The Federal Glass Company was established in 1900 in Columbus Ohio and operated their glass making by  hand, making pressed glassware, some of it with needle etchings.

Federal Glass had the business acumen to anticipate the publics need for a large amount of glassware for a reasonable price and made the step over to automated productions as soon as they were able, becoming one of the best and most prolific companies to produce cheaper glasses and pitchers and jugs by machinery.

The 1930’s saw Federal Glass emerge as one of the leading producters in machine pressed, molded tableware in various colors, and in the forties they expanded their operations to include service to the food service, or restaurant industry.

During the next decades after the forties the Federal Glass company emerged as a lead supply house to many commercial food institutions not only nationally but world wide.
In the late 1950’s Federal Glass became a division of the Federal Paper Board Company, and continued to produce glassware until the very late 1970’s when they ceased operations.

The company even remade one of their popular glasswares, Recollection, as part of the American Bicentennial celebratory pieces, coloring it a bit darker and embossing the numbers 76 on the pieces.(on thing to note is that after Federal Glass went out of business, the molds were taken in by Indiana Glass, who did produce the same pieces in blue and pink colors, so if you’ve got one, it may not be Federal Glass)

Patterns which the Federal Glass company made include:

Colonial Fluted "Rope"- (1928-32) (Crystal, Green)

Columbia- (1938-1942) (Crystal, Pink)

Diana - (1937-1941) (Amber, Crystal, Crystal Decorated, Pink, Frosted Colors)

Fruits - (Crystal, Pink, Green) (1931-1936)

Georgian - (Amber, Crystal, Green) (1931-1936)

Madrid - (1932-1939) (Amber, Blue, Crystal, Green, some Iridescent, Pink)

Normandie - (1933-1940) (Amber, Crystal, Iridescent, Pink)

Parrot (Sylvan)- (1931-1932) (Amber, Some Crystal, Green)

Patrician - (1933-1937) (Amber, Crystal, Green, Pink)

Rosemary (Dutch Rose) (1935-1937) (Amber, Green, Pink)

Sharon (1935-1939) - (Amber, Crystal, Pink, Green)

In a previous series on China marks we discussed the fact that due to lengthy histories, upheavals or simply the evolution of a company over a century or more, the marks used by the company changed, evolved or grew as the company grew.
A perfect example of this is the Belleek company and its many marks.

Makers of fine porcelain, Belleek had its origins in Ireland in 1857 and continues in business to this day.
In early 1849,  John Caldwell Bloomfield inherited the Castlecaldwell estate, from his father. This estate took in the village of Belleek, and with many of the tenants hungry in the years post the potato famin, Bloomfield sought out a way to give them gainful employment and monetary compensation.

He was an amateur mineralogist, and as such, he decided to order a geo survey of the lands around him, which to his delight offered up the raw materials that it took to make pottery, including  feldspar, kaolin, flint, clay and shale.
 

The village of Belleek,was a wonderful selection to locate the new business since they could also use the power of the river there, to drive a mill wheel to grind their components.

 Bloomfiled took on partners, including  Robert Armstrong who was an architect from London, and David Mc Birney, a Dublin merchant who was quite wealthy. He then nearly singlehandedly pulled the strings that brought the railroad into Belleek.

Next he pulled strings, lobbied and practically paved the way single handedly for the Rail Service to come to Belleek. By rail, coal could be brought in to fire thekilns and the finished Belleek product could be sent to market with ease.
 
 
Although there was labor aplenty where he was, he also knew that the success of the enterprise would depend on skill and experience, with his own people providing the support work, so hewent to England and offered the craftsmen there high wages and a better lifestyle, and when he returned from his trip he brought back 14 craftsmen.
 

Centering their production on high quality domestic ware such as pestles, mortars, washstands, hospital pans, floor tiles, telegraph insulators and tableware they still wanted to make porcelain.Failing at early attempts, until 1863 when a very small quantity of Parian was produced.
 
The company was successful however and by the early parts of 1865 it had established a growing market which sold to England, Ireland, and was reportedly also selling pieces in the growing United States as well as Canada. Orders that brought them greater fame were being taken from such nobility as Queen Victoria and  the Prince of Wales.

