Antique Glassware Identification Tips & What to Wait For
By
Kate Miller-Wilson
An gorging antiques collector herself, Kate has written nearly antiques for many years. She has besides managed an online antiques community.
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| Antique Collector
Updated December 30, 2021
Identify Antique Glass Like a Pro
Whether you take an heirloom you lot demand to know more nigh or you're an avid collector, learning how to place antique glassware can aid you determine the history of a piece and even whether it's valuable. From glassware types to manufacturers and patterns, there's a lot to acquire nigh this fascinating topic.
How to Know Whether Glass Is Antique
Antique glass feels different from its modernistic counterpart. Information technology's often heavier. By looking advisedly, yous can as well see some clues that a glass item may be 100 years old or more:
Pontil marks - Diddled drinking glass, equally opposed to molded glass, usually has a pontil marking on the bottom. This has a round shape.
Bubbles and irregularities - Many antique drinking glass pieces have tiny bubbles or other imperfections in the drinking glass. Y'all may have to look very closely to see these.
Patina - Older drinking glass ordinarily has a patina of time and employ. There may be tiny flakes, missing golden areas, or small chip and scratches.
Is It Glass or Crystal?
Before you begin to research the blueprint of your glassware and other details, have a moment to determine whether you lot have antique glass or crystal. Technically, crystal is a type of drinking glass that's formed with atomic number 82 oxide, leading to more sparkle, weight, and smoothen. In that location are a few easy means to tell whether your antique piece is drinking glass or crystal:
Tap it gently. If information technology makes a chime like a bong, information technology is probably crystal.
Examine the cuts or patterns. If they are very sharp and fine, it may be crystal.
Concord it up to a window or light fixture. If it creates a prism issue, it is likely crystal.
Telling Cut Glass From Pressed Glass
Even if a piece isn't crystal, information technology may still have the pretty textured pattern of crystal pieces. Manufacturers could create these patterns using a mold imprinted with them or by cut the glass in designs. Yous can tell whether a piece is cutting or pressed by examining the points of the pattern. If they are distinct and sharp, information technology was probable cut. If they are slightly rounded, information technology'southward more likely to have been pressed in a mold.
Types of Antique Glass Pieces
Antique glassware can have many forms, some very surprising. You lot'll see everything from vases and plates to flower frogs, huge punch bowls, and footed compotes. There's endless variation, and it tin be fun to collect one type of item in different styles, colors, and patterns. These are but a few of the types of antique glassware you may see in antique shops:
Depression glass - Pop during the Bang-up Depression, this type of drinking glass comes in lots of different colors, including pink, green, clear, amber, blue, and many others.
Milk drinking glass - Milk glass is opaque, and its classic shade is white. You'll also run across information technology in blue, pinkish, and other colors.
Carnival drinking glass - Originally given away equally prizes at carnivals starting in the early 1900s, you'll also see this collectible glassware from the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
Art glass - Consisting of one-of-a-kind pieces fabricated by artisans, this blazon of glassware can be very valuable if you lot can identify the artist.
Recognizing Antique Glassware Markings
Some pieces of antiquarian drinking glass are marked in ways that can help you identify the pattern, manufacturer, engagement, and other helpful data. Examine the piece carefully, peculiarly on the bottom or back. Then look up any glassware markings yous notice to run across if they offer clues about your piece.
Popular Manufacturers of Antique Glassware
In that location are dozens of antique and vintage glass companies that you'll encounter if you look at antiquarian glassware in stores or online. These are a few of the well-nigh pop:
Fenton - Founded in 1905, this company was famous for colored glass and quality vintage pieces. Most are marked with a stylized "F" and the company proper name.
Hazel-Atlas - Starting in 1902, this manufacturer specialized in motorcar-molded drinking glass, specially colored Low glass. Their marking is an "A" under an "H."
Westmoreland - Specializing in milk drinking glass, hand-busy drinking glass, and carnival drinking glass, Westmoreland created cute pieces for nearly a century starting in 1889. They used a mark that looked similar a "W" in a frame for early pieces and an overlapping "West" and "G" for later ones.
Identifying an Antique Glassware Pattern
If you lot can find the manufacturer of your glassware from the markings, you tin usually figure out the design. Look at the pattern closely and note whatever special details. You may even want to accept a rubbing of it with a crayon and a thin piece of paper. Then kickoff looking for the same blueprint online. Cheque sites that sell antique glassware, such as Replacements, Ltd. Yous tin can also look on eBay for glassware by the same manufacturer.
Agreement the Office of Colour
Vintage and antique glassware comes in an entire rainbow of colors, making it even more fun to collect. Yous can collect a specific type of item in every color or collect a whole set in a certain shade. Either way, it's interesting to know near the many color options and how they are fabricated. These are a few of the almost popular:
Cranberry - Made by including gilded oxide in the glassmaking process, this ruby glass in valuable and beautiful.
Cobalt - A deep blue color, this glass is created by adding cobalt salts to the molten glass.
Jadeite - A pale greenish shade, jadeite oft includes uranium.
Amber - The addition of sulfur to the drinking glass gives it a gilt hue.
Determining the Age of Glassware
If you can identify the pattern and color of your glassware, yous can as well get a sense of its historic period. Manufacturers usually only created a pattern for a certain number of years. If yous know a design was made in the 1920s through the 1940s, for example, and then y'all know your glass item dates from this era.
If you don't know the blueprint, you can as well employ stylistic details to become a sense of the age. For instance, a piece of Fine art Deco glass with geometric designs probably dates to the 1930s or 1940s.
Identifying Antiquarian Glassware Worth Coin
Some piece of antique glass are worth simply a few dollars, and others can be worth hundreds. The value of antique glassware depends on several factors:
Rarity - If there were lots of pieces made in a pattern or color, information technology's usually less valuable. Notwithstanding, if it'southward rare, it may exist worth money to collectors.
Condition - A piece with chips, cracks, discoloration, and other impairment is worth less than a similar piece in perfect condition.
Beauty - Although it's subjective, an particularly beautiful piece is usually worth more than a less attractive one.
How to Tell if Your Glassware Is Rare
Because rarity is such a significant factor in value, it's skilful to be on the picket for pieces that are rare. Look for items with these characteristics:
Unusual color - Certain shades are more common than others, such every bit articulate, white, pink, and green. If yous've never seen a piece in a color, there'southward a adept risk information technology could be rare and valuable.
Bi-color - If one slice of drinking glass contains two colors, it can be more than valuable than a unmarried shade. This isn't always the case, but it'south worth looking into if you have a bi-colored piece of glass.
Uncommon shape - A piece that doesn't await like anything you've seen earlier is likely to be rare. Strange handle shapes, unusual items, and other oddities can indicate something valuable.
Signatures - Fine art glass is sometimes signed by the creative person. A signature tin can indicate a rare or fifty-fifty unique item.
Finding Pieces to Collect
Collecting vintage glassware is a wonderful hobby, and you can store online or browse the wares in local shops. Some of the best places to look include austerity stores, antique stores, and flea markets, where valuable treasures are sometimes unidentified among the other glassware. Have the time to look at a piece carefully and identify information technology and so you can add together some wonderful items to your drove.
Kate Miller-Wilson 
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