Elegant Glass: Early, Depression, & Beyond by Coe & Coe

Welcome to Book Report Sunday.  Tonight is my favorite reference book for elegant glass, Elegant Glass: Early, Depression, & Beyond by Coe & Coe.

Elegant glass is “good glass”, the sort that people bought at jewelry and high end department stores, by makers like Fostoria, Cambridge, Heisey.  It took skilled artisans to produce this glassware because it took quite a bit of hand work.  Seams were minimized by fire polishing and bottoms were ground.  The etching and cut decorations were done on each piece individually.

If you want detailed coverage of one specific manufacturer you can find books that cover only one company.  I counted at least nine books about Fostoria Glass and there are about that many about Cambridge too.  This book covers patterns from many companies from the 1920s through the 1970s.

Good Points about this Book:

• Excellent clear photos
• Comprehensive lists of pieces.
• Dimensions are given for almost everything.  For example goblets are given in terms of the volume they hold and height which is very helpful
• The value guide is realistic.  Of course it is too high sometimes and too low for others but in general this is reasonably good and very useful.
• I like the way it shows the different colors and gives values for those.
• It makes no pretense to try and put a dollar price on extremely rare pieces especially on very popular patterns
• The book includes glass from the depression era through the 1970s.  Other general elegant books limit themselves to certain eras only

Could Be Improved:

• Of course more patterns would be even better.
• I would like to see more descriptive information.  For example, Cambridge etched Rose Point on at least five different blanks and it would be great to see them photographed together so you can get a feel for the distinctive characteristics of each.  The price list includes the blank numbers but you have to hunt around to find a picture that will show the blank.

Overall this is a superb book that you need if you intend to collect, enjoy or sell elegant glass.  I rely on this book as one of my primary reference tools.  The link above is an affiliate link.

Cambridge Glass Etch 727 Green Elegant Depression Console Bowl

Recently Bill of Affordable Accoutrements, who writes the most enjoyable blog posts about his imaginative tablescapes, mentioned that he prefers elegant glass to depression glass.  That got me thinking.  Which do you prefer?  Which do I prefer?

For me it’s not as easy a choice as it once was.  When I first started with glass my top 1, 2 and 3 would have been elegant glass.  I appreciated the handwork that went into making these, the skilled craftsmanship, high quality and great clarity and the gorgeous designs.  How can you beat an etched pattern like the Cambridge green bowl?

The more I worked with depression glass the more I liked it.  Here’s why.

Depression glass is colored and the transparent greens, blues, ambers, yellows and pinks are beautiful spots of color.  Glass looks wonderful when it catches the light and depression glass adds its charming colors.

Depression glass has some truly beautiful patterns.  The piece below is a simple sherbet from Hazel Atlas, Florentine Poppy 1 green depression glass.  The pattern is mold etched so it can be mass produced, but isn’t this a pretty design?

Florentine Poppy 2 Green Depression Glass Cup

But I keep coming back to the colors.  It’s the colors in depression glass that have the siren call.

What about elegant glass?  Isn’t there elegant glass that is colored?  Yes, of course.  Top end glass makers like Fostoria, Cambridge and Tiffin went headlong into the colored ware during the early 1930s.

In fact, that’s why this post started off with the Cambridge green console bowl, elegant colored glass of the depression era.  Wow, what a great compromise!   We can have beautiful colors, high end workmanship, gorgeous design and great quality.   That’s what you call a happy ending.

Cambridge Neodymium Heatherbloom Orchid Lavender Glass Sugar Bowl

Isn’t this a pretty thing?  It’s even nicer in person.  This light pink amethyst color is called Heatherbloom and what makes this so interesting is that the glass changes color slightly under different lighting.  With normal light it is a lovely rose amethyst orchid color like the picture.  Under fluorescent light it is more lavender with a definite blue tone.  Cambridge used neodymium in the color formula to give this effect.

The sugar bowl itself is very nice, a good fit for the pretty color.  This is Cambridge’s 3400 line, which has curlicue handles, scalloped foot and rim, and vertical triangles rising up from the foot.  We’ve got this listed in our store Catladykate’s Elegant and Depression Glass on the TIAS antique mall.

Cambridge Glass Windows Border Etched Etch 704 Amber Cheese and Cracker Set

Years ago glass makers produced two part ensembles to use for cheese and crackers.  The bottom plate was big enough to hold many crackers and one put a cheese ball or spread in the raised center comport piece.  Thus, a cheese and cracker set.

The one we show here is from Cambridge Glass, their etch 704 pattern in amber.  The photo shows it bright and it is nowhere near garish.  It is  a deep warm rich color.  The plate has the etched design and the comport is plain, quite a nice combination.

Etch 704 has fancy scrolls in mirror images of each other all around the rim.  Gene Florence nicknamed this Windows Border because the edge treatment that you can just see looks like little windows.  Personally I’d have called it Double Scroll or something related to the larger scroll / swag part of the pattern instead of the small rim edge design.  (It took me a while to figure out why he called it that, but that’s a different story.)

