Hard to believe it’s Saturday again, isn’t it? But it is so it’s time for weekly glass pick. This week let’s look at a piece of Fostoria stemware, this Heather iced tea.
Fostoria Heather Etched Ice Tea Footed Tumbler Crystal
I like the Heather etch a lot. It has little flower clusters surrounded by leaves, just like the heather that’s blooming in my garden now, under the snow.
Fostoria made Heather from 1949 to 1971, the period when crystal was in style and colored glass was less popular. You won’t find Heather blooming on any of the colors that Fostoria used for a few patterns during this same period, like Lido.
Fostoria used the lovely Century blank for dinnerware pieces. Century is the shape that has little curls around the rim; it is pretty by itself and lovely when enhanced with a graceful etch. Another good thing about Heather is the plates are etched in the centers. Although crystal clear centers look wonderful, they get scratched if people use knives with them. The etched centers hide any wear as your eye looks right over it.
Stemware like this iced tea is on the Silver Flutes blank. I don’t know where they got the name “Silver Flutes” from – glassware names can be interesting. The design is mostly in the stem which has little nubs going up two sides. The stem itself is slightly oval vs. round and the little curly nubs are along the edges of the oval. It is pretty, but not one of my favorite stem lines. I prefer the shapes that are a little lighter looking, but must admit the curled nubs go great with Century dinnerware.
Iced teas usually are the largest stem in the elegant patterns. The idea must be that you need to put enough ice in the glass that you need big capacity to have room for the tea! This Fostoria Heather iced tea is typical, about 6 1/2 inches tall, a short stem and holds about 12 ounces. Remember that we measure capacity right to the brim, so you wouldn’t want to use this to hold a full can of soda.
We don’t have many pieces of Heather in stock, in fact this iced tea is the only example. Heather is fairly popular – of course given how pretty the etch is – and would be a wonderful pattern for anyone to enjoy. Wouldn’t this Heather iced tea be a splendid gift for a lady named Heather?