Accordingly, the Belleek Mark, as the company itself, has evolved and changed over the years, with more than ten marks being used, as well as special marks for different product ranges or specialty items.

    * The first Belleek mark, used from about 1863 to 1890.
    * The second Belleek Mark, used from 1891-1926.
    * Belleeks third mark,  used for about twenty years,  was used from 1926 through 1946.
    * The fourth Belleek mark was in use for only about nine years, from 1946-1955

 There are multiple other marks which were used in the interim from 1955 to present day, as well as speciality marks, leacing up to the mark which is used today, pictured here. The Belleek company is a prime example of companies whose logos or marks changed over the course of many years, and many changes within the company. This company alone has more than 19 marks including their specialty marks.

As most of you who collect glassware or china know, many of the companies who offer glassware, or have done so in the past, also offer a way to identify that glassware by virtue of their own particular marking on the glassware.

Some of the more famous ones are easily recognized by any glass user, while others are a bit less readily identified and take a little research to uncover.

A few of the more obscure ones of course are from companies which remained in business for a very short time, while others have evolved over the years, moving from one to another as the company underwent changes, sales or other upheavals across eons or even centuries.

China and glass companies as well as other manufacturers, including those  who existed only in the short term usually have their own specific mark that appears somewhere on their product. Some of them are so little seen that we aren’t even certain yet what companies they represent.

Finding a mark on a glass product that you have not previously seen is like a small mystery to a glass collector and most of us won’t rest until we know what, or who, it represents. Many are very well known, and easily linked to companies, while others take a lot of digging to uncover.

Some of the examples of  glass marks you may see which are more or less obscure and will help you to identify the company who made your glass product  are:

Oil City Glass Works–just a few miles from my home town in Pennsylvania, this glass company was in business for a relatively short time, about 15 to 17 years. (1952-1969) The mark resembles an oil derrick, which is symbolic of the area where the company is housed.

Olean Glass mark, from Olean New York, the OG may be encircled or without it. The G is not always clear and sometimes appears more like a C than it does the G that it should be

The well known Ball Glass Company mark, used on Ball canning jars,  originally began its life as the Ball Bros Manufacturing Company/Ball Bros Glass Company until 1969 when it became Ball Glass. It is located in Muncie,Indiana, but was originally located in Buffalo, NY  until about 1888. Best known for their manufacture of fruit and canning jars, Ball has also made a wide array of other products during their lifetime.

This very well known mark is symbolic of the Anchor Hocking glass company, from Lancaster, OH (as well as other factory locations) the company has been in existence since the late 1930’s. Reportedly this particular mark was no longer used after 1975 or 1976, I have personally seen it on Anchor glass products so I’m not quite sure what to make of that.
In the early 1980’s a new corporation was formed known as  Anchor Glass Container Corp, which has it’s own particular logo.

The quite well known mark of the Federal Glass Company. The mark is simply an F inside a shield. Federal Glass Company,which originated in Columbus, OH and operated from 1900 through 1980, began use of this mark in 1930. They made a huge array of table serving glass, drinking glasses, and were very well known and collected. Particularly interesting to collectors is their depression glass.

 Libbey Glass Company began their business life named the New England Glass Company.
They produced a wide variety of glassware, and in the end expanded their business to sheet glass and windshields, but are more widely known for their cut glass and shaped drinking glasses.

The company was, in the beginning producing multiple items including mercury glass, colored art glass, pressed glass, and a wide array of things like doorknobs and railroad lamps.
The glassware of the Libbey company was quite often decorated with gilding but was  also  decorated with cutting and engraving as well, making it well sought after.

Though the products were quality,  the company found itself in over their heads financially and was sold in 1877 to William Libbey, and was renamed accordingly, and when the purchaser passes away just five years later, it was passed along to his son.

 Edward Libbey moved production to Toledo, Ohio in 1888, where raw materials were readily available and was instrumental in making Toledo Ohio synonymous with glass production.

It was also at this point that the company became more lucrative, with the invention of a machine that could do a great deal of the world.. Workers were fired and the company, while popular, became less so in the immediate area.

