Paden City produced several patterns that are some people classify as depression glass and others as elegant glass. Crow’s Foot, Line 412 and 890, is a good example. This is decent quality glass that Paden City used for several etchings and they made it in cobalt blue, ruby red, black plus some amber, crystal, yellow and semi-opaque white. The only piece I ever had is this footed gravy boat.
Paden City made a complete array of Crow’s Foot dinnerware, including serving pieces and a few accessory pieces, but no stemware or tumblers. You might find both square and round pieces. The primary motif is the line of tear drop shapes with five little rays at the end, thus the nickname “Crow’s Foot”.
This next photo is from one of the depression glass shows we attended, notice the line of dots you can see in the cups stacked on the table.
As you can guess, given how little of it we saw in our antiquing trips, Crow’s Foot, whether decorated or plain, is not all that abundant. Gene Florence notes the cobalt and ruby red serving pieces are scarce and costly. After checking Replacements and eBay I can confirm that yes, pieces are available in both colors but are expensive.
It would be fun to collect Crow’s Foot accessory pieces. There are several comports, three different candle holders, three candy jars, a punch bowl and two center handled servers. I saw several of these beautiful pieces on eBay and Etsy, in various colors, both etched and plain.
The covered candy dish and center handled server are both beautiful pieces. The crow’s foot motif is subtle and the handles pick up that same motif. I noticed two different handles when checking Replacements and eBay for the center handled server; one has four little fan-shaped motifs spaced around the circle and the other looks like two fingers meeting to form a donut.
To me Crow’s Foot is on the border between elegant and depression glass. It’s nice quality but not the same as Cambridge or Fostoria. I thought the piece we had and those we saw was about the same as Lancaster glass. Please leave a comment if you disagree!