Posts about Differentiating Florentine #1 and #2
Let’s Reduce Confusion! Florentine #1 and #2 Poppy Depression Glass Part 1
Florentine Poppy #1 and #2 Creamers and Sugar Bowls – Tips to Tell Them Apart – Let’s Reduce Confusion
Confusing Patterns – Florentine 1 vs. Florentine 2 Poppy Depression Glass from Hazel Atlas
Let’s Reduce Confusion! Florentine Poppy #1 and #2 Depression Glass Plates and Bowls
Let’s Reduce Confusion: Florentine Poppy #1 and #2 Cups, Sherbets and Cream Soups
Posts about Possible Florentine Reproductions
Florentine Poppy Amber Depression Glass or a Reproduction?
Elegant and Depression Glass Salt and Pepper Shakers
It’s Time for Flea Markets! 5 Tips to Buy Glass at Flea Markets
Avoid Reproduction Pink Depression Glass – Collecting Fun
Ooh and Aah Time – Beautiful Florentine Poppy Depression Glass Pieces
Pink Saturday – Pink Poppy Florentine Depression Glass
Went Antiquing Today – Florentine #2 Poppy Green Depression Glass
Pink Saturday – Poppies in Pink – Florentine Depression Glass
Pink Saturday – Florentine Poppy Depression Glass Sugar Bowl
Florentine Poppy Depression Glass Patterns
Depression Glass Coasters
Depression Glass Pitchers – Eye Candy
What Depression Glass Pattern Should I Collect?
Eye Candy from the 2016 Depression Glass Show
Conversion Time! From Dealer/Aficionado to Collector – Gasp!
Too Quick! A FAST Look at an Antique Mall
Three Reasons to Love Depression Glass
What’s Pink and Pretty and Good For Ice Cream?
Pretty in Yellow and in Pink and Maybe in Green!
A Soup By Any Other Name – Cream Soups and Bouillon Cups
Glass Pick of the Week! Elegant and Depression Glass Juice Tumblers
Green Depression Glass – An Assortment of Beautiful Glassware
Colored Depression and Elegant Glass – Color Changes Over Time
Now Starring…. Depression Glass or Is It Elegant Glass?
Depression Glass Guide – Topaz Yellow Colored Glassware
Table Settings with Florentine
Tablescape Thursday – Florentine Poppy Green Depression Glass
Florentine Potential Damage Concerns
Sad Buying Experience – Florentine #1 Poppy Green Depression Glass
One Pattern Two Shapes: How Florentine #1 Differs from Florentine #2
Florentine gets its nickname “Poppy” from the glorious trails of poppies on the rim and centers of each piece. Hazel Atlas used two different blanks for Florentine, Florentine #1, also called Old Florentine, and Florentine #2. The colors and design are the same on both shapes so mix and match if you like.
Florentine #1 has small scallops on the edges of plates and bowls, the feet of cups, creamers and sugars, stemmed pieces and tumblers. Cups, creamers and sugars, sherbets, tumblers and comports are rounded. This Florentine #1 sugar bowl has the small scallops on the foot, round body and angular handles.
Florentine #2 has round plates and bowls and smooth edges on tumbler feet. Cups, creamers, sugars, cream soups, sherbets and tumblers are angular. Notice the sugar bowl handle differs from the #1 sugar.
Hazel Atlas made more pieces in Florentine #2 than in Florentine #1 although both shapes have a good size set for the dinner table. Shape #2 includes more accessory / decorative pieces such as this candle holder.
Click here to skip to Florentine #1 section. Click here to skip to Florentine #2 section.
Basics about Florentine #1 and #2
Hazel Atlas produced both shapes from 1932 to 1935. They made Florentine #1 in green, pink and yellow; Gene Florence lists every piece as made in green, and all but one, the smaller footed juice, in pink and most in yellow and a very few in cobalt blue and likely all in crystal. Florentine #2 has almost every piece in yellow or green, a few serving pieces in pink, and a very few in cobalt or ice blue, and amber, likely most in crystal.
There are crystal pieces in both Florentine #1 and #2 that have fired on colors or bands of colors or metal trim. I have not seen these in person.
Hazel Atlas made several other depression era patterns in a lovely shade of cobalt blue, Royal Lace, Moderntone are good examples. I’m a little surprised they made just a few pieces of Florentine given how popular the other blue patterns must have been. Cobalt blue Florentine #1 is limited to creamer, sugar, comport, sherbet, cream soup/nut bowl and a rare pitcher. The cream soup and comport are both pretty pieces with ruffled rims. Cobalt #2 seems limited to a water tumbler and comport.
