Recently a Facebook lady asked for information about Fostoria Chintz. I thought “sure”, after all, Chintz is one of the Fostoria patterns we specialize in and I did an entire program on it for the depression glass club. Surprise, I’ve hardly written about it. Here is the first post in a long time to cover this entrancing pattern.
Fostoria Chintz Etched Crystal Water Goblet
Fostoria used their Greenbriar blank for stemware. You can see how easy this shape is to hold; it has grooved stem and small balls at the top and by the foot. When you use vintage stemware you really don’t want to drop it! Having the textured stem and balanced shape makes you feel safe and secure.
Fostoria didn’t use Greenbriar for many other designs, odd, don’t you think? The stemware line is pretty complete – you can find a low stemmed water, more a footed tumbler than a short goblet, an ice tea, two sherbets, wine, cordial, cocktail. Chintz spanned the era that dinnerware and entertaining fashions were becoming less formal and Chintz appealed to those who enjoyed quality crystal
The goblet shown was marketed as the water goblet. Back in the 1940s wine goblets were still small, about the size we think of as cordials or cocktails. Today the fashion is to use large goblets and fill them only a little with wine. If you choose Chintz for your crystal today then consider using this tall goblet for wine and either the low water or ice tea as a footed water
Fostoria only made Chintz on crystal, no colored glass. And this is real crystal.
Sometimes people ask me whether elegant glass is “crystal” meaning lead crystal, or simply “crystal” as in clear glass. Fostoria used leaded crystal as did other American elegant glass makers. Don’t confuse this with the heavy, pressed or cut crystal you find today in department stores around the holidays. Fostoria was able to produce thin glass with enough lead content to sparkle and hold and etch or cutting, but was yet lightweight.
We’ll continue the Chintz story in future posts.