Posts with Pictures of Madrid
Eye Candy from the 2016 Depression Glass Show
Beautiful Glass from the Depression Era – Glass Show Memories
Estate Sale Fun? Looking for Elegant and Depression Glass In All the Wrong Places
Beautiful Depression Glass – Antiquing Together in Downtown Kalamazoo
Posts about Madrid Depression Glass – Reproduction Concerns
Real or Reproduction? Madrid or Recollection Amber Cup?
Is Madrid the Only Candle Holder from Federal Glass in the Depression Era?
Madrid Depression Glass or Indiana Recollection Reproduction – Let’s Help Mary Decide
Reproduction Depression Glass – Madrid Blue Bowl Video
Madrid Amber Depression Glass – Real vs. Reproduction
A Century of Indiana Glass by Craig Schenning, Book Review
A Bit of a Grinch Moment – Whitehall Mislabeled as Fostoria American
Antiquing Fun – Oops! Watch Out for Reproductions!
How to Buy Glass at Auctions and Not Get Ripped Off
Elegant and Depression Glass at the Allegan Antiques Market – has photos of blue reproduction bowls
Tips to Avoid Reproduction Depression Glass
Depression Glass – Real, Fake or Reissue?
Reproductions, Reissues and Variations in Depression Glass
Depression Glass Information and Misinformation – Georgian Lovebirds
Posts that Mention Madrid
Use Your Imagination and Empathy with Vintage Glass
Sherbets – Once Ubiquitous Glass
Depression Glass Coasters
It’s Time for Flea Markets! 5 Tips to Buy Glass at Flea Markets
Five Tips to Enjoy a Glass Show – Tip #3 Ask Questions
Normandie Pink and Amber Depression Glass – Pieces to Find
Normandie Pink and Amber Depression Glass – Collecting Fun!
Patrician Spoke Green Depression Glass
American Sweetheart Pink Depression Glass – A Winner For Durability
Three Tips to Shop Craigslist for Depression Glass
Flea Market Fun – Depression Glass and Bugs!
More Eye Candy! Memories of the Depression Glass Show
Glass Pick of the Week: Cambridge Etched Cheese & Cracker Set – shades of amber glass
Green Glass on Parade – Depression Era through the 1970s – shades of green
Depression Glass Guide – Blue Depression Glass
Patrician Amber Depression Glass – Spoke from Federal
Federal’s Amber Depression Glass – Sharon Cabbage Rose
Inner Rim Roughness – How to Check Your Glass for Damage
What’s In a Name? Normandie Bouquet & Lattice Amber Depression Glass
Top 10 Reasons to Collect Depression Glass – #6. It’s Fun!
Background Information About Madrid
Federal Glass made Madrid from 1932 to 1939 – a long period for producing a single pattern – in amber, green, some pieces in a lovely soft blue, pink and crystal. Madrid was a popular pattern and blue was especially sought after in the early years of depression glass collecting.
The pattern has a big central square with scrolls around and in the square. Most pieces are square-ish, which complements the pattern motif.
Federal’s amber color is medium light brownish yellow. To my eye it has no orange tones. The green is much harder to find and Federal made fewer pieces in green as is true for pink. I have seen only a few pieces of Federal’s blue Madrid, people call the color “Madonna blue” as it is a soft shade with no trace of green or purple.
You can find amber Madrid at many antique malls or fairs, sometimes estate sales, but do learn about reproductions to protect yourself. True Madrid has some sharp points on pieces like cups, creamers, sugars or sherbets that can chip, and plates and bowls have sharp inner rims that nick easily.
Pieces of Madrid by Color
Amber Madrid consists of a large dinnerware pattern with many serving pieces and tumblers, plus a few accessories such as a candle holder, console bowl and cookie jar. There are four plates, from a sherbet liner to large dinner plate, plus a grill plate, four bowls for place settings, cup and saucer, sherbet.
Serving pieces abound. Look for creamer, sugar, four serving bowls, butter dish with lid, pitchers, cake plate, relish dish and platter, salt and pepper shakers, the hard to find gravy boat and platter.
Madrid has some unusual pieces too, like a jam dish that looks like low bowl, similar in size to the soup bowl. Similar to Georgian Lovebirds, Federal made round flat pieces to use as hot plates or trivets, and there is a wooden lazy Susan that has inserts for the hot plates to make up a cold cuts server.
This cute piece is the jello mold. I can’t think of another depression pattern with its own jello mold!
One lovely accessory piece is the round console bowl. I saw this at an antique mall once, it is low and about 11 inches across.
The candle holder is low and holds one candle. The inside is smooth, with no ridges to hold the candle. Reproduction candle holders in Indiana’s Recollection pattern have three ridges.
The cookie jar is square with a lid. The lid motif is simplified. Also, note the sharp corners on the round section just below the lid finial. Those corners can chip, as can the inside rim and the rims and flange on the lid. If you can find a cookie jar in good condition it would be a fun piece of depression glass to use.
Madrid tumblers ranged from a small juice to an iced tea and came both footed and flat.
Pieces in Other Colors
Federal made dinnerware in green, including most of the serving pieces, although green is scarce today. The lovely blue color came in a much smaller set, with only the small sauce dish for a place setting and fewer tumblers or serving pieces; there is no candle holder, cookie jar or butter dish for example.
Federal made even fewer pieces of pink Madrid, the sherbet, salad, lunch plate but no dinner plate or grill plate. I don’t have information on original crystal Madrid pieces.
Madrid Reissues and Reproductions
During the 1976 Bicentennial Federal reissued some Madrid in nearly identical colors and added a “76” to each piece. The 76 is small and I found it difficult to spot the first time I came across a piece. I understand they did not reissue green.
Indiana Glass bought Madrid molds from Federal’s bankruptcy and remade many pieces in amber, pink, a teal blue and crystal. These have no 76 marking. Indiana called their version Recollection. We went to one auction that had over a dozen original Recollection boxes and their contents.
We saw many pieces of teal blue, pink, crystal and amber Recollection. Once you have handled the original the reproduction pieces feel off – which is hard to describe or quantify and difficult for a new collector. Most of the pink I saw was Recollection, not Madrid, heavier and the pattern sometimes was less crisp.
The pink is easier to spot too since Federal made so few pieces in pink originally. Two ubiquitous pieces are the footed tumbler/vase and the candle holder. Federal made neither of these pieces in pink and Indiana was creative with them, attaching the candle holder to a plate to make a cake stand, or adding a lid to the tumbler. The pink tumblers I saw were heavy. If you see any of these, know they are reproductions.
I noticed the cups and sherbets had smoother, more rounded rims in the repros, with less pointed vertical ribs. I’m not sure this is foolproof.
The color that worried me when I was buying and selling glass was amber. Since Federal made so many amber pieces you cannot rely on piece lists to spot reproductions and the color is very close. I used to see a lot of the bowls and footed tumblers. If you like Madrid and want to avoid reproductions I suggest you go to glass shows, talk to dealers, handle the real Madrid and get as much information as you can from books.
All teal pieces are Recollection. The teal color is very different from the original Madonna blue. One of the best ways to educate yourself and train your fingers to spot reproductions is to find a piece you know is fake – such as a teal piece or one of those put-together candle/bowl combinations. Feel it, look at it closely, try to put the color in your mind so you won’t mistake it for the real blue. Then when you find a piece in amber that you are unsure of, you may be more confident in deciding real or repro.