August 19th, 2010 @ Kathy // 4 Comments

Do you enjoy detective stories?  This isn’t a whodunit with dead bodies or great bank heists, but a safe quiet hunt to identify exactly what this goblet is.

My grandma had a set of red tumblers that had honeycombs on the side that I always liked.  Years later I found that honeycomb pattern is Georgian.

Many companies produced a Georgian pattern, including Fenton, Cambridge, Paden City, Hocking and Viking.  Some of the pieces are different enough you can tell them apart but others require detective work.  The book Great American Glass of the Roaring 20s and Depression Era, Book 2 by Measell and Wiggins has an insert that gives good clues for you.

Luckily for me this goblet is easy.  See the bulge in the stem and the spots on the foot?  That bulge has the honeycomb facets and the foot has raised honeycombs on the underside.  Easy peasey.  Viking Glass made this shape.

The next step is which goblet?  Viking made a lot of pieces, from low footed sherbets to tall iced tea tumblers, goblets, cocktails and juices.  It’s hard to tell by eyeballing a goblet, you should measure the height and the capacity.  Always fill the goblet right to the rim so it just shy of spilling and give the capacity in ounces.  (A helpful tip is that an ounce is two tablespoons and there are eight ounces to a cup.)  Armed with dimensions you can look in books or in a reliable website.  My favorite book is Elegant Glass: Early, Depression, & Beyond by Debbie and Randy Coe which gives accurate dimensions and great photos. For patterns not in Coe & Coe, try using Replacements.com.

This particular goblet is 6 1/8 inches tall and holds between 12 and 13 ounces.  It’s too big for the water and much too big for the wine goblet.  It is the iced tea.

Mystery solved!

If you have a detective story to share please leave a comment.  It would be fun to hear from you and if you like, you could contribute to a blog post with your detective work.

Shopping information:  Viking ruby iced tea is available at Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass.

Full disclosure:  The book links in this post are affiliate links.

previous post: Green Glassware that’s Not Depression Glass

next post: Pink Saturday – Something Different – Limoges Fine China

Tags: Viking Glass, Vintage Stemware