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Sharon Depression Glass Pattern by Federal Glass Company |
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March 17th, 2008 by Just Glass Online Like it? Share it:
One of the most popular patterns among collectors of Depression glass for its timeless and classis beauty, the Sharon pattern, also known as Rose of Sharon or Cabbage Rose, was produced by the Federal Glass Company from 1935 until 1939. You can see much resemblance between Sharon and Federal’s Mayfair and Rosemary patterns for good reason; Mayfair was also the name of a Hocking pattern and so, due to copyright issues and after redesigning the pattern twice, Federal renamed the line Rosemary in 1934. But the Rosemary line sold poorly and was followed soon after with Federal’s introduction of another open rose motif, the Sharon pattern, in 1935. Of the three lines, Sharon, with its smooth edges and ornate rose garland, proved by far to be the most popular, winning the War of The Roses at the Federal Glass Company and still winning hearts with collectors today as one of the most sought after Depression glass patterns! Colors produced in the Sharon pattern included Rose Glow (pink), the most desirable in the pattern by collectors today, Springtime Green, which is the hardest to find today, and amber, called “Golden Glow” in the original Federal catalogs, and a few pieces in Crystal (clear). Federal’s Sharon floral pattern was made using the Chip Mould process. Among the 32 pieces made in the Sharon pattern, some of the more difficult pieces to find include the thick tumbler, flat soup, cream soup, and pitchers. The jam dish in pink is rare, while the uncut footed tumbler made into a lamp is nearly impossible to find today. Pieces available in crystal include the cake plate, a footed tumbler, and 7 and 1/2 inch plate. Some of the Sharon cake plates are indented for a metal lid, while others are flat, and may be found with flowers painted on the underside. Though quite popular, pieces in the Sharon pattern are still reasonably priced and, with a little patience, you can still put together a full service, especially in amber or pink, although pink pieces typically run about twice the cost of amber. If you want green pieces, you’ll need to be very patient as there aren’t many pieces available, although it is less popular with collectors than pink. Flat soup bowls, the jam dish, pitchers and tumblers, will require some hunting but you should be able to track them down. The pitcher comes with and without an ice lip and remarkably, it’s the plain variety that’s slightly harder to find. Tumblers were made in 9-oz and 12-oz size, and come thick and thin. The thin ones look mold blown while the thick variety looks pressed. The thick ones are harder to find; of course, if you’re willing to mix thick and thin, you’ll complete your set faster. The 15 oz footed tumbler was added to the line in 1937, making it the hardest to find of the three sizes made. Finding a cheese dish will test your patience, and if you collect pink Sharon, be prepared to spend in the $1500 range for one. Many reproductions of Sharon were made in the 1970s, so be sure pieces you buy are originals, unless you are intentionally out to collect the replacements, in which case be sure you pay accordingly. Some tips on identifying Sharon reproductions pieces versus originals:
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I found this article very helpful, especially in the identification of repros.
Comment by Barb — July 26, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
I have the genuine cheese dish in mint condition. I purchased it in 1972 through the depression glass daze newspaper. I have the entire rose of sharon set. (pink) I need to sell this glass. How and where can I go to get the best deal.
Comment by Linda — October 15, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
My mother collects this pattern and is apparently only missing the very rare cabbage rose lamp. I’m looking to purchase this as a gift for her but its really nowhere to be found. Any ideas where I might find the cabbage rose lamp? ANY suggestions would be very appreciated.
Comment by Joel — November 12, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
I did take a look around in some of my resource materials an online for you Joel, but so far no luck. I’ll keep looking, however I will warn you that the price is likely going to be steep for what you’re looking for.
Robbi.
Comment by ladymacbeth — November 18, 2008 @ 10:21 am
Posting here also….
Was wondering anyone knows
of the Cabbage Rose (Sharon) Pattern – Pink Soup bowls being reproduced?
Bought a set of 6 off ebay last week for my wife for Christmas…. We only had
3 in the collection and she’s starting to want to pick up the collecting again…
Well after these 6 arrived I compared them to the 3 we have… the leaves are not
near as detailed as the 3 we have now… also one of the new bowls had several
small bubbles in the bottom of the base…. There where no swirls in these 6 glass as some
of the older glass has…. they were perfect, mint with the exception of the detail in the flowers and leaves.
On our orignal 3 bowls…. the larger leavers have 6 veins to where these new 6 have 4.
