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The Romance of Vintage Stemware - Cambridge Glass
Cambridge Glass made an extensive line of high quality crystal and colored glass from 1901 until they went out of business and sold their molds to Imperial Glass in 1960. Their stemware includes some of the most popular patterns ever, such as the beautiful Portia, Rose Point or Rosalie. This article will show a few examples of their wonderful crystal and give suggestions to incorporate this vintage beauty into your home.
Portia etch has a basket overflowing with flowers that gracefully curve over more flowers. Cambridge made it from 1932 to the early 1950s, and you may find pieces in colors as well as crystal. This is a somewhat ornate pattern that to my mind looks best with simpler shapes, although Cambridge used their more elaborate Gadroon blank for some pieces. We show the sherbet in the 3121 stemline. The 3121 stem has a round ball clasped by three little knobs that repeat the scroll and swag design. Portia would be great with any china pattern that has baskets of flowers or scroll and swag motifs.
Rose Point was made from 1936 to 1953 and matched Rose Point sterling by Wallace. This pattern is unmistakable with its center emblem of roses surrounded by swags and scrolls. This center motif is the same on the sterling silverware. Abundant rose blooms cascade between the center motifs and give the pattern life and interest. Cambridge etched Rose Point on many blanks (the unadorned glass shapes) and among the most popular was the 3121 stem which is shown above under Portia. We show here a bowl instead of a stem. This is a beautiful etch that would look good with your fine china. Visualize this with glossy white china with platinum or gold trim. The Rosalie pattern is strong enough that it would go well with a more intricate china pattern as well as perfectly simple designs.
Caprice is a little later pattern that has no etching, instead the design relies on a blown or pressed optic and Cambridge’s high quality crystal for its impact. Caprice takes up 4 1/2 pages in one of my reference books - Cambridge made a huge assortment of shapes and sizes. Most Caprice is crystal but Cambridge also made Moonlight Blue and a few pieces in their other colors. You may find crystal with satin treatment too. Caprice dates from 1936 to 1957.
If you decide to collect Caprice you’ll want to be aware that some stemware was fully pressed while other pieces had pressed stem and blown bowls. The blown pieces are more delicate and the design less intense. Caprice is one pattern that would go very well with many of today’s unadorned simple white china patterns. Here is the cocktail stem. Note the design of the stem itself and the curvy optic in the bowl.
The last pieces we show are both Rosalie, another Cambridge etch from 1928 to 1938, that has a distinctive square spiral motif surrounded by sprays of rose flowers and leaves. Both these are on unusual blanks; the goblet is the 3051 blank which is normally shown only in the cordial size with Rosalie.
Vintage stemware is so easy to use. Unlike antique furniture or ornaments, you can enjoy this while enjoying your friends and family at dinner or in the evening with a glass of wine. It is beautiful and a reminder of a bygone era when even daily items had handwork by proud artisans. Vintage stemware also is a wonderful gift - imagine giving a set to a newly married couple or for an anniversary or birthday. Just like a marriage, stemware will last forever with a little care!
