Cherry Blossom has been reproduced and re-reproduced some more since the early 1970s. It’s a shame because this is one of the loveliest depression glass patterns, certain in the top 10 premier patterns.
It’s easy to spot many reproductions once you know what you are looking for. And the good news is that your fingers and your glass sense will get better over time and you’ll know almost instinctively which pieces are suspect.
Here’s what I mean. This dinner plate is authentic Cherry Blossom depression glass from Jeannette, made in the 1930s.
The rim is smooth. If you run your finger from the top of the plate down over the rim to the bottom it feels smooth. There isn’t a step down. Depression glass reference books call this a “mould offset” and this took me a while to understand.
The last point I can show you in pictures is the detail on the design. The flowers look like flowers, the design is nice and full. The leaves are the tell-tale. Real Cherry Blossom leaves look like leaves with serrated edges and veins. Some reproduction plates have simplified leaves that look like a little kid’s drawing. My book calls those leaves “canal leaves” and once you see them you’ll recognize them immediately.
I had this plate and one other packed away in separate boxes. I got these before I had any sense (business sense or glass repro sense) and once I realized there were fake plates I put them aside and forgot all about them. Fast forward to this summer.
I consolidated my inventory to get ready to move this fall and came across the plates. It was obvious that one is real and one is not. How did I know that? Remember the comment about your glass sense? That is real. Once you spend much time with glass, especially within a few patterns, you will just know. Something will look off on the fakes, even when it’s subtle and you can’t describe it. Trust your instincts.
A really good way to protect yourself is by investing in a good reference book. You can get Gene Florence’s Collectors Encyclopedia of the Depression Era, perhaps at your library or from bookstores.