Of our 3 bowls, one we’ve had for 10+ years the other 2 we bought after picking
through a set of 5 at an antique mall a few months ago….the 2 choosen where by, of course
condition… the rest had scratches and chips…. yet these 3 all have the same detail though
being bought years and places apart.
the 6 from ebay…. I just felt they where too mint and patterns weren’t 100% as the others.
the seller took them right back no questions asked… which also made me wonder..
Anyway any word on the soup bowls would be wonderful….
Thanks for your time
Comment by Eric — December 7, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
Eric. There were a lot of reproductions of this pattern made, which makes it hard for some of the newer collectors. while I”m not sure about any that are currently in production I wouldn’t be at all surprised.. Let me do a bit of homework and get back to you this week. the issues that you state made you return them are absolutely what you’re going to find in nearly any reproduction. most of them are done quickly, and many are done overseas, so they are not going to stand up to the ones you have in any way at all.
I was actually just doing a piece on reproduction depression glass, so let me see what I can find about your bowls
Robbi.
Comment by ladymacbeth — December 11, 2008 @ 12:06 am
Thanks Robbi..
I appreciate you looking into this for me… Wifes’ been collecting for about 15 years and just started getting back into it… These bowls make us a little uneasy on looking now… especially online… those 6 were just too clean looking as I stated… and the first one I had unwrapped
had several tiny little bubbles in the bottom base. and the glass was just too perfect… Know what I mean? some of the older stuff seemed to have a swirl or rippled…That may not sound right or I’m describing it wrong but there’s just something about old glass…
Anyway I will certainly watch the leaves closer now….
Comment by Eric — December 22, 2008 @ 9:39 pm
Can you snap a photo of one for us to check out?
Comment by ladymacbeth — December 29, 2008 @ 11:17 am
Same problem. Got two Sharon tumblers 3 15/16 inches tall. The roses aren’t well done. I am not a Sharon collector so I didn’t know to look for certain sizes. Compared to some cups which I have, the color is very close.
What fooled me was the feel of the glass.
I should have known better, as the condition was too good.
Comment by Katie — January 4, 2009 @ 11:50 pm
Hi–I sold the bowls on e-Bay to the folks writing above and took them right back because that’s my policy, even though I lose money on shipping. These bowls, a butter dish, and a creamer and sugar came out of an attic, with all the pieces wrapped in 1938 newspapers. If they were faked, it’s one of the most elaborate frauds I’ve seen for something not worth a pile of money. I’m attaching a link to a couple of jpegs. Copy and paste the links below into your browser. Judge for yourselves. Take a look at the close-up of the pattern, paying attention to the detail in the leaf veining and the definition in the petals. Repro molds are typically sloppy. Sharon was a long-lived pattern and probably had molds redone as they lost sharpness, which may be the reason for some differences in design. Re condition being “too good,” when these pieces got used, they show it; when they got put away, they don’t. A friend some years ago bought 2 Sylvan luncheon sets, including original boxes, which had been stored in an attic and NEVER used. 2 absolutely mint butter dishes–NIB–that probably won’t happen again.
http://content.glidesociety.com/image.aspx?id=1b922d68-9b25-4c6d-8cdf-1ba80aef7da4
http://content.glidesociety.com/image.aspx?id=7f160424-ede8-4e4c-85dd-53d31f377434
Comment by Mike Lally — January 28, 2009 @ 9:01 am
I have a small collection of what is believed to be the sharon amber dishes. Is there someone I can take them to to see if they are real or reproductions?
Comment by Sarah — January 28, 2009 @ 11:03 am
ps to my post of 1/28 re Sharon cream soup bowls and Eric’s post of 12/07/08. I don’t think that Eric could have looked very closely–you can clearly see in the 1st jpeg above that the larger leaves have 6 veins. Here’s the link to the eBay page–it should be up for another month or so–
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170281077320
I thought that the description is right on the money and the photos show that Eric is mistaken.
Comment by Mike — January 30, 2009 @ 10:36 am
My comment is regarding the dishes found in attic by Mike. I have over a hundred pieces of Sharon Cabbage Rose. Given to me by my mother in law. She purchase all of them in 1935-1936. She is still alive at the age of 93. All of mine are original and in mint condition. The picture of the cup shown is a little different from mine, but I had to look very closely. At the bottom of pattern where it looks like stars, I have leaves coming off one or two of stars/leaves. Yours have none.
Comment by Lora — February 9, 2009 @ 8:28 pm