- Posts about Moderntone
- Basic Information about Moderntone
- Moderntone Pieces Available
- Repro, Availability and Damage Concerns
Posts about Moderntone
Moderntone Depression Glass, Beautiful Blues from Hazel Atlas
Posts with Table Settings
Tablescape Thursday: Beat the Blues with Moderntone
Blue and Amethyst Depression Glass Tablescape Thursday
Oh What a Difference Cloth Can Make – Depression Glass Tables for You
Pink and Blue Aren’t Just for Babies Any More – Tablescape Thursday
Posts that Mention Moderntone
Use Your Imagination and Empathy with Vintage Glass
Six Reasons Why I Love Georgian Lovebirds Depression Glass
Aurora Depression Glass from Hazel Atlas
Newport Hairpin Depression Glass in Amethyst and Cobalt
Three Reasons to Love Depression Glass
Royal Lace Pink Depression Glass Footed Sugar Bowl
Pretty in Yellow and in Pink and Maybe in Green!
Hazel Atlas Glass Identification and Value Guide by Gene and Cathy Florence – Book Review
Green Depression Glass – An Assortment of Beautiful Glassware
Basic Information About Moderntone
Hazel Atlas made Moderntone in transparent blue, amethyst, and a few pieces in crystal and pink beginning in 1934 until the early 1940s, then reused the molds with their solid white Platonite with fired-on colors in the late 1940s to early 1950s. For reference this is a creamer in the Moderntone Platonite, notice this is opaque.
We will look at the transparent blue here. Although Hazel Atlas made Moderntone in amethyst, I have never seen it thus have no photos to share.
The design is very simple with horizontal bands stacked atop each other and squared off handles. Its main claim to fame is the gorgeous blue color Hazel Atlas used, the same beautiful shade of blue they used for Royal Lace and Aurora. My experience is that Moderntone is easier to find and less costly than those blue patterns, thus a good choice if you want blue depression glass.
Moderntone Pieces Available
Moderntone is a dinnerware pattern plus tumblers, a punch bowl set and an ashtray. The pattern’s fairly complete line up of dinnerware includes 4 plates, from a sherbet liner to dinner plate, 3 place setting bowls plus a cream soup (shown above) cup and saucer, sherbet, plus 3 serving plates/platters, a serving bowl, creamer and sugar, salt and pepper, butter dish and cheese dish with a metal cover.
This photo shows the luncheon plate, cup and sherbet. The saucer is Royal Lace, creamer and sugar are Newport, both from Hazel Atlas.
The creamer is the identical shape to the fired-on blue Platonite one shown above.
Moderntone has few accessory pieces, only the punch set, nut bowl (basically same as cream soup with ruffled rim) and ashtray. The punch set uses cups without handles, also called custard cups, and either a metal bowl with wide, flat rim, or a blue glass bowl with similar shape. I’ve not seen it or the ashtray in person. The custard cups are round, with a tapered shape and the stacked design, quite unlike the coffee cups.
The shakers are a fun shape, with a round foot and the same stacked design.
Tumblers remind me of the Aurora ones, except they have three stacked rows near the top, plus the same vertical fluting as Aurora. I do not have photos but you can see pictures online at Replacements or other sites.
Reproductions, Availability and Damage Concerns
I am not aware of any reproductions of the transparent Moderntone pattern. Moderntone Platonite, also made by Hazel Atlas, uses the same molds but does not include transparent colors. Pieces are made of white Platonite with fired on colors.
As mentioned, we saw many pieces of Moderntone when we shopped in Michigan and on occasional trips to Indiana or Ohio. However, we did not see tumblers, bowls except the cream soups, nor serving pieces other than the creamer, sugar and shakers. We were not specifically looking for Moderntone and were buying for resale at the time so it’s quite likely we simply overlooked any.
If you don’t find Moderntone in your antique shopping, then look online. There are many pieces and small lots available on eBay, Replacements has some and so does Etsy. You may need to search a while to find all the bowls and tumblers, but basic pieces seem abundant.
The biggest damage problem is wear. The plates have plain centers, no design, so any wear shows quite badly, exacerbated by the dark color. I’ve seen plates that look almost white with so many scratches. If you buy plates online it’s a good idea to check photos carefully, especially pictures showing plate held up to the light.
Moderntone is the same blue color as Aurora, New Century and Royal Lace also from Hazel Atlas. It’s a good blending pattern that looks nice to extend the few Aurora pieces Hazel Atlas produced.. The design and shape are quite different from Royal Lace, check the table setting photo to see whether you like the combination.
If you like Moderntone, it is a good pattern to seek in blue. The color is stunning, it is relatively available and affordable and there are many pieces.
As always, enjoy your glass!