Tiffin Classic Etched Pink Elegant Depression Glass Tumbler

Thank you to Beverly from How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday and allowing me to join the fun.

If you read my Tablescape Thursday post this week you saw a beautiful pink pitcher with a scarf-draped dancer swirling among the scrolls and swags.  Today we see the matching tumblers in this pretty pink pattern.

During the 1920s and 1930s a lot of glass companies made designs that featured nearly-nude dancers or nymphs.  You’ve probably seen Hocking’s Cameo depression glass and that was the poor man’s version of this delightful theme.  Monongah’s Springtime etch and Tiffin’s Psyche were plate etched, similar to the Classic etched tumbler shown here.

Just seeing the dancer on this stem makes me want to grab my scarf and join in.  It makes me happy just to look at it.  The color is a beautiful pink, not garish or in your face and not wishy washy either, just pink.

Etched Drops & Bands Etched Vintage Crystal Stemware

I wish I knew who did this.  It’s a simple shape with straight stem and rounded bowl with straight sides.  The etch – or sand blast – is a solid band with joined lines that have little dangles hanging down.

So who did it?  One possibility is Tiffin.  They made a stem that Gene Florence called Tiara and the Replacements book Tiffin is Forever A Stemware Identification Guide calls SB 602, sand blast.  The top design just above the solid band on the Tiffin picture shows linked circles and mine is plain above the solid band.

OK, what other possibilities?

Another idea is Seneca number 283, which is similar but also not quite a perfect match.  Seneca 283 has a thin double line above the band.

Anyone else have an idea?  These are obviously old, my guess is they go back to around World War 2 based on the style of the etch and the shape of the glass.  They are reasonably good quality but not high end.

These were most likely meant to be wine goblets but they are small for our contemporary tables where we tend to use goblets that hold 8 ounces or more for wine.  Today these would be perfect for an apertif or after dinner brandy.

Back in the era when there were many makers of fine quality glass in eastern United States the companies often had similar wares, similar designs, similar colors, similar etches.  This is partly because good ideas travel but also the artisans moved around.  Companies traded molds.  Other companies specialized in decorations and made no glass but decorated other makers’ ware.  These situations make it difficult to identify some pieces.

That’s ok though.  We can enjoy the glass even when we can’t call it by name.

Tiffin Glass June Beau Cut Crystal Cocktail Stem

Tiffin Glass survived until 1980, outlasting so many of the American glass houses.  They operated as Factory R, a unit of the U.S. Glass company.  Tiffin was known especially for their beautiful stemware.  The piece shown here is a good example.

This is cut crystal, not etched, and the name is a pun.  You can just see the bow like a ribbon in the front of the bowl, thus the name June Beau.  Once you stop groaning from the pun you can agree that it’s a clever name that fits the design.

What I like most about this stem is the shape.  The wide section near the top of the rim is a rounded wafer studded with little beads like a collar.  The blank is sometimes called Pearl Collar, most appropriate and something you won’t have a problem remembering.

I like the graceful flare of the bowl and the ribbing on the stem that makes this easy to hold.  This particular stem is the liquor cocktail; it’s a little small for a sherbet and a nice size for a small after dinner drink or cocktail.

It’s fun to have a variety of stems to use for drinks.  You can mix and match and not feel like everything has to match since it’s not on a formal table setting.  Go ahead and have fun with Tiffin stemware.

Tiffin Glass Killarney Green and Crystal Champagne Sherbet

This is stemware week here and we’re getting in the Christmas mood  seeing our neighbors’ decorations and the gift catalogs in the mailbox.  To honor the upcoming Christmas parties and family visits, let’s look at a set of stemware that would be perfect for cocktails and even ice cream.

This is the Killarney champagne sherbet from Tiffin Glass.  Tiffin was located in northern Ohio and was part of US Glass, known as Factory R.   The company went out of business and reopened as Tiffin Art Glass Company in 1962.  Tiffin Art Glass produced this Killarney stem in 1966.

When I researched this I found several other Tiffin patterns called “Killarney”.  All had green bowl with crystal stem and foot but the shapes varied quite a bit.  This is shape number 17394 and it’s distinctive with the oval wafer in the center of the stem.

The bowl is quite deep on this, which would make it fun for drinks where you need a deep shape and of course it would be great to serve fruit or sherbet.

I hope this gives  you some ideas for your Christmas decorating or entertaining friends this winter.

Tiffin June Beau Vintage Crystal Cocktail

Tiffin Glass is one of the elegant glass makers that we carry in our elegant depression glass stores.  Tiffin made an incredible array of glass, from detailed cuttings to very beautiful etches, and many, many stemware patterns.  

The stemware we’re showing today are cut and have intricate stems.  The one pictured is June Beau, a pun because the main pattern motif is a ribbon bow.  Once you stop groaning at the lame joke you can appreciate the quality of the glass and the detailed cutting and intricate stem.  

This stem is one of two blanks that Tiffin made which have a ring of small beads around the top like a pearl necklace.  I saw a reference to this as a pearl collar which is a good description.  The other stemware line has the same stem and foot but the bowl does not have the flare.  We have this second shape in a beautiful cut design like leaf boughs.  

Altogether we have four cocktail stems, all holding about 4 ounces.  These are good examples of vintage cut crystal stemware from Tiffin GlasTs.