Tiffin Glass Adam Etched Crystal Handled Tumbler

I got these at an estate sale because they are just the neatest pieces.  I love the idea of using a tumbler with a handle for lemonade in the summer – no more wet glasses slipping out of your hand.

This basket etch is especially nice.  I showed Heisey Dutchess etched sherbets with basket motif a while back that was more ornate.  This etch is Tiffin Adam which has a basket inside an oval surrounded by swags and scrolls.  Very nice, attractive pattern.

Tiffin made Adam from 1913 to 1934, quite a long time in glass years.  (Think of dog years, glass companies tended to move with the fashion so most patterns didn’t last real long.)  The handled tumblers are pieces you find in some older patterns that seemed to disappear from glass lines after the depression.

In the 1980s or so the shape was reborn as Irish coffee pieces.  I would not put anything hot in these Tiffin tumblers though.  They are thin and may not take well to hot liquids.  Use these for lemonade and enjoy a nice safe way to drink cold liquids on a hot summer day.

Earlier post about Heisey Dutchess basket etched glass.

Shopping Information:  We carry Tiffin Adam handled tumblers in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.  Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Duncan Miller Canterbury 4-Part Creamer Sugar Cruet Tray

Welcome to the world of fancy glass. This little piece is the Canterbury crystal four-part condiment set from Duncan Miller.

I like Canterbury. Duncan Miller crystal is beautifully clear, gorgeous quality.  the pattern is simple with plates, bowls, stemware all having a six-part petal shape. Pieces like this little tray have rounded tab handles and of course the bottom rims are ground.

Duncan Miller made Canterbury for many years, from 1939 to 1955, then Tiffin continued the pattern when they acquired the molds. At one time I used to see Canterbury at almost every auction and estate sale but lately it has not shown up as often. Canterbury was so simple and came in so many pieces that many families had a piece or two, even if they didn’t have a set. I suspect this was a pattern that made its way to many wedding gifts.

Duncan Miller made different sizes of creamers and sugars, plus salt and pepper shakers, oil and vinegar cruets and even small condiment holders. They made two-part trays and this four-part trays. You can get a two-part tray to hold the oil and vinegar cruets – a very nice set that would have been a welcome gift – and a different two-part tray to hold the salt and pepper shakers.

Think of how you often you get asked to pass the salt, pass the salad dressing, pass the cream. Now think how much nicer it would be if all the stuff you have to pass was nestled into its own special tray that you could pick up easily by the handles and pass everything all at once. Nice idea, huh.

The four-part tray could hold the oil and vinegar cruets with the shakers. It seems fancy but in fact is practical and a good way to keep cruets from dripping on your table cloth.  In the mornings you could use this tray for the  mini creamer and sugar, salt and pepper as an elegant addition to your breakfast table.

So yes, this is a fancy piece.  But even fancy glass can be practical!

Shopping Information:  We have this condiment set listed here along with other pieces of Duncan Miller Canterbury in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.

Duncan Miller Glass Sandwich Footed Juice Tumbler

In most elegant glass patterns the stemware tends to be expensive, but Sandwich is unusual.  The stems are very affordable – $8 to $15 for most – on par with imported glassware you can buy today.

Sandwich is a great choice if you want a colonial theme.  The glass is sturdy, the crystal excellent quality and the design is pleasing.  Duncan Miller made scads of pieces, multiple stems, full dinner sets, many accessory and serving pieces.  It’s a fun pattern to collect and it looks great on the table

I got the tumblers listed this afternoon and have a few more things left that need new photographs to get listed another day.  I somehow have a very bad cough and it’s taken any shreds of ambition right away.  Since this is my week to do all sorts of must-do things around the house I can only hope that tomorrow will be less coughing and more done.

Shopping information:  We carry many pieces of Sandwich in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.

Monongah Glass Secretaries Primrose Etched Crystal Goblet

Here’s a mystery for you.  Why would a glass company call a pattern “Secretaries Primrose”?  This etched goblet is line 800 from Monongah Glass, and yes, the pattern name is Secretaries Primrose.

I’ve no idea why the name.  Monongah is long out of business so this will remain a mystery.

Monongah is best known for their Springtime etch, which has a lady dancing with scarves set inside a medallion surrounded by swags and scrolls.  This is the pattern that Hocking Glass converted to the mass-produced Cameo depression glass.  Hocking took the intricate plate etching, that required considerable effort by skilled artisans, to a mold etch that took work by the mold designer.  Once the mold was made Hocking could make thousands of pieces with little or no artisan effort.  Of course that was much less expensive and one reason Hocking survived the Depression and Monongah did not.

Hocking bought Monongah in the early 1930s.  One reason Monongah’s glass is less well-known is there have not been books about Monongah as there have about Fostoria, Heisey or Cambridge.  John P. Zastowey produced a good reference on Lancaster Glass that included sections on Standard Glass and Monongah.  (Hocking bought Lancaster and Standard.)  In fact John purchased several Secretaries Primrose stems from me to photograph for his next book.

Here is a link to all of our Monongah Glass listings.

Tea Room Green Depression Glass Creamer

Can you imagine how rough most soda fountains or department store tea rooms were on their glass dishes and serving pieces?  It’s amazing this cream pitcher survived with just a couple tiny nicks in the foot and none on those ridges.

Back in the 1920s every drug store had a soda fountain and department stores had tea rooms where you could get a small lunch or light snack.  Ice cream sodas and floats were menu favorites.  Indiana marketed Tea Room to these small restaurants and offered many tumblers and dishes that fit the ice cream and snack menus.  For example Indiana made four different creamers and sugars to choose among.