There are reproduction Florentine #1 shakers and #2 tumblers and pitchers. Any red or cobalt blue shakers are fakes. Pink ones may be harder to spot based on color although Florence notes the fakes he saw were poorly made.
If you enjoy Florentine in either shape please consider buying a good reference book that discusses tips to spot reproductions. I personally have not seen any.
Pieces Available in Florentine #1
Florentine #1 is a dinnerware pattern including extensive serving pieces and tumblers. The only accessory pieces are an ashtray, coaster and small comport, and these were likely aimed for snacks at card parties, not decoration.
Florentine #1 Basic Dinnerware – Plates, Bowls, Cups, Saucers
There are four plates, the 6 inch sherbet liner, 8 1/2 in lunch/salad, 10 inch dinner and 10 inch divided grill plate. The 8 1/2 inch size is listed as a salad but the size is more typical for lunch as salads are usually about 7-7 1/2 inches. Notice the wide scalloped rim. The inner edge on some pieces is sharp and nicks easily. Plus that wide rim reduces the usable size for the plates, this dinner plate is 10 inches across rim to rim, but the interior is closer to 8 inches.
Florentine #1 includes 3 small bowls meant for place setting use, a 5 inch berry (aka sauce dish), a 5 inch cream soup/nut dish with handles and a ruffled rim and a 6 inch cereal bowl.
The cream soup is quite pretty and a dual uses, meant for dinner time or to serve nuts.
It’s interesting that the sherbets, cups, creamers and sugars, and tumblers are all round shaped when plate and bowls are angular.
Florentine #1 Tumblers
Hazel Atlas made several Florentine tumblers, from juice glasses about 3 1/4 inches tall to water tumblers 4 3/4 inches tall that hold 10 ounces, an ice tea that’s 5 1/4 inches tall and holds 12 ounces. There is one 9 ounce tumbler that is flat and the rest are footed. The flat tumbler is the water size and has panels on the sides, not smoothly round.
This is the juice tumbler in crystal. This is the only Florentine crystal piece we had and it’s quite pretty, the pattern shows up well on the clear glass.
Florentine #1 sherbets are round, rather a nice shape. The foot scallops are barely noticeable.
Florentine #1 Serving Pieces
Florentine #1 has fewer serving pieces than Florentine #2 but it certainly has a good number. There are two serving bowls, an oval vegetable dish which has a cover and this round (or square-ish) bowl which is about 8 inches across.
There is one platter, oval about 11 1/2 inches long, a round covered butter dish, salt and pepper shakers (which have been reproduced), ashtray,two sizes of pitcher, small comport and of course, two creamers and two sugars. This is the creamer with plain rim; the other style is ruffled.
One sugar is ruffled and the other has a lid.
This is the lid. All the Florentine #1 lids I have had were chipped, a fate that is sadly common for lids.
Florentine #1 Availability and Pricing
I got the pieces we used to have mostly from estate sales, antique malls or Craigslist. You can certainly look locally, especially if an estate sale ad mentions depression glass, or check Craigslist, Facebook and similar sites so you can check pieces out in person before buying. If you want something particular you may need either patience or look online or at a glass show.
For Craigslist and similar, I used to run wide-open searches, e.g., “depression” or “depression glass” or “glassware”, and the like. I found many sellers had little idea what they had so you may miss listings if you search for a specific pattern. My experience was most glass came in lots and usually the lots had a few pieces I did not want that went to the thrift store (or dump if broken). But I did get some very nice glass that way.
Just now on eBay I saw many pieces of Florentine #1, mostly green, pink or yellow. It looks as though you could accumulate a nice set over time. Of course with Florentine #1 you will want to be sure the seller has pieces in the condition you want. I suggest contacting online sellers to ask to verify any rim nicks, etc.
Prices online appear to be similar to those in my depression glass book published in 2010. Green might be slightly higher priced on most items with pink close behind. If you look for small sets, such as multiple plates or bowls, it is usually more cost effective.
Florentine #1 Damage and Reproduction Concerns
Florentine #1’s scalloped edges can chip of course, but the biggest concern is inner rim roughness on bowls and plates. Always check the inside rim, run your fingers along the outside edge then the top and inside edge of the inner rim.
All depression glass may have flaws, bubbles or bits of extra glass and any extra glass on the seams or handles can feel rough.
To the best of my knowledge, the salt and pepper shakers are the only Florentine #1 pieces that have been reproduced. Be aware that any very dark cobalt blue or red pieces may be reproductions; Hazel Atlas did make a few pieces of cobalt blue, but this is a lovely mid level blue, not the very dark tone. It is the same color as blue Moderntone.
