Collectors of Depression Glass find not only its beautifulcolors fascinating, but its patterns, as well. With manyglass producers making this type of glass, as you canimagine, many patterns resulted, creating a wide array ofpretty, practical, and inexpensive glassware affordable toevery American household in that lean era of history andmaking Depression Glass one of the most collectible itemstoday.
Of the many glass manufacturers that produced DepressionGlass, seven of them became major players in the field,creating a total of 92 designs. Below you’ll find somehistory, some trivia, some folklore, and some interestingcharacteristics about several of these designs.
Pattern: Cameo
This Depression Glass design, sometimes referred to asBallerina or Dancing Girl, gets its name from the tinydancer found on all its pieces. Some claim the HockingGlass Company that manufactured Cameo glass created thepattern to honor the legendary modern dancer of the 1920s,Isadora Duncan, who tragically died when her long trailingscarf, of which she’d made her personal trademark, chokedher to death when it wrapped around the wheel of her movingBugatti roadster.
Duncan died in 1927, and the Cameo pattern came into beingin 1930, continuing to be produced until 1934, so the storycould very well be true. Regardless of the inspiration forthis pattern of Depression Glass, it continues as a muchsought-after design. Hocking made most Cameo glass ingreen, but pink, yellow, and – more rarely – crystal, whichcan occasionally still be found.
Pattern: Avocado
First produced in 1923, the Avocado or “Sweet Pear” patternclaims its fame for being the very first 'true' Depression Glassdesign. Made by the Indiana Glass Company, Avocado piecesin the form of pitchers prove to be the most difficult tofind, possibly because of this pattern’s age. Indianacontinued manufacturing Avocado for 10 years, until thecompany retired this Art Nouveau-type design in 1933.
Pattern: Royal Lace
The Hazel-Atlas Glass Company began producing Royal Laceduring 1934 as a set consisting of 28 pieces. Today, RoyalLace holds the honor of being some of the costliest Depressionglass that collectors covet. Hazel-Atlas manufactured RoyalLace in crystal (clear) and in five colors: green, yellow,pink, blue, and burgundy. The most desirable colorconsistently proves to be the blue, called Ritz Blue by thecompany, which actually came about as an economic accident.
When General Mills ended a deal with Hazel-Atlas’ usingblue-colored glass in a Shirley Temple promotional campaignin 1936, Hazel-Atlas simply poured the leftover vats ofmolten blue glass into its existing Royal Lace molds toavoid wasting it. An instant success resulted. Blue RoyalLace Depression Glass reigns to this day as 1 of the most soughtafter and is now 1 of the most expensive of all the otherDepression Glass patterns.
These samplings of interesting Depression Glass trivia makecollecting it all that more appealing. After all, how manyother pieces of glassware can be found in people’s homesthat come with a ready-made story – at least those peoplein the median income range (We’re not talking Tiffany orLalique here!)? And these have been gleaned from a meresampling of the plethora of Depression Glass designs thathave survived over the years. Imagine what stories can befound!
The next time you gaze at that lovely piece of Depressionglass resting in the window of your favorite antique dealeror – if you’re lucky – sitting on a dusty shelf at a fleamarket 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
http://www.depressionglasssecrets.com/DPweb-articles/depression-glass-patterns.htm
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