I got this recently from someone selling his grandmother’s glass since she was moving to a smaller place.  It’s too bad but she had only this one piece of Tea Room green depression glass.  It’s not extremely rare but it is hard to find pieces in good condition.  I was glad to get this one and have it listed in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.

Tiffin Glass Eldorado Griffin Etched Crystal Footed Tumbler

I tilted the glass a bit so you could see the pattern.  It’s quite like Bill’s Scammell China grill plates.  Here’s another view.

Tiffin Glass Eldorado Griffin Etched Crystal Footed Tumbler

I don’t have a date for Eldorado but it likely came from the same late 1920s as did the Scammel China and Central Glass’ Harding etched crystal.  Griffins were common motifs in ancient Persia and Kurdistan and apparently popular during the Art Deco period in America too.

Griffins combine the head of a lion with the body and wings of an eagle.  They symbolize courage, strength and boldness.  If you need something to cheer you up and give you the courage to follow your dreams, then consider this fine griffin etched glass.

Shopping Information:  We have Eldorado etched tumblers in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.  Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Tiffin Glass Fucshia Etched Crystal Cocktail Stem

Tiffin’s Fuchsia etch is one of the most detailed flower patterns – you can tell right away this is a fuchsia by the long curved stamens and bell-shaped flowers.  This is no stylized flower cutting with generic petals and leaves!

Tiffin etched Fuchsia on several stem shapes, so if you decide you want this pattern you’ll want to notice the shape of the bowl and the design on the stems.  This cocktail shown here is the 15083 blank which appears to be the easiest to find.  It’s a good choice if you like this etch.

Fostoria made a fuchsia etch that is quite different, more stylized fuchsia flower sprays and connected with swags of leaves.  Tiffin’s looks more like the fuchsia plant.  Both are pretty and you could blend them, although you’ll find Tiffin’s Fuchsia a little easier to find that Fostoria’s etched glass.

Come and enjoy memories of summer fun and keep yourself cheerful this winter with fuchsia bedecked crystal!

Shopping Information:  We have Tiffin Fuchsia crystal in our stores Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass and Vintage Elegant Depression Glass.  Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Candlewck Crystal Cup and Saucer

This elegant crystal cup and saucer is Candlewick from Imperial Glass.  Candlewick was Imperial’s mainstay for years and was issued in several lines, each a slightly different shape.  The beaded rims or handles were the common thread among the myriad pieces.

You may have a piece or two of this pattern even without realizing it because it was a common gift.  My mom had the salt and pepper shakers for years.

The reason to show Candlewick tonight is that a lucky customer bought several cup and saucer sets today from me, leaving only a few pieces left.  If you like Candlewick we have it on sale in our store and when it’s gone, it is gone.

These sets are exceptionally pretty.  The simple design lets the beautiful clear crystal take center stage plus the shapes are attractive.  You’ll like how it displays in a china cabinet.

Shopping Information:  We have Candlewick in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.  It’s even on sale for you.

Art Deco Decorated Green Center Handled Server

Last week I showed one of my most interesting center handled servers, my Imperial ebony black one with heart-shaped handle.  This week let’s see another unusual one, my luscious Paden City green cupped server with art deco decoration.

I found this at an estate sale and couldn’t resist.  I identified it as by Paden City from the handle although the design was probably put on by a decorating company.  We don’t carry much Paden City in our store but I make an exception for center handled servers (And console bowls.  And candle holders.  And…)

Wouldn’t this be fun this summer for your potato chips?  It’s deep enough and big enough to hold a good amount and imagine the conversations when your friends see your neat bowl.  You can tell them about Art Deco and Paden City and elegant depression glass while they munch on chips or pretzels.

Art Deco is all angles and shapes and Egyptian-influenced motifs.  The designs on this server remind me of cattails in the fall yet they have the angles and curves of the deco era.  That contrast of nature and industrial-strength geometry is fascinating and one reason I enjoy Art Deco designs so much.  Glass companies put imagination and design into their center handled servers, almost as fantasy pieces, and when you add Art Deco decorations, wow.

Post about Ebony Heart Shaped Handle.

Candlewick Crystal Cup & Saucer from Imperial Glass

Every once in a while I will find glass listed as Candlewick that is anything but.  When I started in business my first purchase was a set of Candlewick plates and tumblers – I bought it because I remembered the beaded design.

Imperial Glass made Candlewick for a very long time and it’s their best known and most popular pattern.

Imperial’s Candlewick is elegant glass made with quite a bit of hand work; for example the base rim on this saucer is ground.  Seams are quiet and the glass is high quality.  There are  patterns with beaded stems or rims from other elegant makers – Libby’s Knob Hill – but most of the confusion comes from lower grade mass produced patterns.

Anchor Hocking made glass with beads on the base called Boopie.  If you saw Boopie next to Candlewick you would see Candlewick is better glass, greater clarity and the seams aren’t real noticeable.  The Boopie pieces that confuse people are footed tumblers or stems.

The other glass that’s confusing is a snack set with beaded handle on the cup.  The snack set cup is more rounded than the Candlewick one and the beads are smaller and set in the handle.  You can see how the beads on the Candlewick cup decorate the outer curve.

This website has many more examples of patterns with beaded rims that can confuse you. but please don’t be alarmed since the vast majority of Candlewick shapes have nothing similar.  You aren’t likely to even come across most of the beaded glass.

At one time I had a large selection of Candlewick but have sold most of it.  It’s a pretty pattern that looks great on a table and the huge selection of accessory pieces means you can find just the right piece for what you want.  It’s fun to collect for that reason, too, plus it’s available and not terribly expensive.  (My cup and saucer are $19.99 with free shipping, considerably less than many patterns.)   The simple design is appealing and perfect to show off the beautiful clear crystal.