Pieces Available in Florentine #2
Florentine #2 is a dinnerware pattern with many serving pieces, far more than Florentine #1, and has many decorative/accessory pieces such as vase, candy dish, candle holder. There are more pieces in green or yellow than in pink, blue or crystal.
Florentine #2 Basic Dinnerware – Plates, Bowls, Cups, Saucers
Florentine #2 has the same basic plates as #1, sherbet liner/bread and butter, salad, dinner and grill plate, plus green and pink include a small snack type plate, 6 1/4 inches wide with a cup indent, and in green, a grill plate with ring for the cream soup.
You can collect four place setting bowls in green Florentine #2, the small 4 1/2 inch berry bowl, 2-handled cream soup, a 5 1/2 inch bowl (which I have not seen) and a 6 inch cereal bowl. Pink Florentine #2 has only the berry and cream soup. Notice the cream soup handles are angular, these match handles on cups, creamers and sugars.
There is a cup and a saucer with a cup ring, as usual for dinnerware, plus there is a custard cup in green or yellow. The custard cup lacks a handle and looks more like a wide, shallow sherbet.
Florentine #2 Sherbet and Tumblers
Speaking of sherbets, Florentine #2 has one in either green or yellow and per my reference book, also amber.
There are several tumblers in green, ranging from a small 5 ounce juice to a 12 ounce tumbler that is blown instead of molded, and a flat iced tea tumbler that also holds 4 ounces. Pink Florentine #2 offers the basic two, a water and a juice, both flat while yellow has the same tumblers as green excepting the two blown sizes. I think this tumbler is the flat 9 ounce water but my notes don’t specify size.
Look for flat and footed tumblers. I always appreciate the detailing that depression glass patterns show. Notice the poppy pattern continues on the foot of this yellow juice. Unusually for depression glass the tumblers are not all that hard to find especially online. There are reproduction juice tumblers, I do not know which colors but likely not the original lovely green, pink or yellow, but the inauthentic colors of Florentine #1 or the pitcher in Florentine #2.
Florentine #2 Serving Pieces and Accessory/Decorative Items
Florentine #2 has several interesting serving pieces including three serving bowls. This bowl is the 8 inch large berry that Hazel Atlas made in green, yellow and pink.
The 9 inch oval vegetable bowl has a cover; unfortunately my cover was chipped and I don’t have a photo of the bowl and lid together.
All three colors include the 11 inch oval platter shown below. Plus the yellow lineup includes a unique piece that is a platter with a well to hold a gravy boat. The gravy is a yellow-only piece too.
My reference book lists 4 Florentine #2 pitchers in yellow and three in green, the one that is the easiest to find is quite tall, 7 1/2 inches but holds only 28 ounces. It is cone shaped and footed, shown below. Like the sherbet the foot shows off the lovely poppy motif.
There are reproduction pitchers out there, mostly in colors that Hazel Atlas never made. The repro pitchers have very flat feet; note the foot on this authentic pitcher is slightly dome shaped. This post shows a pitcher that I believe is a repro based on the color and flat foot.
There are some less common serving or accessory pieces too, the butter dish with lid, coaster/ashtray (two sizes), relish and salt and pepper shakers. We did have three accessory pieces, the yellow candle holder, pink ruffled comport and green coaster. These are fun pieces, pretty and useful. It’s nice to show a rainbow of Poppy!
The comport is small with ruffles. It looks like a big sherbet.
This coaster is quite useful, note the small ribs in the inside that keep a wet glass from sticking to it.
Florentine #2 Availability and Pricing
Just as with Florentine #1 you can get a nice set of Florentine #2 in green or yellow rather easily, especially if you shop online or go to a glass show. I used to check Craigslist and the like regularly and you can always place a want ad on one of the online sites. Note – if you do buy from strangers online where you meet in person, ALWAYS meet in a public spot such as a busy parking lot. Check the glass carefully before purchasing and be aware most sellers will insist on cash.
Pricing on eBay as of July 2023 seems in line with a fairly popular but not rare depression glass pattern, similar to the prices in my reference book from 2010. If you are willing to buy a set, such as 4 plates or tumblers, you likely can get a better price per item. Be sure to factor in shipping and the inherent risks in not seeing glass in person before buying.
Florentine #2 Damage and Reproduction Concerns
Be aware that there are known reproduction sof one tumbler and one pitcher. My information is from a 2010 reference book so it is possible there are more out there. (I consider it unlikely the fakers are making new pieces since depression glass is less sought after than it was 20-40 years ago.)
I didn’t see much damage with Florentine #2 beyond the usage wear from any older dinnerware or rim nicks.