We’ve covered some useful tips to tell depression glass from elegant glass. Let’s review:
- Depression glass was mass produced. It will have tiny flaws, like protruding seams or bubbles or little wrinkles.
- Elegant glass was partially made by hand. Makers used better quality glass and finished it better.
- Pieces with ground base rims are elegant glass.
- Pieces with pretty designs that are raised are probably depression glass.
- Glass that is etched – where the design is into the surface – is elegant glass.
Let’s see how well we can use these tips on this sherbet with a geometric design. This pink sherbet is Miss America, a depression glass pattern from Hocking, made the latter part of the depression era.
Miss America Pink Depression Glass Sherbert
Back in the 1930s families used Miss America as their good dishes, no surprise since it is pretty and stylish and the colors are grand. (The pink is softer than my photo shows.) But you wouldn’t mistake this for elegant glass. One is the glass quality is OK, not super high quality. The other is almost all Miss America pieces have a bit of excess glass around the seams.
How about this one? It is from Fostoria – so you know it is elegant glass – but how would you tell if you didn’t know that? This Century crystal tidbit is not etched and there isn’t a ground base rim. That means we need to look at some subjective criteria.
The glass is high quality, beautifully clear and there are few or no flaws. You would check those three little feet for protruding seams and look under the curlicue rim. This tidbit doesn’t have anything like that. The quality and lovely finish would help you know this is elegant glass.
Fostoria Century Tidbit
If you like glass it’s wise to get familiar with common patterns. To help you I created a picture guide to many popular depression glass patterns here.