Does Doric & Pansy Ultramarine Glass Glow under Black Light?
Today Debbie contacted me through my store to ask whether Doric & Pansy ultra marine / teal glass glowed under black light. That was a good question and I didn’t know the answer.
Time to get out the black light. Oops, no batteries. Found the batteries. Oops, still doesn’t work. Asked husband to fix. He rearranged the batteries. Yay! Success. Now it’s time for the test.
I took the cup into the darkest room of the house and and turned on my little black light. The cup glowed green
Yes, the teal depression glass cup glows under black light. It’s the blue green color in the photo under normal lighting and a medium light green, almost opaque looking, under black light.
Vaseline Glass and Authenticity
People often use the black light test thinking it guarantees authenticity. It is not a reliable test to show glass is old. Any glass which was colored with uranium salts will glow. Some very old clear glass glows; some does not. Most depression era green glass will glow but you will find later glass that glows too.
The other confusion is with the term ” Vaseline glass”. Originally Vaseline referred to a glass color, light yellow, not bright yellow and not green. This light yellow glass glows green under black light. Often today people use the term “Vaseline” to refer to any green or yellow glass that turns green under ultraviolet light. Besides the green and light yellow glass there is some cranberry or opalescent glass that turns green. A good book on the topic is Vaseline Glass: Canary to Contemporary by David A. Peterson
Many people collect Vaseline glass, enjoying the vintage patterns and the fun color response. If you are one of them have fun and just be aware that not everything touted as “Vaseline” truly is. You can get inexpensive black lights sometimes sold to detect counterfeit money and it’s a good idea to take one with you when you shop for Vaseline glass. The UV light I use was only a few bucks.
As always, buy what you enjoy!