(excerpted from History of Ohio )" The Libbey Glass Company became even more profitable after Michael Owens, an inventor from Newark, Ohio, joined the firm. Owens developed a machine that could automatically produce bottles, tumblers, and glass chimneys. This invention dramatically increased production. It also lowered manufacturing costs, as the company was able to fire workers now that machines could do the work instead."

The sword under the  old signature in Libbeys glass mark is their silent nod to the renowned city of steel,  Toledo, Spain, from which the name of the city in Ohio originates.

Libbey hired Joseph Locke in 1882, who was a designer from England to take over the design works and while he worked at Libbey he patented several items that are quite collected .  Some of those items include Peach Blow, Maize and Pomona,as well as Amberina, the Victorian era glass that offers the very distinctive amber to red shading as its trademark

 Libbey produced it  right up to the new century.
 It was a difficult type of glass to make since the red shading came from the use of actual gold and it was costly to make, making it quite expensive to produce, but it did give the company recognition world wide.
 In the 1920s, Amberina was in production again for a short time, and is signed quite often so the collector can identify it.

Libbey was  also the number one producer of what was called  Brilliant Cut glass from about 1878 to 1915 or 1916.The Brilliant cut was extremely highly leaded, and rumors had it using as much as sixty percent lead in the formula for its creatioin.
Lead softened the glass, making it easier to cut and added sparkle, weight and giving it that wonderful clarity of ring when lightly struck.
At the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 the company won prizes for exhibitions of their fine glass.

The war years were slim for everyone and LIbbey stuck to making hard to break glassware for hotels and restaurants, however in about 1933 they began producing fabulous stemware, which today is sought after for collection world wide.

 The designer Douglas Nash, a former Tiffany’s man, was employed to breathe life into the  market for hand crafted high-end stemware.
 Some of the new offerings of the Libbey company that were made under Nash’s tutelage included  the Art Deco  stems, among them American Prestige, Knickerbocker, Syncopation (an ice cube shaped stem, is one of the rarest to find  today), and Embassy. Embassy was an eagle-and-star etch  that was designed especially for the US Pavilion at the ’39 World’s Fair.

The Silhouette line c.1933 by Douglas Nash had a different animal decorating the stem of each type of glass including cats, greyhounds and monkeys, with each different type of glass featuring a different animal.
 The Silhouette glassware stems came with a selection of colors: black, opalescent, or frosted crystal.

The Skyscraper stems One type of Nash’s designs, the Victoria cameo etch, took more than 80 hours of engraving per glass and sold for about 2000 dollars per dozen glasses. This of course wasn’t a big seller during the depression and production of it ended in 1935.
All of these glasses, including the Brilliant cut are sought after by collectors today and fortunately with the companies mark, can be readily identified.
Libbey glassware has left its mark on collectors and given us a great deal to look for.

Anyone who knows anything at all about glassware has heard the name Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and knows the beautiful china and glassware, as well as the quality that goes along with the name.

Most of us however aren’t aware that the company has been in existence for nearly 200 years and that there are still some breathtaking, albeit expensive tokens of that pre-Royal Doulton company left to be collected.

Doulton served an apprenticeship in Lambeth, on the south bank of the Thames River, in a pottery business that was owned by Martha Jones. In 1815, Jones asked Doulton and another employee, John Watts, to become her partner and the three people founded a business called Jones, Watts and Doulton.

They produced what was then largely utilitarian salt glazed and stoneware ceramics but in time expanded what they made to include mugs and jugs modeled in the shape of people, most noteably  Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington.
They also produced bottles for beer, pots for ointments and it is said that as a child laborer Charles Dickens pasted labels on them.

The most central product of  Royal Doulton, one which made the company what it became,  was the Toby jug, or beverage mug, first produced in the early 18th century.

This jug was designed to represent a male figure who was seated and smiling, with the spouts  that were placed on either side of the mug’s rim making up the points on the character’s tricorn hat.

Doulton then became well known for its attention to detail when it produced figurines and  Doulton became known for the quality and attention to detail of its figurines and John Doulton
made a flask depicting Queen Caroline around 1820.

