I love to hold a piece of vintage glass and imagine the family that owned it first. Were they a young family making ends meet during the depression? Older? Lots of kids or single? Some patterns feel so fancy that you just know their first owners treated them with pride and care, used them for Sunday best or reserved for company.
Iris and Herringbone has some pretty pieces with scalloped edges and a nice, bold design of molded iris flowers against a background of tiny ridges. This dinner plate is big – about 11 1/2 inches across – but that includes the wide rim.
Iris and Herringbone Iridescent Dinner Plate
The other plates look just like this one, except different sizes. You might wonder about those inner rim edges and how they hold up if you stack the plates. I have seen several pieces with rough inner rims, but the rounded glass doesn’t seem quite as prone to damage as some other patterns like Patrician or Royal Lace which have very sharp corners.
This is a better picture that shows the pretty design. What do you think? Would the first owners kept this for good?
Iris and Herringbone Iridescent Cup
These iridescent pieces are a pretty shade of gold. The shimmer you see in the cup is partly from the iridescent treatment but also from the tiny ridges (the herringbone design that gives the pattern name). The ridges are narrow and catch the light.
Iris has several tumblers. This footed water is the most common.
Iris and Herringbone Iridescent Footed Tumbler
Just about all the pieces have a raised foot. There are a couple sizes of sherbets and this one is the most common. The more scarce variety is taller, more like a champagne. I saw some at an estate sale, but unfortunately the person ahead of me was checking out with them in hand! I got these shorter iridescent ones at a different sale.
Iris and Herringbone Iridescent Low Sherbet
Iris is a complete pattern with a sugar bowl of course. Like many depression era patterns the sugar has a lid.
Iris and Herringbone Crystal Sugar and Lid
Personally I think the iridescent Iris is a bit more flamboyant and appealing than the crystal, although I bet we’d enjoy the clear more over the long haul. Something about transparent glass that sings to me.