Let’s take a short break from our series on spiral and swirl vintage glass patterns. (I thought that series would be 3-4 posts but it’s already 5 and we still have several patterns left! I’m getting dizzy from all the swirls.)
Last week my friend Loren and I went to the Allegan antiques fair. It’s an outdoor / indoor fair about 20 miles away the last Sunday of the month April to October. We’ve gone several times, usually when it’s cool (or cool-ish) and I’ve been a little disappointed by glass scarcity the last year or so.
Not a problem this time! I’ve shown a piece of two of Adams Rib from Diamond glass a few times. We’ve had the pink candy jar, amber console set before and this year we got the center handled server in green. Gorgeous!
The same booth had several pieces of nice glass including these interesting plates.
I wasn’t sure what the plates were and bought them on a “why not” but hesitated over the center handled server because it has a bit of wear. After Loren and I’d walked to the next booth I came back and spotted this Cambridge Wildflower relish. Of course it came home with me along with the center handled server. Do you ever do that?
Those plates were a mystery. I wondered about Federal since the band and center medallion are similar to the Georgian Lovebirds design. Nope, not Federal. They are too heavy to be McBeth Evans, the wrong shade of green for Jeannette and I didn’t think they were Hazel Atlas.
The book I used to find them is Colored Glassware of the Depression Era by Hazel Marie Weatherman. I vaguely recognized them as one of the incidental pieces the author shows in the back, and sure enough, these are called Cathedral from Hocking. Mrs. Weatherman shows the same plate.
There isn’t much information about Cathedral. I think it was a design that Hocking played with but never developed into a full set. Or maybe they intended to make luncheon / dessert plates and nothing else. Replacements shows the plates I have as well as the same size in pink, but no other colors. Mrs. Weatherman doesn’t show any other pieces in any of her price guides either. We are left with a mystery.
Why luncheon plates but no creamer and sugar or cup and saucer? Had Hocking made even those four pieces we would have a luncheon set.
We also got Rose Point sherbets since I’m low on those and a Rose Point relish just like the Wildflower one which Dave decided we needed to keep and not sell. I bought everything in the first three or four rows then ran out of money and had to ooh and aah after that except for two tablecloths that just had to come home with me.
The fair was crowded! There were more people than any other time we went, even compared to April, the first fair of the year, in past years. I don’t think there were any more vendors which meant everyone should have done well and will come back again with even more glass!