In the Exhibition of 1851, John Doultons glassware won a medal and has since won more than 200 awards for the beauty and quality of their glassware, pottery and china.

Pieces that were made by the Doultonware company include salt glaze pieces, terra cotta plaques which were fashioned by George Tinworth, as well as figurines which are prized collectibles today. They are highly prized by collectors and are quite expensive when you do find them.

You are advised to check carefully when or if you do find a piece of original Doultonware to be sure that what you have is original.

The absolute ultimate goal of the fifties was having the best of the best when it came to entertaining your neighbors, and the array of glasses, bar stock, serving trays and cheese platterse simply can’t be believed.

Most of it in stunning colors, unimaginable shapes and amazing prints that make it some of the most collectible parts of the fifties.

At this point, it also happens to be among the most easily afforded collectible of the fifties. I personally snap up the odd shaped and wildly colored ashtrays wherever I can find them, and they do seem to be available in a vast number at the moment, so now’s the time to get into this kind of collecting.. Eventually, if they haven’t already, more people are going to begin collecting these glass mementos of the fifties, making the price go up and the availability go down.

If you’re looking for a retro decoration to complement your retro decor, what could you possibly find that would suit it better than dishes from the same era.

Not just cocktail glasses were popular and brightly hued in the fifties howerver, but also paperweights, ashtrays and multiple other things that scream out the era in which they were made by the design and colors.

E-bay surfing or a garage or rummage sale quite often turns up a real treasure trove of dishes or meat or serving trays that make wonderful wall hangings and some will even be signed by the designer, such as those made by the very prolific designer Georges Briard. Murano glassware was also quite popular and equally as colorful during the fifties as were most other companies glasswares during this time span.

If you don’t have a signature, chances are you’re going to know the glass ware of the fifties and sixties quite easily, by the bright colors, the geometric and circular patterns involved and the amazing hues of orange, red, brown and blue, all co mingled on the same glass.

You can identify glassware from the 50’s by their bright colors of gold, turquoise, orange, yellow, silver, and browns all painted in classic patterns of geometric shapes. Some of the most original glassware may even be signed by the designer such as those designed by the prolific Georges Briard.

Other companies that produced glassware from the fifties are such well known companies as Pyrex, Corning and Anchor Hocking, most of which are still producing today.Remember those amazing huge mixing bowls in the astonishing shades of avocado green and burnt orange?

You can still find them and amazingly enough, most of them are in quite good shape. Let’s face it. If it lasted forty five odd years, chances are its a much better quality of glassware than that which you’re going to find today, even if you special order retro designs to fit into your kitchen.

Bohemian glass it a kind of art glass that has its origins in the Czech Republic, in a region known as Bohemia, although a neighbor in the area, Silesia also makes glass that is done in that same distinctive Bohemian style.

The Bohemian glass was world famous for its quality and appearance and today many glass factories and glass works in the Czech republic produce Bohemian glass, making what are replicas if older glass patterns, and capitalizing on the reputation of the Bohemian glass quality, although it may or may not be of that same quality.

Bohemia was famed for its glass making since about the 14th century and in the 17th and 18th century’s it was amazingly popular, with artists famed the world over who produced decorative glassware, and developing techniques that are still in use to this very day.

One of the most famed glasswares of this region is lead crystal,which the Bohemian area was uniquely suited to produce, given the natural resources of the area.

Lead crystal continues to be one of the most prolifically made products for this region, along with enameled glass and reverse painted glass.

Traditionally Bohemian glassware is very rich in color and decoration, is often multi-faceted and engraved, etched or painted. The glass itself has a remarkable patina, and whle it may be thin and delicate, is surprisingly strong.

Purchase of Bohemian glassware is an art, and sometimes it will be difficult to authenticate, so having someone with you when you head out to purchse this type glass is a good idea.

You will find it in multiple venues, dependent upon what youw ant, including upscale department stores, shops and antiques stores, which type of glass will be a great deal more costly.

Bohemian glass should be purchased with care, as the copies, as with any other type of glass, are going to be far less valuable.
 

The very first, and to date the largest producer of carnival glass was the Fenton company, who made myriad pieces, in more than 100 different patterns, and were well know already for their quality glass even prior to making carnival glass, however they were not the only company by any means to make carnival glass.

