Posts about Iris and Herringbone
Who Owned Me First? Iris and Herringbone Every Day Dishes
Full of Ruffles and Flowers – Jeannette Iris Bowls
Iris and Herringbone Depression Glass on Parade
Found: Reproduction Iris and Herringbone Crystal Plates
It’s Almost Iris Time! Iris and Herringbone That Is
Real or Repro? Iris and Herringbone Clear Depression Glass
Depression Glass Candle Holders – Iris, Floral and Windsor Little Gems from Jeannette
Depression Glass Coasters
Depression Glass Pitchers – Eye Candy
It’s Time for Flea Markets! 5 Tips to Buy Glass at Flea Markets
Colors and Basic Information about Iris and Herringbone
Jeannette Glass made crystal Iris and Herringbone plus a few pieces of transparent green and pink in the early depression, 1928-32, then in iridescent later in the 1960s-70s, plus some opaque painted pieces in white, pink or green in the 1970s. There are a very few pieces in transparent pink, green, red, blue and amethyst. We’ll cover both crystal and iridescent in this article. Be aware there are Iris pieces with red and gold painted on accents sometimes called Corsage made in the later production period.
This green is painted on, it is from the later production in the 1970s, not the depression. I am aware of vases in white, green and pink, and do not know whether there were pieces other than vases.
Iris and Herringbone Pieces
Iris and Herringbone includes dinnerware, drinking glasses and pitchers, serving pieces and accessory/decorative items. Jeannette made all pieces in crystal and most in iridescent.
Iris Plates
Jeannette made the usual three plates – 5 1/2 inch sherbet liner, 8 inch luncheon and 9 inch dinner plates – in crystal and all except the lunch size in iridescent. The pattern of flowers against background of the herringbone narrow grooves is easy to see.
All three plate sizes have the flat rims as shown in the dinner photo. Be very careful when buying to check the inside edge of this flat rim for nicks as this is an easy place to damage when stacking plates. The photo shows it can be hard to see these nicks but your finger can feel them.
The crystal dinner plate has been reproduced. The two easiest tell-tales to spot fakes are the glass color and the placement of the little herringbone Vs near the rim. You can see in the photo above that the Vs on the real Iris look like Vs, pointing away from the rim towards the center. The Vs on repro plates point outwards. You need to look at the Vs right at the rim to see this. These Vs are easier to see than to show in photos!
The other tell-tale is the color. I saw the fake plate at an antique fair and was immediately struck at how blazingly clear the glass was. Real crystal Iris is not anywhere near colorless, usually tinged gray or yellow. Here is the fake plate on the table at the fair.
To the best of my knowledge the lunch and sherbet plates have not suffered from fakes.
Bowls for Individual Plate Settings
Per published piece lists, there are a small (4 1/2 inch) berry bowl with beaded rim, a 5 inch ruffled sauce dish and a 5 inch cereal and 7 1/2 inch soup. There is no iridescent cereal. Be aware the soup and cereal are rather hard to find. The cereal has straight sides and a rounded top, the soup has the same wide, flat rim as the plates.
The beaded rim on the smaller bowl has a problem with chips. Take a look at the top and notice the beads are set on top of a flat rim that has sharp corners.
It’s easy to nick those sharp corners and the small beads.
Serving Bowls
Jeannette made at least 4 serving bowls, two ruffled, one beaded rim and one with a flat, smooth rim that came in crystal only. All are interesting fun pieces. We used to see many ruffled iridescent Iris bowls at estate sales in southwest Michigan. This estate sale photo is pretty typical.
First bowl is the largest, 11 1/2 inches across, ruffled, designated as a salad bowl.
Here is the smaller fruit bowl in crystal.
This last bowl is the 8 inch size with beaded rim in iridescent. The beads are quite small. Unfortunately I do not have photos of the larger flat rim bowl.
The ruffled bowls are quite spectacular with a great deal of presence. You could use them as decoration or to serve food. Some have a metal center added that holds nut crackers and picks to convert to a fruit or nut set. I have not seen other converted pieces although they may exist.
Cup and Saucer, Sherbet
Iris has a regular cup and saucer, which is easy to find in both crystal and iridescent and a demitasse size which is more scarce. The saucer has a cup ring.
The cup ring obscures the design a bit.
There are two sherbets, this one photographed which is 2 1/2 inches tall and footed, and a taller sherbet not shown that is more like a saucer champagne.
