Let’s talk about one of the painful subjects around depression glass, reproductions. Fakes, remakes, reissues, reproductions, there are many words to describe these. Although there are some legitimate re-issues, especially where the manufacture labels their glass, there are too many that are simply rip offs.
One pattern that was reissued was Madrid. Federal Glass made Madrid depression glass mostly in amber, blue and some pink, green and other colors during the depression. They reissued Madrid for the American bicentennial and marked each piece with a “76” in the design by the edge. Then Federal Glass went out of business in the late 1970s and sold their molds to Indiana.
Indiana Glass has re-issued several patterns of their own and they added Federal’s Madrid to their line up. They reissued Madrid in pink, amber and a light aqua blue plus clear and called it “Recollection”. None of the pieces is marked in any way to distinguish it from the original depression era glassware but you can spot most of the reproductions by the color, feel or shape. Several pieces are quite common at flea markets and antique malls, the large square serving bowl, smaller square cereal bowl, the cake plate made by gluing the candle holder to the dinner plate, the footed goblet and the candy jar formed by adding a lid to the goblet. If you see these check them very carefully.
- The blue in original Madrid is soft while the newer Recollection is brighter and more teal.
- New pink is brighter
- Crystal and amber are closer to the originals.
- I find a good way to spot reproductions like this is to buy a piece you know is fake, like that cake plate, and check it very carefully. Get familiar with color and how the piece feels, how the pattern flows across the surface. There are differences but they are subtle.
- Or choose a different pattern with fewer reproduction concerns.
I hope this is helpful. Please leave me a comment so I know what you think.