It was made and sold in the United states, Australia, Great Britain and many Asian countries as well as the European countries.

The gorgeous sheen that carnival glass has gives it it’s nickname of Dope Glass, since the application of the iridescent color to the outer surface of the glass is known as doping. Metal salts are applied to the outer aspects of the glass which is then refired, giving it the sheen that makes it so popular.

Carnival glass was wildly popular when it first came out, but the interest in it fell by the wayside for a long time, particularly just pre the depression years, and Fenton, as well as many other companies ceased making it, however due to collector interest in it, Fenton company began production again and in fact still produce carnival glass today.

Iridill was made by Fenton in the very early 1900’s, the company being inspired by the works of Tiffany and Steuben glass, but didnt’ get the prices that Fenton expected, was discounted and used as promotional material, in some cases given away by other companyes. Much of the carnival glass that is significantly being collected now was made between 1907 and 1925, in such colors as greens, blues, amethyst, as well as the more rare red colors.

Many people are unaware that it is also made in an opaque white and is called milk glass.

Today, carnival glass is a very collectible market, with prices varying as wildly as the production of the glass did in the early days. Rare pieces of carnival glass can fetch incredibly, thousands of dollars per piece.

Identifying your carnival glass can be tricky, since quite often the manufacturer did not include a mark on the products, and you may need to match colors, sheens, patterns, thickness, and multiple other aspects of the glass to find out what you really have.

So many companies made copies of their competitors patterns that you may need to consult an expert to find the value of the glassware piece that you’ve purchased.

Pitcher by Lefton China

Because it was a passionate hobby, Lefton traveled to Japan and sought out the best  ceramic artists he could find.

He then set them to work, and himself as well, in 1941 at Lefton China, designing for a market in the US that was hungry for a better quality product. He began by designing ceramic giftware and moved up from there.

Leftons company has been quite successful and continues to be. The Lefton China collector appreciates a better quality and design, both standards that Lefton China company insists on.

Lefton China Teapot

There are imitators of Lefton China, as there will be with any quality product, however the collector can, by inspecting the finished quality of the piece,( as well as the presence of the company’s mark of course), be able to tell the real from the imitation.

My own Lefton pieces have tripled in value since purchase.

I love the Lefton Violet Chintz pattern and was fortunate enough to purchase a teapot and covered sugar bowl and creamer as a set, sold by someone who had it left to her in an estate.

The purchase cost was about 35 dollars just a few years ago, and I’ve found that the teapot alone now retails for about 180 dollars, which certainly isn’t a bad return on your investment, so your pieces are in fact going up in value.

But really it can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, say if you’re looking for a piece or two to complete a certain Depression glass set or if you’re looking to buy something like original Tiffany Studios Favrile glass pieces.

Finding Reputable Online Glass Dealers

It goes without saying that you would only want to buy glass items from reputable dealers, so your first goal should be to locate such dealers. The trick is how to build a list of dealers you will feel confident buying from and/or selling to.

First, I suggest checking out eBay; most of my most prized glass collectibles, including some pricey original Tiffany, Steuben and other designer glass items have been purchased on eBay.

The reason I like using eBay is transparency; you can easily see how many sales any given dealer has completed and how they’ve been rated by others. Also, when looking for items to bid on you can see how many bids have been made on a listing. Items with no bids are less likely to be good deals whereas you can generally feel more confident bidding on an item that has other interested bidders.

Checking Glass Dealer References

Another way to check out online glass dealers is to contact other buyers directly to inquire whether they were satisfied with the price, condition, packaging and shipping, etc. It pays to take your time and find good dealers before making purchases. Once you have a list of dealers you can always make inquiries of them when you are looking for something specific.

Ask dealers to provide customer references so that you can inquire with other customers of that dealer. This is one of the best ways to ensure a dealer’s reputation. Also be sure to get written confirmation of the dealer’s return and refund policies before making a purchase. Also ask references about other dealers with whom they do business; this is another good way to build your dealer list.

