Federal Glass was established in Ohio in the early 1900’s by members of the Beatty family, well known glass manufacturers. Its makers mark can be identified by the capital letter F inside a shield. The earliest Federal Glass was not colored, it was flint glass and characterized by the tiny nodules of flint in the silica used to manufacture glass.

Federal Glass Company started out by making tumblers, and then graduated onto more easily sold items that kept many families supplied with salt and pepper shakers, measuring cups for their kitchens.

By 1914, the company was producing over half of their pressed glassware using molds obtained from other companies. Popular patterns were the “Peacock Feather”; “Kansas” and “Caledonia”. There also were other companies making the same type of glassware at this time, among them were the Jenson Glass Company and the Co-operative Flint Glass company.

The ‘Depression Glass’ styles produced by the Federal Glass company in the early 1920’s and 1930’s were like most glassware of that period, cheaply produced and inexpensive but today they are hunted for by avid collectors all across the globe.

Several patterns to look for include the “Mayfair”; “Colonial Fluted” or “Rope”; “Diana” and the “Parrot” design. A green pitcher of the Parrot design was recently featured on E-bay for over $4,500.00.

In the 1940s and 50s Federal manufactured popular tableware sets of colored pressed glass. Their “Park Avenue” pattern (1941 to 1970) would probably be a worthwhile investment if you are collecting for the future.

In 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States, the Madrid pattern was re used, with the addition of the numbers ‘76’ beside the makers mark and renamed ‘Recollection’. This was to distinguish it from the earlier pattern that came out in the 1920’s.

Federal Glass Company closed down in 1980 and the mold for the Madrid pattern was sold to the Indiana Glass Company. The new company continued to produce the ‘Madrid’ pattern but without the ‘76’ markings which make it harder to tell if the piece of glassware in question is from the early or late 1900’s.