Fostoria Tableware: 1924-1943 is an outstanding guide to Fostoria glass made from 1924 to 1943, the era when Fostoria set the mark for combining exquisite designs with good marketing. Fostoria weathered the Great Depression of the 1930s based on the patterns in this book.
Milbra Long and Emily Seate are a mother/daughter team that are consummate experts in Fostoria glass who wrote several Fostoria reference books, divided between stemware and tableware and also by date. I reviewed their stemware book in this blog post: Fostoria Glass Reference Pattern Guide Book Review
This book has no stemware but focuses on the beautiful dinnerware and matching accessories Fostoria made in pressed patterns like American, Fairfax, Baroque, and the gorgeous etched patterns like June and Trojan. The book is highly readable, with interesting information about many patterns and tips to tell patterns apart.
I believe the reason Long and Seate chose 1924 as the beginning date is that is when Fostoria began producing colored glass and rolled out a national advertising campaign. In 2013 we take advertising for granted, but this was a novel step for the glass industry. Fostoria advertised in women’s magazines and produced leaflets for high end department stores and jewelers.
Fostoria was exceptionally well run and profitable. A majority of glass companies active in the Roaring 20s were out of business by the end of World War 2, but Fostoria kept on until the late 1980s.
The 1924-1943 era was notable for several firsts:
- First full line of glass dinnerware, the Pioneer pattern in 1926
- Several full lines of dinnerware came after Pioneer and some earlier patterns like American were expanded to include dinner sets.
- Fostoria emphasized that families could use glass dinnerware with hot foods and cold.
- Color and lots of it! Fostoria produced a huge rainbow of colors.
- Etchings and lots of them. Fostoria made some of their most spectacular patterns during this era, including the rich brocades
- Advertising
Fostoria Tableware: 1924-1943 is particularly good at showing photographs and catalog reproductions with pictures large enough to use without eye strain. Most of the catalog reprints include legends that help one match the photo to the piece name, always a help with large patterns.
The book is a little uneven in how it treats patterns. The plate etched patterns, even noteworthy ones like June, get very little write up. Some of the pressed patterns, like Fairfax, get more description and background information. All the patterns include photos and/or catalog pages, and patterns that lasted a long time have (naturally) more pieces. I would like more of the background information as it is interesting and well-written.
The book includes price lists. Like all price lists these range from accurate to inaccurate. If you are researching glass you have to sell or want to purchase glass, I always recommend comparing several sources. Books like Fostoria Tableware: 1924-1943 are good, as are eBay completed auctions and the online sites like Replacements.com. There is no such thing as “the price” for a piece of glass, but recognize the range in the market.
Overall I highly recommend this book. It is in my glass library and I use it extensively.