Once I have found a dealer I feel comfortable with I generally purchase a less expensive item or two before going for higher-priced “authentic” or antique pieces from that dealer. This method has proven quite effective for me in terms of establishing a comfort level with dealers around the world, opening up broader channels than I could ever do working only with local dealers.

Building Your Dealer Network

By building a dealer network this way you will have more opportunities to buy (and sell) your glass collectible online than you could ever do using the old-fashioned methods of perusing local shops, magazines and catalogs.

As your knowledge and expertise in the various types of glass items you find most interesting, you will begin to recognize deals and even begin to have dealers contacting you directly when they obtain something they know you may be interested in purchasing.

Collecting glass, whether your passion lies in Depression glass, vintage art glass or other categories is a fun hobby. While I don’t suggest anybody start out with the intention of making it a business, if you stick with your likes and interests you never know where it may take you. I have made substantial profits over the years buying items and later selling them as prices fluctuate and my tastes have evolved. Good luck and have fun with your own glass collecting hobby!

Whether you are celebrating a wedding, anniversary, New Year’s Eve or other special occasion, champagne or sparkling wine in fine champagne glasses makes the perfect complement to any celebration.

But what are the right shape, size and brand of champagne glasses to buy? Read on and learn the basics of selecting and buying quality champagne glasses into which to pour your bubbly.

What Type of Champagne Glass to Buy?

What should you look for when buying quality Champagne glasses?

Champagne Flutes

A tall tulip-shaped flute is what most experts suggest you use to serve champagne; the small mouth and tall shape of a champagne flute slows the movement of the bubbles, allowing expensive champagne to retain its effervescence longer and concentrating the aroma better than other shapes.

Typically containing six to eight ounces of champagne, the flute’s narrow opening traps and concentrates the aroma and helps preserve the chill of the wine, whereas a glass with a wide bowl allows the aroma to escape and the wine flatten quickly.

Champagne Saucer or Coupe

While coupes may be sensuous (rumors abound that these wide-bowled champagne glasses were originally cast from the breasts of various famous women), they don’t make the best glasses for sipping fine champagne or sparking wines!

For many people, the image of a champagne glass is all wrong; the wide mouth saucer or coupe shape bowl is actually to be avoided! A wide bowl lets all the bubbles escape and your sparkling wine or expensive French champagne goes flat and warms up very quickly with a lot of surface area.

Sparkling Wine Glasses

Over the years, a number of unique shapes and playful designs have evolved in the world of sparkling wine glasses. Some of the more popular styles of sparkling wine glasses enable the stem to be filled as well as the bowl or flute.

Once consumed only on very special occasions, only wines crafted in the champagne region of France qualify as true champagnes, today you can find any number of superior sparkling wines from around the world and sparkling wines have become extremely popular in recent years. Many people prefer a sparkling wine or champagne over other wines these days, even for everyday enjoyment.

If design and appearance are more important to you than pure function, then these designer-oriented sparkling wine glasses can be a nice addition to your stemware collection, but the fact that your hands warm the sparkling wine more quickly when the stem is filled may outweigh the nice look some of these glasses!

Champagne Flutes concentrate the flavor and aroma of a Champagne or sparkling wine, making it the ideal shape.

Crystal or Glass Champagne Glasses?

The question often comes up whether crystal or glass is the better choice when selecting glassware for champagne and sparkling wine. Glass contains a mixture of sand, soda ash, marble, dolomite, potash and borax. These elements are heated to approximately 105ºC (221ºF) to create a molten batch of glass.

Crystal is made by adding lead oxide to the batch (24% or more of the batch will be lead in this case), making it tougher than regular glass. The lead content makes a glass appear to be more ‘sparkly’ since it is more refractive than normal glass. The irony is that since lead crystal glassware costs more, people will tend to treat it with more care than regular glassware, despite the fact that it is actually more durable!

Champagne Glass Storage and Care

First of all, if you do purchase fine crystal champagne or sparkling wine glasses, use them! You don’t have to treat them any differently than other glassware. Wash your glasses soon after using them and hand dry to prevent clouding or water marks.

You can put them in the dishwasher but hand washing is fine; the main thing is to be sure the glasses are rinsed thoroughly and hand dried with a lint-free linen towel to keep them clean and free of streaks or water marks.

