- Posts About Miss America
- Basic Information about Miss America
- Miss America Pieces Made
- Reproduction and Condition Concerns
- Availability
Posts about Miss America
Miss America Depression Glass from Hocking
Collecting Miss America Depression Glass – Prices over Time
Miss America Depression Glass – Reproductions
Miss America Depression Glass – Check for Damage
Miss America Depression Glass Tumblers and Goblets
I’m Going to Miss Antiquing! National Depression Glass Show in 2019 Photos
Miss America Reprise – Pink Depression Glass for Saturday
Miss America Pink Depression Glass and Memories
Mostly Pink Miss America Depression Glass Tablescape Thursday
What Is Depression Glass? Myths and Misconceptions
Depression Glass Flaws – Charm and Character or Annoying Blemishes?
Miss America Pink Depression Glass – Pink Saturday
Here She Comes: Miss America on Pink Saturday
Pink Saturday – Antiquing Together Finding Miss America
Depression Glass Coasters
Gorgeous Hocking Depression Glass Candy Jars and Dishes – Eye Candy!
Basic Information about Miss America
Hocking Glass made our beloved Miss America from 1935 to 1938 and it must have been a successful pattern for them given they produced many pieces. Luckily most are available even today, nearly 90 years later. Miss America always strikes me as fancy, the dishes families took great care of and saved for Sunday best and holidays. You can find pink and crystal plus a few pieces in light green and a very few in Royal Ruby or ice blue.
The rims are smooth on top (or interior is smooth for hollow pieces) with small raised pointy diamonds on the underside or exterior. Plate and bowl centers are smooth with a big impressed star on the underside. Goblets, creamer, sugar, comport and tall candy have square feet, creamer and sugar feet are offset to a 45 degree angle with a star on the base.
Both pink and crystal are very pretty, sparkly. Hocking’s pink is beautiful. Notice the smooth band at the top of the creamer. You will find the same smooth band on the top rims for most of the hollow pieces. Of course you wouldn’t want to drink out of a cup or tumbler that had the pointy diamonds at the lip!
Pieces of Miss America Made
Miss America was a successful pattern for Hocking; we can tell by the large number of pieces, both for table use and decorative accessories. The sparkling diamond motif looks wonderful in bowls and dinnerware.
For table use, Hocking made three plates, the sherbet, luncheon and dinner sizes plus a grill plate, and both a small berry and cereal bowl, plus the usual cup and saucer, sherbet.
You can choose among many serving pieces – I especially like the bowls – butter dish, cake plate, creamer and sugar, oval platter, salt and pepper, shallow oval celery and relish dishes. This is the shallow celery, followed by the deeper oval vegetable bowl.
Here is the platter in crystal then in pink. Miss America is one depression patter where the crystal is simply lovely, and almost as popular as pink.
There are three sizes of flat tumblers, sized for juice, water and iced tea, plus two pitchers, both about the same size, one with ice lip and one without. Plus there are three goblets, for wine, juice and water.
If you enjoy depression glass accessory pieces, look for the tall candy jar with lid, coaster or comport. Here is the candy jar, unfortunately without a lid. It’s big enough to double as a vase.
There are plenty of pieces in pink and crystal, both practical and fun. Maybe a pitcher and set of goblets or tumblers, or dessert plates with cups and saucers, creamer and sugar for a coffee with friends, or that lovely relish tray would be good additions to your home. (I do not buy or sell glass any more.)
Reproduction and Condition Concerns
A few pieces Miss America have been reproduced: Creamers, sugar bowls, butter dishes, salt and pepper shakers, tumblers and pitchers have been reproduced. Many of the reproductions are in colors that Hocking never used to make that particular piece, dark red, cobalt and light blue, amberina, darker green, plus a pink; however there are also crystal reproductions. I strongly recommend you invest in a good depression glass book. I use the last one from Gene Florence, Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, from 2010, but there are others that document reproductions.
Florence notes that the reproductions have tell-tale differences compared to original, so even if you find a piece in a color that appears to be authentic, a good guide can help you. For example, new shakers have more glass on the inside bottom which you can spot visually and also put your finger in to check the depth. This is not as helpful if you have never seen the original.
The thing that helped me the most to spot fakes is to find one in a color that is definitely not original. For example, the new green is easy to tell apart from the original soft green with a hint of yellow. If you find a darker green piece – any piece – of Miss America, know it is fake and check it carefully and you’ll be better equipped to recognize fakes in more deceptive colors.
As with any glassware, be sure to check the rims on Miss America, especially rims as on the comport for nicks on the little diamond points. The points often feel a bit rough, even with no damage, so check carefully by eye too.
Another place that nicks easily is the bottom or inner rim of the smooth band around the top because the edge is sharp. Small rough spots here may be minor enough to ignore. This photo shows where to check.
I found large smooth gouges in the center of the smooth bands on a few pieces, a very odd spot that might be easy to miss because the edges are not rough, the gouge blends in visually and to be blunt, who expects that kind of damage?
Availability
We found quite a lot of Miss America when we shopped for depression glass in Michigan and neighboring states. Since people recognize this as depression glass, or at least as something special, they tend to price it higher than some patterns in malls or estate sales. It is a beautiful pattern and most pieces we saw were in good condition, I suspect families used this as their Sunday dinnerware.
You might have problems finding specific pieces in crystal or pink. For example, we had all the plates except the grill plate, all the bowls except the big one with curved in center and never had the butter dish or candy lid or tumblers and the juice or wine goblets. We saw those pieces, we simply did not purchase them. (I was buying for resale at the time.) I think if you like Miss America and want to get it, you can look in antique malls, estate sales, flea markets, or try the online market places like Craig’s List.
If there are specific pieces you need that simply haven’t wandered in your path, then try a glass show (go to one anyway simply to see the gorgeous glassware) or look online. If you prefer to get pieces in one of the uncommon colors like light green, ruby or ice blue then be sure you know which pieces are original and not fakes.
We found Miss America generally cost slightly more than the average pattern due to popularity. Pink is more costly than crystal for most pieces. Miss America is somewhat heavier than some patterns thus shipping can add up if you buy online.
Overall Miss America is a lovely pattern, one that has been popular and likely to stay on the wanted list. Both pink and crystal catch the light and sparkle and both play nicely with other depression glass. In fact I like to add piece or two of pink Miss America to a table with mostly green and yellow glass to give a sparkly pop of color. If you decide to collect be sure you learn about the reproductions.
And as always, enjoy your glass!