- Posts about Pineapple and Floral
- Basic Information about Pineapple and Floral
- Pieces Indiana Made
- Availability and Pricing
- Reproduction, Reissues and Damage Concerns
Posts about Pineapple and Floral Number 618
Pineapple and Floral Glass Pattern – From Depression Era and After
Glass Patterns from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s Identification Guide
What to Watch for When Buying Pretzel Glass from Indiana Glassware of the 1940s, 50s and 60s
Basic Information about Pineapple and Floral Depression Glass
Pineapple and Floral describes this design perfectly. Rims have tiny flowers and leaves with veins sprinkled around and the centers of plates have a spiral design of diamonds around a stylized flower. Bases of tumblers, creamers and sugars, sherbets have diamond indents, which is supposed to remind one of the pineapple designs such as we see in doilies.
Indiana Glass made Pineapple and Floral from 1932 to 1937 in crystal, amber, plus many pieces in a vivid fired-on red, and a very few in green and milk white Platonite. They later reissued in avocado during the late 1960s-early 1970s and again in the 1980s in other colors. I’ve seen it in crystal, Platonite and avocado and a piece or two in amber but not the fired on red or other colors. Crystal Pineapple and Floral is pretty.
Indiana named the pattern “Number 618”, so early collectors added the nickname Pineapple and Floral which is how almost everyone refers to it.
Plates are slightly square and all footed pieces have diamond-shaped plain feet. Handles are uptilted with a little scroll flare at the tip. Cups, creamer, sugar, tumblers and cream soup have squared-off bases, and creamer and sugar have feet.
Pineapple and Floral Pieces
Pineapple and Floral, Number 618, is essentially a dinnerware service with a few accessory pieces. For table use look for 3 plates, the sherbet liner, salad and dinner plates.
For platters Indiana made an 11 1/2 inch sandwich plate and a squared off oval platter with handles plus a 11 1/2 inch plate with a round, recessed center.
The pattern line includes a small berry bowl, a 6 inch cereal and a cream soup with 2 handles. The next largest bowl is called a salad bowl, but at 7 inches it’s most likely meant to be a small serving bowl. (My notes say this bowl was 8 inches across but that may be my error.)
Of course the pattern includes the usual cup, saucer, sherbet, creamer and sugar. See the sugar photograph above.
Indiana produced a several useful serving pieces, an square-ish oval serving bowl, platter and relish, plus the small diamond-shaped comport.
You’ll find the comport in many colors.
Besides these usual serving pieces, in crystasl look for an ashtray, a 2-tier tidbit, and an especially neat piece, a vase with a metal holder meant to go inside a car. I’ve not seen these but the idea is an old one, have flowers to help with the smell that cars got back in the 1930s.
There are two tumblers (only one in amber or red) but no pitcher.
How Available and Costly is Pineapple and Floral?
You will probably find the small diamond-shaped comport at every antique mall and many thrift stores, especially in crystal, avocado, or white. Other crystal pieces are harder to find, especially in perfect condition
We rarely saw Pineapple and Floral other than the comport, but we did get a few pieces in box lots or picked up at flea markets or estate sales. (Crystal depression glass tends not to be recognized as a collectible, thus often priced quite low.) I don’t recall seeing any amber or red in any piece, not even at large malls or shows.
I suspect that if you like this, especially in Indiana’s lovely rich amber or red, that you might need to ask a glass dealer or shop online. Just now on eBay (July 2024) I see many pieces of crystal, but certainly not every piece Indiana made, plus a few pieces of amber and avocado and the usual myriad comports.
Pricing appears to be slightly greater than Florence lists in his 2010 edition of the Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, but this is still an inexpensive pattern, especially for the most common pieces.
Crystal plates and rather inexpensive and bowls are pricier with tumblers and some serving pieces in the over $20 range. It is hard to tell with amber or red as I saw so very little of it online.
Reproduction and Damage Concerns
Indiana reissued pieces of Pineapple and Floral – notably the comport – in several colors including crystal, white and avocado. I do not know of any tell-tale indications as to which are older vs. newer. Of course any avocado pieces would be newer since that color is not depression-era.
This pattern is so busy that you will probably not notice light scratches or surface wear. However, like many Indiana Glass patterns, Pineapple and Floral tends to have bits of excess glass on the rims and seams that protrude enough to feel rough.
We also found most bowls and several plates were chipped. The rims tended to curve up in a roll that left a space for a sliver to nick off on the underside. (It’s hard to describe, but the underside of the rolled rim on the top of the plate would be chipped.)
Also check the diamond-shaped feet and handle edges for chips or roughness. I think almost all the pieces we had were nicked like this, but I have too little first hand knowledge to say it is typical. Just be aware that the pattern chips.
Summary
Overall, if you like flower designs or appreciate the sparkle that mold-etched crystal depression glass brings to the table, this is an attractive pattern that is fairly easy to acquire.