Over the next few posts we will look at several depression glass patterns that have spirals or swirls as their design motif. US Glass, Hocking, Jeannette and Imperial all made colored glass dinnerware in spiral patterns during the early depression era and they and others used spiral designs for accessory pieces.
These are among the earliest depression glass patterns; in fact many companies produced their spiral patterns beginning in the late 1920s. Today’s pattern, US Swirl, is one of those.
Take a good look at the handle. Creamers, sugars, pickle dishes all have the little tilted up spot at the top. I have not seen a cup but expect they have the same handle. That handle shape is a good clue that US Glass made a given piece.
I’ve seen very few pieces of US Swirl and have owned only this creamer (sold long ago). U. S. Glass is the same company that made Aunt Polly, Strawberry, Cherry Berry and several very pretty patterns used only for cake plates or tiny sets. Green US Swirl is by far the most common although there should be some pink, iridescent and clear out there too.
I took a quick look on eBay when writing this post and found half a dozen or so pieces of the pattern (plus others misidentified), but it’s not a real popular or plentiful pattern. The pieces are thick and kind of clunky, not the graceful designs and shapes that we see in some of the more popular depression glass patterns like Cherry Blossom.
US Glass had produced glassware for years before the depression era and people today collect many of their Early American Pressed Glass patterns. Many of their earlier patterns are good quality glass, well made with polished seams.
US Swirl pieces have rough seams, glass is not clear with bubbles and straw marks. I tried to find out whether Swirl was one of the earliest patterns that US Glass made using the mass-production machines that were commercialized in the 1920s, but couldn’t find out much at all about this pattern. In fact my early books on depression glass don’t mention US Swirl. It’s a big of an enigma.
Next post we’ll look at another Swirl pattern, Spiral from Hocking Glass.