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The Other Depression Glass - Crystal Depression Glass
Depression glass is best known for its colors - green, pink, amber, blue. Fanciful mold etchings show their delicate beauty and geometric patterns jump to life in sunshine when the glass is crystal!
When most of us think about depression glass the beautiful colors - pink, green, yellow, amber, blue, amethyst - come to mind. Many patterns were made in crystal as well as the colored glass. While not as well known, crystal depression glass can be enticing and has its own unique charm.
When you think of depression glass, what comes to mind? Is it the pink glass as in Mayfair or Cherry Blossom? Or the green of Cameo and Royal Lace? Do you think of clear glass? Many (maybe even most) patterns were made in crystal glass as well as in colors. While the clear is less well known, it has its own charm. While appeal is a matter of personal taste, you may find some patterns are even prettier in crystal than in colors!
Several depression glass patterns feature bold geometric shapes that collect and refract light. Patterns with geometric shape motifs include Hocking’s Waterford, Miss America and Spiral, Jeannette’s Windsor, and Federal’s Diana and Columbia. In these patterns the stronger the design, and the more it refracts light, the more advantageous crystal glass becomes. For example, the picture below this paragraph is a Miss America cereal bowl; it just sparkles in the light!
Miss America uses small diamond shapes clustered in squares and each little diamond will catch the light and send it sparkling across your table. Miss America comes in a myriad of shapes that make it so much fun to collect. The square foot on the Miss America creamer gives it an art deco style. This pattern is full of life!
Windsor, Spiral and Columbia have more rounded shapes. Jeannette’s Windsor has inset diamond shapes combined with intricate shapes and curlicue edges on rims and handles. These patterns are also nice in crystal. Windsor is particularly appealing and there are several pieces that were made in crystal that are scarce in pink, such as the medium sized pitcher shown on the left and the candle shown on the right.
Columbia by Federal Glass is another pattern that shows distinct deco touches. Plates are rounded square shapes and the design itself is made of many round dots pressed into the back of the glass. We’ll show the dinner plate and cereal bowl.
Some of these patterns can be found enhanced with silver or gold trims. Diana, which is a pattern of thin spiral ridges, is one of the patterns where you can collect sets with silver trim. Our website, Cat Lady Kate’s Glass, has silver-trimmed demitasse cups and saucers that make a stunning set. The piece on the left is the silver-trimmed demitasse set and that on the right is the fanciful fruit bowl with scalloped rim. Both pieces are Diana by Federal Glass.
Hocking’s Waterford is simply wonderful in crystal. Waterford, nicknamed Waffle, has prisms of squares on the outside of the pieces and catches light and glows. To me it is prettier in crystal than in the more expensive pink. The piece shown below is the sherbet with ruffled rim in Hocking’s crystal depression glass Waterford. You can see how this got the nickname Waffle.
Two other patterns from Hocking must be mentioned, Manhattan and Queen Mary. We’ll show an interesting piece from each pattern, the Manhattan vase on the left and the very cute Queen Mary candleholders on the right. The vase has heavy ridged horizontal ribs and the foot is made of half spheres; Manhattan is another deco-styled pattern. Queen Mary has vertical ribs. If you like Queen Mary you’ll want to watch out for nicks in the edges of the ribs as it is prone to this damage.
Other depression patterns have designs that are mold etched. These can be intricate and fanciful, involving flowers, birds, baskets and lattices. Look for patterns such as Vernon from MacBeth Evans or Florentine from Hazel Atlas. The patterns shown below are from Indiana Glass. Vernon, on the left, is among the less common depression glass designs and the plate on the right is Pineapple and Floral which is easier to find. The grill plate on the right is something I couldn’t resist showing. It is also by Indiana Glass and is called Loganberry, a very interesting, strongly molded design that only came in a few pieces.
Royal Lace from Hazel Atlas is beautiful in any color but springs to life in crystal. Royal Lace is an intricate mold-etched pattern that shows beautifully in crystal. You can really see the pattern motif, and it catches the light much like Miss America.
Clear depression glass is called crystal, but it is still depression glass, with the usual little mold differences that give depression glass its charm. It isn’t fine handmade lead crystal! You’ll especially want to be aware of patterns like Waterford that have names similar to high end glass.
One last point to consider in crystal depression glass’ favor is its cost. Typically depression patterns are much less expensive in crystal than in colors. And since many people do not recognize it as depression glass, you can sometimes pick up real bargains at garage sales and flea markets.
If you enjoy hunting glass, but prefer going online than driving from sale to sale, be sure to check out out eBay store or our TIAS store. The TIAS store is linked with this article. We have an excellent selection of crystal depression glass
