Depression glass is glassware
- Made during the Great Depression, roughly 1929-early 1940s
- Made in America
- Mass-produced with little or no hand work
- Often made in sets for lunch or dinner
- May include accessory pieces such as vases, candle holders, candy dishes, cookie jars
- Often was given away as purchase premiums during the depression.
Depression glass may be
- Colored glassware as most companies made their patterns in clear glass (called “crystal” depression glass)
- Pink, green blue, amber, topaz (yellow), deep aqua (aquamarine), red, deep blue (cobalt), clear, translucent white, translucent jade green
- Kitchen glassware made in the 1930s – casseroles, mixing bowls, measuring cups
What is the Difference Between Depression Glass and Elegant Glass
Some glass made during the 1930s is considered Elegant Glass. This is higher quality glassware made partially by hand that may be colored or clear and includes dinnerware, stemware and accessory pieces. Take a look at these pages here and here. Read more about elegant glass under our Elegant Glass menu section or here.
Common manufacturers of depression glass are
- Hocking Glass (later named Anchor Hocking)
- Federal Glass
- Hazel Atlas
- Jeannette
- Indiana
- Lancaster
- MacBeth Evans
- U. S. Glass
- Paden City and Imperial Glass made both depression glass and elegant glass.
Depression Glass Patterns
We show many patterns in color on our Depression Glass on Parade page here. Glass companies designed patterns – pieces that had the same design modified for size and shape – to sell as dinnerware, stemware, decorative accessories or kitchenware.
Depression glass is You can see photos of table settings using depression glass under tablescapes menu section as in this example of pink and teal glassware.
Swirl Teal and Pink Depression Glass with Windsor