Never expose your fine champagne glasses to rapid changes in temperature as this could damage them; for instance if you just took them out of the hot dishwasher and put them into the freezer you’d be asking for trouble. Champagne glasses should be used at room temperature and not chilled in a freezer or ice bucket anyway!

Chilling and Pouring Champagne

A good sparkling wine or champagne is best enjoyed well chilled; ideally, you want to pour from the bottle at 7 ºC (43 to 48 ºF). Any colder and you’ll miss out on the complex aroma and taste, much warmer and you’ll be really disappointed.

Don’t chill the glasses though; just the bottle before you uncork it; don’t leave it in the freezer … an ice bucket is the best way to chill champagne to get the right balance of the alcohol.

Tilt your champagne flute when you pour to prevent building up a ‘head’; unlike good beer, the sugars and alcohol in a fine sparkling wine is best appreciated with the bubbles in the liquid not let to escape by pouring too quickly from bottle into glass.

Best Brands in Champagne and Sparkling Wine Glasses

Spiegelau - a top name in stemware, Kristallglasfabrik Spiegelau GmbH offers a wide range of wine glasses well known throughout the wine world. Look for their popular 2 piece Champagne Flute set in the Festival line or the Adina Champagne glass with a wider bowl still shaped correctly for fine bubbly! You can find Spiegelau’s Vino Grande Champagne Flutes, Set of 6 for $50 USD.

Riedel - for any wine connoisseur the Riedel name is synonymous with fine crystal stemware and their extensive “Champagnerglas” selection is truly impressive. The sky is the limit with Riedel of Austria, from reasonably priced glass and crystal all the way to their “if you have to ask you can’t afford it” premium lines. Look for the Riedel Ouverture Champagne Glasses, Set of 4 in the $40 range USD. For something really special, you might go for the Riedel Vinum Champagne/Prestige Cuvee Glasses, Set of 6 in the $130 range USD!

Schott Zwiesel - A quality brand, Zwiesel of Germany offers fine quality stemware for sparkling wines. Look for the Schott Zwiesel Diva Tritan Crystal Champagne Flutes, Set of 6 in the $60 to $70 range USD.

Bormioli Rocco - You’ll find the Bormioli Rocco Party Flute Stemware, Set of 4, Gift Boxed for about $25 USD.

Dartington Crystal - The Dartington Crystal Wine Master Champagne Glass Pair 6.7 ounce, 9.3 inch tall will set you back about $50 USD.

The seven major Depression glass companies mass produced cheap press-molded tableware that was either given away to promote banks, gas stations, movie theaters, cereal, soap and other products from the 1920s through the 1940s, Elegant glassmakers paid far more attention to quality and detail and it was far too expensive to be given away or sold in the five and dime.

Elegant glass is characterized by hand finishing techniques such as fire polishing to smooth mold marks, acid etching to create decorative designs and many other laborious and costly hand finishing details that made them more intricate and valuable than Depression glass.

The colors achieved in Elegant glass were more vibrant and intense, with a much wider range of colors and hues than those of Depression glass. Deep ruby red, cobalt blue, emerald green and iridescent colored glass batches were used which could not be afforded in the large scale, low cost operations of

Depression glass manufacturers, who tried to survive the lean years by out producing each other and competing for thin margins rather than let their foundries sit idle.

Most Elegant glass could not be afforded by the average consumer of the time and were purchased by the more affluent customers who did not tend to use the pieces, but rather displayed them in their homes and used only for special occasions.

Whereas Depression glass pieces were generally highly functional items like pitchers, plates, bowls and salt and pepper shakers which that were used daily in the average home, Elegant glass pieces tended to be items like vases, platters, wine glasses and tea sets that might be used for entertaining guests once in a while in upper class homes.

A number of different companies produced Elegant glass and most of the patterns were exclusive to a single maker. An interesting trend was that some companies made “blanks” which were sold to other companies, which would then add their own, unique designs to the pieces, so that a company like Lotus Glass Company, for instance, never actually manufactured glass pieces!

