Depression Glass Trivia

Depression glass facts make for interesting conversation,especially when you're at a convention or talking amongstother Depression glass aficionados. So here are a few itemsto get you started so you, too, can have some meaningfulknowledge to put on the plate when you and your Depressionglass 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 Hobnailpattern from the late 1920s to the 1980s, with theDepression-era pieces made in eight different colors. Intotal, 175 pieces of this particular design were created.

Rose Cameo, conversely, holds the record for the leastnumber of pieces available in a pattern. The BelmontTumbler Company held the patent for Rose Cameo, and onlysix pieces of this design made it to the marketplace: aplate, a footed sherbet, a footed tumbler, a berry bowl,and a 5-inch and 6-inch bowl. Because Belmont manufacturedonly tumblers and was trying to recover from a massivefire, experts speculate the actual production of this raredesign happened at the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, only afew miles away. A six-piece set of tumblers ? the patternwas only made in green ? in mint condition can be had forbetween $150 and $175 (prices may have changed since I wrotethis).

The Jeanette Glass Company breaks all records for coming upwith the most patterns. Jeanette made 11 patterns ofDepression 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 GlassCompany produced only a single pattern of Depression glass? the Lincoln Inn.

Of the 200+ patterns of Depression glass created, footedsalt and pepper shakers from Hocking's Mayfair designdemand some of the very highest prices. Don't flinchwhen (or if) you have a close encounter with one: They gofor more than $9,000, which makes them 1 of the most expensiveitems of all Depression glass patterns at the time of writing this article.

Hazel-Atlas produced the Aurora pattern in beautiful cobaltblue for one year only ? from 1937 to 1938.

Jeanette and Federal glass companies manufactured the twomost reproduced patterns, Cherry Blossom and Madrid.Jeanette produced 43 pieces of the Cherry Blossom designfrom 1930 to 1939 in five colors. Federal's Madrid outputnumbered 45 pieces in five colors from 1932 to 1939. Thepopularity of these designs, of course, made reproductionsimpossible to avoid, but also makes the originalDepression-era versions that much harder to detect.

This article, perhaps, may inspire you to dig deeper andfind out even more about the Depression glass productswe've all come to love. Hopefully, with these bits andpieces of trivia, you've learned something you didn'talready know. If you haven't, then you need to be writingyour own articles on Depression glass trivia andenlightening the rest of us! But if you have benefited, youcan safely know that the next time you're sitting next tothat 40-year collector at convention, you, too, have morecomments 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 enrolin the free Depression Glass course "The 5 Essential StepsTo Becoming A Depression Glass Collector"For AOL users: Depression Glass Secrets