Other Serving Pieces – Creamer, Sugar, Butter Dish, Serving Plate, Pitcher
Here is the iridescent creamer. Note the slightly dome-shaped foot with rays.
And the crystal sugar with lid.
The serving/sandwich plate is 11 1/2 inches across, shaped just like the dinner plate. Iris has no oval platter.
The butter dish has a round base with an inner lip to hold the domed lid. You still want to be careful the lid doesn’t slip off!
The pitcher is heavy, about 9 1/2 inches tall. Personally I wouldn’t want to try to use this full of liquid.
Other Accessory Pieces – Candle Holder, Lamp Shade, Candy Jar, Vase, Coaster
The candle holder is similar to the shape in other Jeannette patterns, a flat center section between two candle cups with a domed base.
There are also a lamp shade and a candy jar with lid. I have not had either and thus cannot show you photos. The candy jar looks like a footed bowl with two flat handles and a lid. It is quite large.
The vase has been reissued with green or pink opaque paint as shown above, and Jeannette made a small number of transparent pink or green vases during the depression.
This is the crystal vase. If you like vases, or are looking for an unusual gift, this is a very good size for flowers and is easier to find than vases in other patterns.
There is an Iris coaster, a useful piece, unfortunately we have no photos. Be aware the coaster has been reproduced. I understand the glass base is quite thick on the fakes and the color is off, much too clear similar to the repro dinner plate shown above.
Goblets and Tumblers
Look for three goblets, a 4 1/2 inch tall wine that holds 3 ounces, and two 5 1/2 inch goblets, one that holds 4 ounces and one that is the water size, 8 ounces. It is harder to find iridescent goblets than crystal. I have no goblet photos.
There are three tumblers, a 4 inch tall flat shape in crystal only and two footed tumblers, 6 and 6 1/2 inches tall in both crystal and iridescent. This is the smaller of the two footed styles. I’ve seen several footed tumblers but none of the flat style which are not common.
The crystal flat tumbler has been reproduced. The bottom on the fakes lacks the herringbone motif which the original has. The crystal cocktail and iced tea tumblers also have been reproduced. The glass color on all these repros is much too clear and you shouldn’t have any trouble spotting them.
Availability
You should not have much trouble finding basic pieces, especially the pretty ruffled bowls if your area has estate sales or antique malls. Just be careful to check for wear on the iridescence and be aware of the reproduction crystal dinner, coaster, flat tumbler, cocktail and ice tea tumblers. I am not aware of reproduction iridescent pieces.
I checked eBay just now (August 2023) and saw many pieces including some of the less common pieces such as the flat rimmed fruit bowl or soup bowl. Pieces seemed available in both crystal and iridescent and it was interesting, the prices including shipping were about what my 2010 depression glass reference book suggests as book values.
Iris and Herringbone has pieces in a range of prices. Some of the basics, ruffled bowls, cups and saucers, pitcher and footed tumblers, plates and bowls for lunch, creamers and sugars, are very reasonable. Other pieces are quite costly. Some of the usual collector items, candle holders, vases, butter dishes, pitchers, are actually quite inexpensive compared to other patterns.
Replacements has several pieces in stock too. We saw Iris and Herringbone at the glass shows we visited and at almost every antique mall. So have fun shopping for this great pattern!
Damage and Reproduction Concerns
I mentioned the problem with the beaded rims on bowls. Both the beads and the squared of edge just beneath the beads chip easily. We also had some Iris plates with divots out of the flat rim. We saw many damaged pieces when we shopped too.
People used Iris and you’ll see small nicks on many pieces, both on the top and bottom rims of footed pieces, the inner and outer rims on plates or bowls. Just check to be sure you know what you are getting.
The biggest problem with iridescent may be scratching. You won’t notice scratches on the side that has the herringbone texture, but the bowls, cups and such have smooth interiors that do show wear. On plates check the rims for wear.
There are reproductions of Iris and Herringbone, to the best of my knowledge in crystal only. All the reproduced crystal Iris is much too clear and bright. If you decide to collect this pretty pattern I strongly recommend buying a good collectors’ guide. I rely on my books by Gene Florence who gives tell tale tips to spot fakes, but the most recent is 2010. I doubt there have been new fakes since then but since I’m not in the market any more my knowledge may be out of date.
Iris has always been a popular pattern, both when Jeannette introduced it and now for collectors. I hope you too enjoy it.