Hazel Atlas made Starlight depression glass late in the 1930s, mostly in crystal with some pieces in translucent white Platonite, and a few in clear pink and even dark blue. I’ve seen a few pieces at shows and occasionally at malls, but it isn’t ubiquitous.
As with many other crystal depression patterns, people often overlook Starlight when they consider depression glass. We tend to think of pink, green, yellow, amber, blue, the more visually distinctive colors that say “depression glass”. Nor is Starlight one of the most popular patterns. I think that means dealers and casual sellers may miss opportunities to connect with collectors seeking this and other less popular lines.
You can imagine how a table set with Starlight would sparkle and be lovely for lunch or dessert with friends. The rims or sides have the angled criss-cross lines and the centers have small diamonds, quite distinctive and perfect to catch the light. You could mix crystal Starlight with other colored patterns to get a bit of contrast and a lighter look.
Starlight is not a large pattern, even in crystal. Look for plates sized for dinner, luncheon and bread and butter and some nice, interesting bowls. Hazel Atlas made a 2-handled bowl and a cereal bowl, both of which you could use for salad or possibly soup. Plus Starlight has serving pieces including a large serving bowl, round platter, creamer and sugar, salt and pepper and a 2-handled relish dish. Several of the pieces are oval as with this creamer.
Some fun pieces you might like are the sherbet and custard cups. Both are somewhat harder to find and you’ll want to be careful with the sherbets because sometimes people mistake the Big Top pattern for Starlight.
This small relish dish would be perfect for olives or pickles and you could use it alone without other pieces in the pattern. It’s attractive and would make a nice accent for your table.
This ashtray would have fit right in back in the depression era when so many people smoked. It’s deep enough to use as a coaster too.
Starlight is rather thin glass, not at all thick despite its geometric design. It’s lightweight, similar to Hazel Atlas Florentine Poppy, unlike other geometric patterns dating from the late 1930s, such as Hocking’s Waterford or Jeannette’s Windsor.
Starlight is not particularly prone to damage. There are no protruding corners or inner rims, and the ridges feel smooth. I like patterns that have designs in the center of plates because that design tends to obscure small scratches. You can enjoy using Starlight and you won’t notice light wear. It’s a pretty pattern.