It seems like almost every glass company made a pattern they named “Georgian”. The one we are looking at came from Federal Glass and is true depression glass with a mold etched design of birds and baskets. It is one of my favorite depression patterns.
Posts about Georgian Lovebirds Depression Glass
Six Reasons Why I Love Georgian Lovebirds Depression Glass
Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass Lunch Plate – Glass Pick of the Week
Depression Glass Information and Misinformation – Georgian Lovebirds
Tablescape Thursday – Green vs. Pink Poll Results and Georgian Lovebirds
Tablescape Thursday – Lunch on Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass
Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass – When Birds Fly Away
Beautiful Green Depression Glass – Featuring Georgian Lovebirds
Birds and Flower Baskets – Georgian Lovebirds Green Depression Glass
Depression Era Glass Sherbet Plates
Basket Motifs and Designs on Mold Etched Depression Glass
Green Depression Glass – An Assortment of Beautiful Glassware
Elegant and Depression Glass at the Allegan Antiques Market
Beautiful Depression Glass – Antiquing Together in Downtown Kalamazoo
Green Glass on Parade – Depression Era through the 1970s
Antiquing with Your Best Friend – Depression Glass and Viking
Reproductions, Reissues and Variations in Depression Glass
Oh What a Difference Cloth Can Make – Depression Glass Tables for You
How Much is My Glass Worth? How to Value Your Depression Glass
September Lunch on the Deck – Green and Blue Depression Glass
Green Depression Glass Table – The Thrifty Version
Rainbow Depression Glass Tablescape Thursday – And Vote Results
Voting Time! Pick Your Favorite Green Depression Glass – Tablescape Thursday
Little More Serious Topic – Reproductions and Why a Mark Does Not Mean Much
Federal Glass made Georgian Lovebirds from 1931 to 1936 in green. According to my books they also made the hot plate in clear and the small 6 inch sherbet liner in amber. I’ve never seen pieces in any color except green. I like green so that’s fine with me!
Georgian is moderately expensive and basic pieces are reasonably available. Dinner plates, serving pieces and tumblers are rather scarce and the most expensive. Expect to pay about $50 for a dinner plate in perfect condition. Lunch plates are more affordable.
Not all the pieces have lovebirds. The tumblers have the basket design only.
Some dinner plates have neither the birds nor the baskets around the rim. Yes, they are authentic Georgian, just a variation that Federal made.
No Worry about Reproductions
There is one topic we always need to consider with depression glass and that is reproductions. First, there are no reproductions of the green Georgian. Remember that the people who made reproductions in order to scam folks used only the most popular patterns. Georgian is simply not as popular and so not profitable to make mass repros of, unlike Cherry Blossom which at one time had thousands of eager collectors.
Some people claim that any Georgian that is not marked is fake. This is simply not true. Federal marked some pieces but not all. You can find cups, saucers and sherbets with and without the F mark. This saucer is not marked.
This saucer is marked. (I emailed with Barbara Mauzy who is a true depression glass expert to get her take on the F mark/no mark. She agreed with this. She felt Federal likely didn’t mark most Georgian because the pattern doesn’t have a lot of room for the F.)
Georgian Pieces
Georgian is basically a dinnerware pattern. Federal made three place setting bowls, a small berry and a cereal bowl, both of which are not hard to find, and a deeper bowl, 6 1/2 inches wide, that is either a small serving bowl or perhaps for oatmeal or soup. You can find three plates, the very easy to find 6 inch sherbet liner, 8 inch luncheon and 9 1/4 inch dinner. As noted above, there are two styles of dinner plates, one with a center medallion and rim motif and the other with birds, baskets, swags, and a more elaborate center medallion.
Georgian piece list includes cup, saucer, sherbet, plus interesting serving pieces. Look for a butter dish with lid, both a round and an oval serving bowl, platter.
This is the butter base with cut handles sporting a small design. The lid is round with a round finial and the bird/basket motif. Unfortunately I did not have the top.
I like the sugar and creamers; there are two sizes, a large set about 4 inches tall, and the smaller one about an inch shorter. Only the smaller sugar has a lid.
There are Georgian tumblers too, the 9 ounce water size is shown above and the other is the iced tea, about 5 1/4 inches tall.
One of the most interesting pieces is the hot plate. Some enterprising soul created a wooden server tray that holds 7 hot plates and marketed it as a cold cut server. Quite an interesting idea!
Similar Patterns
Federal made a second pattern, Sylvan or Parrot, that has two big parrots on it. The birds are perched on a branch, not caged in a triangle as they are in Georgian, nor does Sylvan/Parrot have the rim border. Shapes are different too. You should not have any problem telling these two apart.
Availability and Damage Concerns
We had many pieces of Georgian during the period I sold glass. I saw it at estate sales and flea markets mostly and bought pieces online too. It was easy to find basic pieces, including water tumblers. I rarely saw the more scarce serving pieces such as the oval serving bowl or hot plate.
I checked eBay just now (August 2023) and saw the same pattern. There are many listings for basic plates, small bowls, sherbets, cups and saucers, none for the harder to find pieces at the moment.
That makes Georgian Lovebirds a good pattern to collect. You can easily get enough pieces to use for lunch or dinner, then spend many happy hours shopping for the scarce pieces.
When I bought Georgian in lots, say at an estate sale, typically 10 to 20 percent of the plates or small bowls would have small chips in the rim. I don’t know that Georgian is particularly prone to damage, it seems to be a pattern people used heavily.