The idea of cheese and cracker sets is one it’s time to resurrect.  We all eat cheese and crackers; we all would like to have the food service look halfway decent, especially when we’re having a party.  Personally I don’t care for the plastic deli trays and I don’t like my crackers sliding into the cheese like they do if you put everything on a serving platter.  The separate little dish for the cheese is a brilliant way to keep the food looking good – and the cheese from getting all over the crackers before you are ready to eat it.

Cambridge Glass Achilles Cut Vintage Stemware

Recently Esmeralda R contacted me for help identifying her glass.  She found my Cambridge Rose Point etched stemware on the 3121 blank, which has the three knobs you see in this photo and is distinctive.  She sent me one photo and I was able to identify the cutting as Achilles by Cambridge.

This is nice stemware!  I wish I had some for her.  Replacements has a few pieces and I referred her to them.

Every week I get several requests like Esmeralda’s and sometimes we both luck out and I can help.  Sometimes not.

If you have glass you would like help with, I am willing to try provided it is something in the general area that we carry, depression glass, etched glass, not art glass or Early American Pattern Glass.   Please be courteous and ask first and send only one photo that is under 1 mb in size.  I cannot accept emails with multiple large files as they crash my inbox.  My other requirement is that I like to show some of these to you, my glass-loving readers.

It’s fun to identify glass!

Cambridge Glass Cleo Etched Decagon Center Handled Server

More people like blue than any other color and that’s true in glassware too. But blue glass is relatively uncommon, especially depression glass, so you need to know what to look for.

The piece we show in the photo is from Cambridge Glass and is the Cleo etch. This is a medium light blue which Cambridge called Bluebell. It is very pretty as you can see! We have the plain Cambridge Decagon blue center handled server as well.

Cambridge is considered elegant glass, even patterns made during the depression. What about regular depression glass? What can we find in blue?

Hazel Atlas made several patterns in cobalt blue, including Aurora, Moderntone and Newport. Cobalt blue is bright dark blue, rich and intense.

Both Hocking and Federal Glass made a medium shade of blue. Hocking used this in Mayfair, which is extremely popular, expensive and difficult to find. We do not have any in stock! Federal used blue for Madrid, again a popular and difficult color to find. Sadly Indiana Glass reproduced Madrid in blue.

Jeannette made Cherry Blossom, Swirl and a few other patterns in opaque blue glass they called Delphite. Delphite is medium light color, more a sky blue than the Cambridge Bluebell. We sold our Delphite glass quickly!

You can find blue depression glass. Of the patterns listed, Moderntone is probably the most easily found and more reasonably priced than many. Aurora and Newport are not terribly outrageous either, but there are fewer pieces. If you like blue, try these or consider any of the Cambridge blue glass patterns. They are beautiful!

Vintage Etched Crystal Stemware - Rose Point Cocktail

Have some Christmas to do?  Here’s the start to our gift buying guide for 2009 Christmas and the fall holidays.

Vintage etched crystal stemware is a great gift for your friends who love wine or like to try out a new cocktail every week.  Wouldn’t this super elegant cocktail stem be great for that person who likes a martini in the evening?

You can find any shape or size stem you want in vintage crystal.

Do you have a friend who likes cordials and after dinner liquors?  They’ll enjoy a quiet moment after dinner relaxing with a small wine glass that holds an ounce or two.

Is your sister a wine afficiando?  Then you have a huge choice!  Wine goblets are wide, short, narrow, tall, clear, plain, colored and crystal.  Find the style she will like!

Vintage stemware is a welcome gift and we make it easy to buy with clear photos and our complete money back guarantee!

Cambridge Elegant Depression Glass Urn Swag Etched Green Console Bowl

Isn’t this a gorgeous bowl? It has a rolled rim that flips up at the ends and four tab feet, quite a nice, unusual shape. To top it off, the etch is big urns surrounded by paisley shaped swags and scrolls that repeat around the rim. Console bowls with rolled rims are great to show off the beautiful etches and gorgeous colored glass of the depression era.

This bowl is Cambridge, etch number 739, made during the early part of the 1930s, true elegant depression glass. Cambridge made several etches during this period that don’t have names, only line numbers. You’ll find this one with urns, and another with big splashy flower or sunburst that is called Majestic. They are both beautiful designs that look much better in person on emerald green glass than in a book.

One of the gentlemen at the local flea market saves me glass and this is one of the pieces I got from him. He knows I cannot resist etched green bowls!

Cambridge Etch 701 Goblet - Basket and Swag

Isn’t this  a pretty etch?  It has flower baskets alternating with tassels all connected by generous swags and an intricate border above.   For some reason Cambridge Glass didn’t have a pattern name for this, which is a shame as it is one of their more notable etchings.  We are showing the water goblet which has a narrow vertical optic that gives the stem extra shimmer and looks.

I’m partial to basket etches as are many others.  In fact I bought this thinking it was Tiffin’s Diane pattern, which is somewhat similar, also with a basket, but found it was Cambridge when the glass arrived and I could examine the etching.

I’m not aware of other Cambridge basket etches besides this and Portia, and Portia has a squarish shape to it with flowers spilling from an urn and overflowing.  This is quite distinctive with the swag and top border.

We found vintage stemware to be a welcome wedding gift and you can give it with the wish for an equally long and happy marriage.