Doric Iridescent Flower-Shaped Candy

Let’s talk about why depression glass patterns were reproduced or reissued.

1. Someone saw a popular item and decided to make fakes for profit.  These are counterfeits, made on purpose with the intent to deceive.
2. Someone saw some really pretty glass and decided to copy it or use the design, maybe with a different color or size.
3. The original glass maker – or the company that owned the molds – decided to reissue the design, in the same or  different colors.  These are considered reissues and they can be problems.

The Doric iridescent candy dish is a reissue.  Jeannette Glass produced Doric in the 1930s in the typical depression glass colors of pink, green or delphite opaque blue.  Iridescent glass became popular (again) in the 1970s and Jeannette reissued several of their patterns in iridescent.  There isn’t anything unethical with this although it can cause problems for collectors.

The most notorious reissue is the lovely Madrid depression glass that Indiana reissued as “Recollection”.  Indiana Glass bought the molds when Federal went out of business so they were perfectly entitled to use the design as they chose.  The problem is that collectors suddenly had a wealth of Madrid-like glass.  It hurt the market and made Madrid confusing.

Most of the Recollection is pretty easy to spot.  The colors aren’t right and the glass is thicker.  Plus Indiana creatively combined pieces to form new pieces; for example, they glued the candle holder to a plate to make a pedestal cake plate.  Most of these are pretty obvious.

Here is a video Deidra and I made about Recollection pieces.

The pieces that are more difficult are some amber that is the same as or very similar to the original.  Luckily Indiana made only a small set in amber, not the entire Madrid pattern.  I found the amber Recollection to be thicker and it didn’t feel quite right.  Also the color was a little more brownish.  Since depression glass color varied due to quality control, I would not want to rely on color to distinguish reissued Recollection.

Indiana reissued many patterns besides Madrid/Recollection.  Indiana bought some Duncan Miller molds and produced Sandwich for the Tiara party line along with their own Sandwich pattern that they originally made in the 1930s.  Indiana made clear Sandwich but made more in colors, including amber, green, blue.  The light Chantilly green Sandwich is attractive and popular.

The other pattern that causes collectors problems is Fostoria American vs. Indiana Whitehall.  Some pieces are very hard to tell apart.   In fact the easiest way to distinguish the two is by the glass quality because Fostoria was generally higher quality, with better clarity and finish.

As always, your best advise is to invest in a good book or two and spend a little bit of time getting familiar with your favorite glass.  Usually you can find clues to identify your glass and protect yourself.

We all worry about reproductions when we buy depression glass. But really, how worried should we be? Are repros that ubiquitous? Should you not collect depression glass because of repros?

There are actually only two patterns that have many every day pieces reproduced. One is Cherry Blossom and the other is Madrid. Let’s put those two aside and look at the others.

Most patterns have only a few pieces reproduced, usually the more expensive accessory pieces like shakers, pitchers, cookie jars or butter dishes. Some patterns have reproduced tumblers.

I went through my Gene Florence depression glass books and counted the patterns he lists with repros. There are 13 of them out of over 150 patterns.

What does this mean? First, when you pick a pattern (or two or three) that you like, do a little research and find whether there are any known repros.

If there are none, then stop worrying about it. If there are a few pieces, then read about the repros, learn which pieces to watch for. Then don’t buy those pieces until you have a little more experience with your favorite glass. Believe me, once you handle many pieces your fingers and your eyes will soon get good at spotting problems.

Let’s talk about variations.

Variations are when a piece looks or feels a little different. Maybe the color isn’t quite the same or it’s thicker or it’s not marked. The saucer below is Georgian, also called Lovebirds, from Federal Glass. Some cups, sherbets and saucers are marked and some are not. This one is not marked. It also feels just a tad heavier to me. Does that make it repro? No. Georgian hasn’t been reproduced.

I’ll cover more about reproductions and variations over the next several weeks.

Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass Saucer - No Mark