ice
- Indiana Custard
- Lorain
- No.610, Pyramid
- No.612, Horseshoe
- No.616, Vernon
- No.618, Pineapple and Floral
- Old English
- Sandwich
- Tea Room
- Jeannette Glass Company
- Adam
- Cherry Blossom
- Cube
- Doric
- Doric and Pansy
- Floral
- Hex Optic
- Homespun
- Iris
- Sierra
- Sunburst
- Sunflower
- Swirl
- Windsor
- JenkinsJenkinsJenkins may refer to:People with the surname Jenkins:*Jenkins *The Jenkins, country music groupIn places in the US:*Jenkins, Kentucky*Jenkins, Minnesota*Jenkins County, Georgia*Jenkins Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota...
- Ocean Wave
- Lancaster Glass Company
- Jubilee
- Landrum
- Patrick
- Liberty Works
- American Pioneer
- MacBeth-Evans Glass CompanyMacbeth-Evans Glass CompanyThe Macbeth-Evans Glass Company was an American glass company that created very fine glassware with beautiful designs but is famous for making depression glass....
- American Sweetheart
- Chinex Classic
- Cremax
- Dogwood
- Petalware
- S Pattern
- Thistle
- McKee Glass Company
- Laurel
- Rock Crystal
- Paden City Glass Company
- Cupid
- Gothic Garden
- Orchid
- Peacock and Wild Rose
- Peacock Reverse
- L. E. Smith Glass Company
- By Cracky
- Mt. Pleasante
- Pebbled Rim
- Romanesque
- U.S. Glass Company
- Aunt Polly
- Cherryberry
- Floral and Diamond Band
- Flower Garden with Butterflies
- Primo
- Strawberry
- Swirl
- Westmoreland Glass CompanyWestmoreland Glass CompanyThe Westmoreland Glass Company was founded in 1889 when a group of men from the Specialty Glass Company in East Liverpool, Ohio migrated to Grapeville, Pennsylvania. The property had a large source of natural gas. The company was run by two brothers, George and Charles West. Its main production was...
- Della Robbia
- English Hobnail
- Woolworth
Elegant glass
Often confused with Depression Glass is Elegant glassElegant glass
Elegant Glass is high quality glassware created in the United States during the Depression Era. It was sold for high prices in department stores and given as wedding gifts. When new, Elegant Glass would cost more than its oft-confused counterpart, Depression glass, because it was at least partially...
, of much better quality, and was distributed through jewelry and department stores. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers had closed by the end of the 1950s, and cheap glassware and imported china replaced Elegant glass.
- Cambridge Glass Company
- Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company
- Duncan Miller Glass Company
- Fenton Art Glass CompanyFenton Art Glass CompanyThe Fenton Art Glass Company was founded in 1905 by brothers Frank L. Fenton and John W. Fenton in an old glass factory in Martins Ferry, Ohio. Originally, they painted glass blanks from other glass makers, but started making their own glass when they were unable to buy the glass they needed. They...
- Fostoria Glass CompanyFostoria Glass CompanyThe Fostoria Glass Company manufactured pressed, blown and hand-molded glassware and tableware for almost 90 years. It began operations in Fostoria, Ohio, USA, on December 15, 1887, at South Vine Street, near Railroad, on free land donated by the townspeople...
- Heisey Glass CompanyHeisey Glass CompanyThe A.H. Heisey Company was formed in Newark, Ohio, in 1895 by A.H. Heisey. The factory provided fine quality glass tableware and decorative glass figurines...
- Imperial Glass CompanyImperial Glass CompanyThe Imperial Glass Company is located in Bellaire, Ohio with a factory located on 29th Street and the offices located on Belmont Street. The factory was razed in 1995 to make room for commercial development and the Belmont Street location was transformed into a museum known as the National Imperial...
- Lotus Glass Company
- McKee Glass Company
- Morgantown Glass Works
- New Martinsville Glass CompanyNew Martinsville Glass CompanyThe New Martinsville Glass Company was an American manufacturer of decorative glass products. It opened in 1901 in New Martinsville, West Virginia. The company was renowned for the use of color in their glassware. They initially made tableware but quickly expanded into vanities, bare ware, lamps,...
- Paden City Glass Company
- Tiffin Glass Company
- Westmoreland Glass CompanyWestmoreland Glass CompanyThe Westmoreland Glass Company was founded in 1889 when a group of men from the Specialty Glass Company in East Liverpool, Ohio migrated to Grapeville, Pennsylvania. The property had a large source of natural gas. The company was run by two brothers, George and Charles West. Its main production was...
See also
- Carnival glassCarnival glassCarnival glass is moulded or pressed glass, always with a pattern and always with a shiny, metallic, 'iridescent' surface shimmer.The keys to its appeal were that it looked superficially like the very much finer and very much more expensive blown iridescent glass by Tiffany, Loetz and others and...
- Goofus glassGoofus glassGoofus glass is pressed glass which was decorated with cold, unfired paint in the early 20th century in America by several prominent glass factories. Because it was mass-produced and relatively cheap, it was given as a premium for buying things, awarded as prizes at fairs...
- Elegant GlassElegant glassElegant Glass is high quality glassware created in the United States during the Depression Era. It was sold for high prices in department stores and given as wedding gifts. When new, Elegant Glass would cost more than its oft-confused counterpart, Depression glass, because it was at least partially...
- Milk glassMilk glassMilk glass is an opaque or translucent, milky white or colored glass, blown or pressed into a wide variety of shapes.First made in Venice in the 16th century, colors include blue, pink, yellow, brown, black, and the white that led to its popular name....
- Pressed glassPressed glassPressed glass is a form of glass made using a plunger to press molten glass into a mold. It was first patented by American inventor John P. Bakewell in 1825 to make knobs for furniture....
- Satin glassSatin glassSatin glass is the name for any glass that has been chemically treated to give it a satin finish. The term "satin glass" is frequently used to refer to a collectible type of pressed glass.Satin glass can be used for decorative items...
- Hazel-Atlas Glass CompanyHazel-Atlas Glass CompanyThe Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was a large producer of machine-molded glass containers headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania, as the merger of four companies:...
- Vaseline glassUranium glassUranium glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix before melting. The proportion usually varies from trace levels to about 2% by weight uranium, although some 19th-century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium.Uranium glass was once made into...