American Sweetheart Monax White Depression Glass Tidbit

A lot of depression glass patterns included tidbits in their line up which were meant to be fancy serving pieces for little cakes, tarts and candies.  People use these for weddings, showers and open house type events where guests can serve themselves.  The tidbits look special and make even store-bought cupcakes look great.

Recently I bought a set of American Sweetheart monax white depression glass which included this neat piece.  It’s the original vintage depression glass assembly – in fact the metal has a patina (aka tarnish).

My only problem is that I am hopeless with tools and taking things apart.  So I’ll ship this to the lucky winner intact.  I have a lot of confidence in my packing abilities, just not so much in disassembly!

Original tidbits like this usually have two plates.  The top plate is 8 inches and the bottom is just under 12 inches.  Both have the American Sweetheart scroll design all over, including the center.

Some tidbits from the 1960s and 70s were made up from bowls or plates or a combination.  Federal’s Petal glassware is a good example where you will find several interesting ways to combine pieces.

From what I’ve read, this is the typical configuration for American Sweetheart.  You can imagine this with holiday goodies, maybe trimmed with a bit of greenery or ribbon.  The white monax is perfect for wintertime and Christmas!

American Sweetheart Monax Translucent White Depression Glass Oval Platter

It’s Friday!   Another week nearly done and the wonderful weekend blossoming.  I do like Fridays!

Last weekend I bought a set of American Sweetheart white depression glass.  MacBeth Evans made American Sweetheart in the translucent white glass shown here and pink.

The lady who sold this to me had it displayed with some gorgeous Flow Blue china and cranberry Fenton glass.  The color combination was incredible and I’m showing you one of the cranberry pieces.  What makes this combination pop is the opalescent white hobs on the pitcher pick up the white in the platter.

This platter is offered with free US shipping in our eBay store and the link will take you to all our American Sweetheart listings.  I must get busy this weekend and list my new pieces for you.

Fenton Glass Hobnail Cranberry Opalescent Pitcher

American Sweetheart Monax White Depression Glass Platter

Life has its ups and downs, and during the Great Depression many people had more downs than ups.  One of the ways companies enticed careful housewives to buy their products was to include premiums with their purchase.  Many depression patterns were give aways.  You could go to the movies (all day for under 10 cents) and get a free dish, or buy a 50 pound of flour and get a plate.

For us collectors this causes a dearth of some pieces that were not premiums.  Many glass companies gave customers the option to buy completer pieces – for cash which was scarce.  That’s why today we don’t see many serving pieces in some patterns, or why a few patterns have a gazillion lunch plates but almost no dinner plates.  People could afford to get free dishes but not buy the others.

Even today grocery stores sometimes offer china or what have you and the basic place settings are pretty reasonable but the additional pieces are a little more expensive.  We got our dinnerware from Kroger; maybe you did too.  If you did, think about what you bought, it was probably not every piece.  (We made a good try though!)

Even though most people only need one or two platters, but they need 4 t0 12 lunch plates, the plates are usually far easier to find and less expensive.  When you do find the serving pieces it’s a good idea to get them. The white platter is American Sweetheart monax white depression glass, which is a pattern we buy frequently.

Diamond Glass Adams Rib Amber Depression Glass Candleholders

Eeek!  Not more candleholders!  Yes, more candleholders, but these tell a story.

We went to a big flea market in Clare, Michigan a few weeks ago and got these candleholders.   So what are they?  Here’s how I identified them.

First these are more likely to be depression glass than anything from the 1960s or 70s based on style and general heft.   They are not likely elegant glass because the bases are not ground, although these are nicely made they don’t look like “good glass”.

Knowing they are depression glass narrows the field quite a bit.  True, we still have a lot of companies to consider, but we can rule out many like Cambridge or Fostoria.  I have my trusty depression glass books by Gene Florence which are great if the candles are a recognized depression pattern.

What I didn’t tell you is that these candleholders came with a console bowl.

Diamond Glass Adams Rib Amber Depression Glass Console Bowl

Often if you buy glass in lots or at an estate sale there will be pieces that are part of the same pattern, even if they don’t obviously go together.  Or maybe the people had a lot of glass by Fostoria that you do recognize.  It’s not unreasonable that other pieces may be Fostoria too – it’s a clue and a place to start.  Just don’t fall in love with the theory and forget to check other possibilities.  Lots of people mixed and matched glass.

My books don’t show this exact bowl, but Gene Florence’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass shows a pattern with the same bold ribs and wide smooth band.  It’s Adams Rib by Diamond Glass.  I read the description and looked at the photos.  Yes, it came in amber, and yes, a console bowl is listed.

No, the only candleholders listed were taller or blown, not these.  But wait, Florence mentions this is not a well-known pattern and he may not have all pieces listed.

At this point I conclude the quest and list the bowl and the candleholders!

MacBeth Evans American Sweetheart Monax White Depression Glass Cup

We’ve talked before about the way I buy glass, which is from local flea markets, estate sales and eBay. Locally I can usually find elegant glass but depression glass in good condition is getting scarce. Last time we went to the flea market I left behind some Normandie, Sharon and Madrid glass that was worn.

We were able to get some nice glass at an estate sale but they had more elegant glass than depression, and again the depression glass was priced sky high. So most of my depression glass comes from eBay which is good and bad. It’s good because I can get glass that I won’t find here and it keeps me in tune with the market. Most important, my experiences – good and bad – have made me more aware of the need for descriptions that are as accurate as possible and a full money back guarantee that includes return shipping when I goof. That leads me to the bad.

About half my eBay purchases have had problems, usually small nicks that weren’t disclosed and rarely there’s a problem with shipping. Like I said, I’ve learned from mistakes, both mine and others, and now take exhaustive care to get the descriptions spot on.

What has this to do with American Sweetheart you ask? I’m excited to tell you that my last four purchases were American Sweetheart monax cups, saucers, 8 inch plates, sherbets and the elusive oval platter. And all the pieces were in perfect condition – which is great! I have the cups and saucers listed now and the rest will follow soon.