Posts about Circle Depression Glass
Circle Depression Glass in Green and Pink from Hocking
Scott’s Rainbow Depression Glass – Colors Galore! Photo includes a Circle sherbet
Hocking Glass made Circle from 1930 to 1935 mostly in green, several pieces in pink and stems in crystal or crystal with green or iridescent. It’s a small pattern, with place setting pieces, a pitcher and several stems and tumblers.
We saw very few pieces of Circle when browsing antique malls and estate sales in Michigan. In fact the small plate shown is about the only piece we had in 20 years of buying glass! Looking just now (March 2023) I see a few pieces on eBay but you must wade through scads of listings for “Circle Depression Glass” to find Circle pattern pieces.
Circle is an early depression pattern and you may find a bowl with ground bottoms or a darker shade of green glass (per Gene Florence’s Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass). Hocking mass-produced most Circle, using molds with the circular design, and did no hand work to smooth the bases.
There are three sizes of bowls for place setting use, ranging from 4 1/2 inches wide but deep to 5 1/4 inches wide and shallow with a third bowl in between with flared sides. It’s somewhat unusual to find depression glass patterns with this many small bowls, especially patterns like Circle that makers produced for only a few years.
You can get plates for lunch or dinner, plus a larger 10 inch sandwich plate meant for serving. Plates have an optic on the rim and plain centers. That optic means part of the plate rims are slightly rounded up and those parts can show wear. You can see that in my photo above.
There are two cup styles, a rounded one that fits the saucer with cup ring and a flared side cup with flat base that must use the sherbet plate as the saucer does not fit.
If you are familiar with two other early Hocking patterns, Block Optic or Cameo you know they made multiple styles of creamers and sugars. Circle has only one style and it’s favorite of mine, tall, cone shaped. The sugar has no lid.
There are two serving bowls, 8 and 9 3/8 inch across, the serving/sandwich plate and two pitchers. This pitcher shown with straight sides holds 54 ounces. (Florence lists it as 60 ounces.) The larger pitcher is more rounded and holds 80 ounces.
Circle includes several goblets and tumblers, mostly green or green with crystal and these are fun pieces. Circle includes a larger water goblet, smaller wine goblet a tall champagne/sherbet and a short sherbet. First let’s see the all-green water goblet, just under 6 inches tall that holds 8 ounces filled to the brim. All the goblets and sherbets have impressed stars on their bases.
The wine goblet has a different shape, narrower, and is 4 1/2 inches tall, shown here in green and crystal bicolor. (Remember depression era wine goblets generally held 3-4 ounces filled to the brim.)
The two sherbets have similar shape bowls with different size stems. This is the taller sherbet which looks useful for drinks as well as desserts.
This is the low sherbet in pink. To me this looks more practical, albeit less elegant, for serving ice cream or fruit than the taller sherbet which has a longer stem.
There are four tumblers, ranging from a 4 ounce juice size to a very large tumbler that holds 15 ounces plus an 8 ounce water and 10 ounce iced tea. All the tumblers have flat bottoms and this neat rounded shape.
Hocking made two other patterns in the depression that have horizontal ribs, the early pattern Ring or Banded Ring, and Manhattan. Manhattan, made after Circle, is quite different with rounded ribs and Ring has clusters of narrow ridges. Hocking made Manhattan in crystal and pink while Ring is mostly crystal, crystal with decorations, or green. For comparison take a look at this crystal Ring vase. I don’t think you’ll have any problems telling the patterns apart.
I had only the one small Circle plate so cannot comment on potential damage concerns other than the surface wear on the rim caused by the optic rubbing when plates are stacked. Of course you’ll want to check rims and the circle ribs for any rough spots too.