In an unusual turn of events, I felt like Noah and his ark with my weekend finds, two-by-two. I never know what, or even if my hunts will be successful. But in this case, I was seeing double. Depression glass and chrome and aluminum ware – oh my!

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Depression Glass:

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First off, we are not collectors or experts in depression glass. But we do dabble occasionally. I purchased a similar vase to the one pictured below years ago for $1.00, because it was cute. But that’s another story.

Small Bedford Vase made by Bagley (photo via 20thcenturyglass.com)

Depression glass is a catch-all term for massed produced, inexpensive glassware popular from 1929 through the early 1940’s. And mostly produced in glass factories in the Ohio River Valley.

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In 1929, household incomes dropped an average of 40% due to the depression. And this left families with little spare cash for luxuries.  Glass factories, use to producing higher end hand cut glass, struggled with lost sales.  And in an effort to keep their doors open, they started to produce attractive, machine-made household goods in clear and colored glass to brighten the home. More efficient to make, factories could produce upwards of 1000 items per day.

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The goods were so reasonable priced, they could be given away as premiums. For those of you not old enough to remember premium giveaways, you could get a piece in boxed goods (cereal boxes or oatmeal containers, for example). And each week a different item was offered.

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Sometimes, you would get a set as a prize at your local movie house! And for larger services pieces, you could go to your local 5 & 10 store and buy them for around $.50.

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Even appliance manufactures joined in. With the purchase of a refrigerator, Frigidaire would give you a complete table service set consisting of plates, cups, saucers, a sandwich tray and a sugar / creamer set.

Depression glass society show (photo by J Fuhrman via patch.com)

At the height of production, there were more than 20 manufacturers producing over 100 different patterns.  Common colors are clear, pink, pale blue, green and amber.

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Less common colors are canary yellow, ultramarine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt, red, black, amethyst, monax (translucent white with a faint bluish hue), and white (milk glass). And, rarer yet are the colors lavender and tangerine.

Varity of colors (photo via thenatroute66.com)

Some glass contains “trace” amounts of uranium and will glow under a black (UV) light. The “trace” amount varies from 2% to 25%!  (And you’re worried about using your red Fiestaware!?)

Glowing Uranium Glass (photo via decorativecollective.com)

After WWII, the economy rebounded. With more disposable income, many house-hold threw out their old, cheap dishes to upgrade to something better, generally China.  Silly people!

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Fortunately, much of it was equally cherished and passed down through families. By the 1960’s, depression glass became highly collectible. Rare pieces can sell for hundreds of dollars.

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Some of the original manufacturers continued to produce their popular patterns as well as introduce similar and new patterns post WWII and through the 1950’s.

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But be careful. A lot of what is for sale online is newly produced in Asia.  If you see the terms, “Depression era-style” or “Depression style”, they are new items.

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I found these two glass pitchers at the local GoodWill for $3.99 each.  And I believe they fall into a depression sub-category called “Elegant glass”. Both are in excellent condition.

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Elegant glass was sold in department stores and it is better quality. Seams are polished, the glass is heavier, and they are usually hand decorated with painted and / or etched decorations.

Depression “Watermelon” Glass Pitcher (author’s collection)

Above it is an example of “watermelon” glass. It gets the name from the combination of pink and green glass. Though hard to see, this has a hand cut band of stylized flowers and leaves around its belly. Unfortunately, it is missing its matching lid.

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The second, obviously, is green glass, a popular color. And, its complete with its lid! Though undecorated, is has an interesting shape.  Neither has a manufacturer’s mark.

Green Depression Glass pitcher with lid (author’s collection)

Green Depression Glass pitcher with lid (author’s collection)

Unfortunately, I don’t have a UV light.  Therefore, I don’t know if either of these is uranium glass.

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Two in One:

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Now this next weekend find is a bit of a stretch considering the title of this installment. But go with me, here.  This is a wonderful little Depression Glass powder or trinket box from around 1935. And in my research, is attributed to L.E. Smith Glass Company.

Elephant powder box attributed to L.E. Smith Glass Company (author’s collection)

While I only picked up one at the GoodWill, it does have two elephants on top! Powder boxes are not exactly difficult to find.  However, the double elephants in good condition appear to be one of the harder ones to add to your collection.  Several sources state this particular style has a tendency to be cracked where the trunks join.

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For the piece as shown in pink, prices vary greatly from a low of $50 to over $100.00 depending on condition. But mine only cost $2.99.

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Glass jars of this type were quite popular and available in various colors. And also, a variety of animals and even human forms adorn the top.

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Cocktails for Two:

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The our next pairing, Art Deco cocktail shakers, is more up our alley. And both purchased at the Golden Nugget Flea Market.

Evercraft back stamp (author’s collection)

The first cocktail shaker is by Evercraft accented with navy blue stripes . You don’t see this shaker very often. They are more commonly available with black or white (cream) bands and sell in the mid $100’s. However, I couldn’t find any examples online with blue stripes.  I snapped this up for $15.00.

Evercraft Cocktail Shaker with blue stripes (author’s collection )

Overall, the design is similar to the Chase Gaiety Cocktail Shaker. However, Evercraft does not enjoy the general prestige of Chase. But it is quality giftware and worthy of collecting.

Kensington Coldchester Cocktail Shaker (author’s collection)

This 1936 shaker, designed by Laurelle Guild, is an early version of the Kensington Coldchester Cocktail Shaker.  But how do we know it is the earlier version?

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Glad you asked.

Early Kensington back stamp

The mark on the bottom shows only the stag head shield.  In later versions, the word Kensington appears added under this mark.  This is another harder-to-find piece and you can expect to pay upwards of a $100.00. This was a bargain at $20.00, complete with the often-missing aluminum cap on the cork.

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Thanks for joining me on my journey that had me seeing double!

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Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ ‘tiquen Guys)