A few of the most popular Elegant Glass companies and patterns among collectors today include:

• Cambridge Glass produced Portia, Rosepoint, Tally Ho and Wildflower, Duncan and Miller made patterns like Dover, Caribbean and Sandwich.
• Fenton Glass Company produced a number of patterns that are highly sought after by collectors these days, including Ming, Rose Crest, Silver Crest and Sophisticated Ladies.
• Fostoria Glass Company made many Elegant glass patterns between 1927 and 1944, including Coronet, which was only made in crystal (clear), Fairfax, which had no etching and Pioneer, which was available as a complete dinner set.
• Heisey Glass Company is well known for its Crystallite, Plantation, Ridgeleigh, Rose and Triplex patterns.
• Imperial Glass Company produced the well regarded Candlewick, Cape Cod and Tradition patterns among others.
• Lotus Glass Company, which bought blanks from various companies and finished them using techniques such as acid etching, cutting, enamel decoration, gold encrustation, platinum and gold trim designed popular patterns, including Bridal Bouquet.
• Tiffin Glass Company is well known for its patterns, including June Night and Cherokee Rose.

A.H. Heisey (1842-1922) was a German born immigrant, whose family settled in Pennsylvania in 1842 when Augustus was an infant. At an early age, Heisey learned the craft of glass blowing, eventually becoming a salesman for Ripley and Co. after the Civil War, in which he fought at Gettysburg and other battles as an army captain, learning much about the glassmaking industry before deciding to start his own factory in Ohio.

Heisey’s first products were simple designs, but in 1914 the company began to produce etched glass products, eventually making some of the finest quality press-molded Elegant glass tableware in the U.S.

Although some of Heisey’s products may resemble Depression glass in appearance, the quality and original prices of Heisey glass put it in another league altogether, often turning up in bridal gift registries rather than as movie theater giveaway items!

As with most of the Elegant glassmakers, Heisey’s products were hand finished, using techniques such as fire polishing and exhibit the telltale marks of quality such as thin-walled cups and stems and few defects like inclusions or bubbles.

Among Heisey’s most popular patterns, collectors today favor Orchid, Victorian, Lariat and many others produced during from the 1920s to the 1950s.

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:

• There are six Sharon pieces which have been reproduced; the salt and pepper shakers, the sugar and creamer, covered candy dish, butter dish, and the cheese dish, which is hard to find original.
• If you find any of these pieces in a color other than amber, green or pink, you will know it’s a reproduction immediately. Unfortunately, the three original colors were also reproduced, so you have other criteria to check; the reproduction amber is too dark and green and pink reproduction pieces are too light, making them fairly easy to identify as replacements.
• The quality of the reproduction glass is also inferior, with bubbles and poor mold work.
• On fake shakers the pattern is crudely done; the roses look more like concentric circles than open blossoms, and the rosebud that tops the design looks like a pinwheel instead of a bud with three leaves.
• The pattern is equally bad on the candy dish and sugar & creamer, with the mold line on the creamer running to the side of the spout rather than down the center.
• The sugar bowl lid is the easiest way to tell real from fake: the old lids have a mold seam running around the edge of the knob while the new lids have a smooth knob. If the sugar bowl has no lid, look inside where the handle attaches to the bowl: old handles make a teardrop shape where they meet the bowl while the attachment in new ones is a circle.
• The candy dish is so crudely done that the bubbles and poor mold design should give it away immediately.
  The butter dish and cheese dish give collectors the most concern, but they are very easy to expose. As both use the same top, check it first.
• Original butter and cheese lids have such a squat knob that your fingers cannot grasp it securely. When you pick up an old lid by the knob, you can barely get the tips of your fingers into the space between the knob and the flat surface of the top, explaining the shortage of original tops remaining today.
• The counterfeiters fixed this problem; on new lids the knob is stretched up so you can wrap your fingers safely around it. If you can grasp it comfortably between your index and middle finger, put it down and walk away. On both of these bases, the glass is too thick and of poor quality.
• Fake butter bottoms have a very sharp inner rim to hold the top in place – on the original, this lip is less pronounced so the top slips off more easily.
• On a fake cheese dish, the bottom is a bowl with a rim instead of a flat plate.