Depression glass is

glassware upTypical drinkware. This list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware), tableware used to set a table for eating a meal and generally glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory ...

made in the period 1929–1939, often clear or colored

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...

machine-made glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

around the time of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Depression glass is so called because collectors generally associate mass-produced glassware in pink, yellow, crystal, green, and blue with the Great Depression in America.

History

The

Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and ...

, and other food manufacturers and distributors, put a piece of glassware in boxes of food, as an incentive to purchase. Some movie theaters and businesses handed out pieces to patrons. Most of this glassware was made in the Ohio River Valley of the United States, where access to raw materials and power made manufacturing inexpensive in the first half of the 20th 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), ultramarine,

jadeite Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition Na Al Si2 O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, but is most often found in shades ...

(opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, red (ruby and royal ruby), black, amethyst, monax, and white (milk glass). Some depression glass is uranium glass. Although of marginal quality, Depression glass has been highly collectible since the 1960s. Due to its popularity as a

collectible A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

, it is becoming more scarce on the open market. Rare 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.

Manufacturers and patterns

* Anchor Hocking Glass Company **Forest Green **Manhattan **Oyster and Pearl **Queen Mary **Royal Ruby **Teardrop and Dot * 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 Company **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 Company **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 **Park Lane **Sandwich **Tea Room * Jeannette Glass Company **Adam **Cherry Blossom **Cube **Doric **Doric and Pansy **Floral **Hex Optic **Homespun **Iris **Sierra **Sunburst **Sunflower **Swirl **Windsor * Jenkins **Ocean Wave * Lancaster Glass Company **Jubilee **Landrum **Patrick * Liberty Works **American Pioneer * MacBeth-Evans Glass Company ** 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 Company **Della Robbia **English Hobnail **Woolworth Fluorescent Uranium Depression Glass

Elegant glass

A prominent sub-category of Depression Glass, Elegant glass, is of considerably better quality, often including polished mold seams, and hand-decoration such as cut patterns, etched patterns, and painted patterns. It was distributed through jewelry and department stores from the 1920s and continuing after the Great Depression through the 1950s, and was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers had closed by the end of the 1950s, when cheap glassware and imported china replaced Elegant glass. Some Elegant glass manufacturers were: * Cambridge Glass Company * Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company * Duncan Miller Glass Company * Fenton Art Glass Company * Fostoria Glass Company * Heisey Glass Company * Imperial Glass Company * Lotus Glass Company * McKee Glass Company * Morgantown Glass Works * New Martinsville Glass Company * Paden City Glass Company * Tiffin Glass Company * Westmoreland Glass Company

References

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External links

National Depression Glass AssociationConsolidated Lamp & Glass Co History
Depression glass identification:
ChatAboutDG Glass Pattern Database

Brief summary on Depression glass
Collecting Great Depression History of glass Retro style Nostalgia in the United States Glass types

History

Manufacturers and patterns

Elegant glass

See also

References

External links