Fostoria Shirley Etched Crystal Celery Dish

Poppies were an important motif in the 1920s and into the 1930s. Think of Cambridge Gloria, Hazel Atlas Florentine, Fostoria Rogene. Poppies were a symbol of the first world war because they grew wild all over the Flemish fields that were battlegrounds and cemeteries in the war and were immortalized in poems like In Flanders Fields.

Fostoria brought Shirley to market in the late 1930s, one of several patterns introduced in that era. The blank is Baroque, which Fostoria used for many patterns that are popular yet today. Shirley is not as well known as Navarre or Meadow Rose but has its admirers. It’s a good pattern to consider if you enjoy flower designs since the poppy is clear and distinct.

The piece we’re showing is the celery dish, basically a one-compartment relish tray. It’s long enough to hold celery or asparagus stalks. My Mom’s old cookbook from 1951 shows asparagus laid whole with white sauce poured across the middle.  You could recreate that classic look in celery dish easier than on a regular plate.

It’s interesting how our glass patterns show how people lived years ago and how styles have evolved over time.   Vintage glass gives you a connection to the past like nothing else can.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

– John McCrae, 1915

In honor of St Patrick’s Day – the right St. Patrick’s Day this time – please enjoy this stunning footed console bowl from Fostoria.  This is the Versailles etched green elegant depression glass three-toed bowl.  (That’s a mouthful.)

Fostoria Versailles Green Elegant Depression Glass Bowl

I like green glass a lot and this is a wonderful shade of green, a little darker than some depression glass greens and a true green, not olive or vaseline or teal.  Versailles etch fits its namesake, the elegant country residence of French queen Marie Antoinette.  Fostoria Versailles is all sweeping scrolls that surround a fan motif, very appealing.

We have this Versailles console bowl and the matching candles in our store.  I always list the pieces separately because no one wants to have to buy the whole set when all they want is one candle holder.  (Of course I end up with unmatched pieces sometimes but that’s part of selling glass.)  The little candle holders look just like the bowl except they have a place to hold the candle.

Fostoria Glass Versailles Green Candle Holder

Now that I have the day right please enjoy our St. Patrick’s Day peek at a special piece of glass!

Shopping Information:  We have the Fostoria Versailles etched green candle holders and bowl in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.

Fostoria Italian Lace Crystal Console Bowl

Quiz time! What pattern is this?

If you don’t recognize it then don’t feel bad. Fostoria originally called this fresh springtime pattern Italian Lace, then for some reason changed it to Gold Lace the last two years they made it. Regardless which name you use this is not a common pattern.

The etch is on the outside of the bowl and it’s deep. I was a little surprised just how deeply etched this is because it looks like a crystal print. (Fostoria made a few patterns using a less costly etching method they called crystal prints.)

Fostoria did not make stemware or dinnerware in Italian Lace. It was an accessory or gift ware pattern with pieces like this bowl, candle holders, candy dishes, small serving pieces like creamer and sugar or pickle dish. Besides the etched flower and leaf design Italian Lace pieces have gold rims. My bowl has quite a bit of wear on the gold. You don’t see the wear with a casual glance – your eye passes over it. It’s a pretty piece.

Shopping Information: We carry this Fostoria Italian Lace bowl in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass. Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Fostoria Glass Lido Etched Low Sherbet

Does this look like fireworks or milkweed puffs?  The big poofs look like the 4th of July, so neat.

This is Fostoria Lido etched low sherbet in crystal.  Our family crystal is Cambridge Rose Point, but Lido is my favorite Fostoria pattern.  I like a lot of Fostoria patterns – Trojan, Romance, June, Vesper plus Lido – but I keep coming back to Lido as the one I’d choose if we were getting new glass.  I like the big poofs and the lovely way the design flows around the piece.  I like the shape of the stemware and the dinnerware and accessories.  Yes, Lido is my favorite Fostoria pattern.

Fostoria used the elegant Sceptre blank for the stems.  Can you see the little pointy parts at the top?  They look regal, a little like a crown, and the Sceptre name was meant to evoke that regal feeling.

Dinnerware and most accessories are Baroque, the same shape as Chintz or Meadow Rose.  Baroque is the pattern with the molded fleur de lis on the sides.   You might think the combination of big poofs and fleur de lis would be too busy but it’s not, the combination works great.

If you like Fostoria Lido then please check out our selection at Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.  Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Fostoria Glass Large Star Cut Crystal Sherry

Most of the Fostoria glass we’ve seen here has been etched.  Fostoria made many beautiful cuttings as well, including this old Large Star Cut sherry goblet.  This is one of the earliest Fostoria cuttings, dating to 1904 to 1927.   Fostoria used this on a wide array of pieces, mostly stemware and accessories.  We’ve had vases and small tumblers with this same cutting.

It is impossible to be certain this is Fostoria since almost every company made some form of a star cutting – it is a basic design.  I used several reference books to compare shapes and the number of small cuts radiating between the wide miters to determine this was most likely from Fostoria.  It helps that many people in my local area bought Fostoria; in fact we see more Fostoria than almost any other elegant glass, followed by Tiffin, Heisey and Cambridge at local estate sales.

This is a nice design, simple and it goes well with the simple bowl and stem of this small goblet. This cute little stem only holds about 3 ounces, making it the wine or sherry goblet.  Our predecessors used small goblets for wine.  Today we’d use this for an after dinner drink or liqueur.

It’s fun to have something like this that may be 100 years old and think about the people who owned it before.  Were they a young couple who got a few pieces for wedding gifts?  A settled, successful couple who bought a full set of this pattern?  Was it a single man or woman who wanted something nice for their evening wine?  We don’t know, and that is part of the charm of owning vintage glass.

Shopping Information:  We carry this Fostoria Star Cut wine in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.  Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Fostoria Glass Coronet Crystal Ice Bucket

One Fostoria pattern that is consistently overlooked and under appreciated is Coronet.  You can see it’s an entrancing pattern because the super simple three wavy lines, elegant turned out feet and graceful shapes.  Yet is is one of the less well known designs, both as the undecorated blank and with cut and etched adornments.

Fostoria made Coronet from 1938 to 1959, a long time in glass terms.  Fostoria overlapped Baroque and the heavy colonial-styled Raleigh glassware production with Coronet.   All three patterns had strong pattern motifs.  Besides the three wavy lines that are Coronet signatures handles look like curled up ram’s horns.  You cannot miss a Coronet creamer or candle holder with that curl.

One reason Coronet isn’t so well known is Fostoria didn’t use it for many etches or cuttings.  (Compare this to Baroque which had many very popular etched patterns.)  You will find Willowmere rose etch and Cynthia floral spray cuttings on Coronet; these are among the best known patterns yet neither is as popular as Navarre or Chintz.

Personally I don’t know which is my favorite, Baroque or Coronet.  They are both beautiful.

Which do you like better?  Leave a comment and tell us.

Shopping Information:  We carry Coronet both plain and etched in our stores Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass and Vintage Elegant Depression Glass.  It’s like antiquing with your best friend.