Indiana glass?

[Duer 157099]

I know next to nothing about glassware, but I picked up a couple of dishes that I'm trying to identify, and the closest I can find is something in the Indiana glass section on ebay.

But without markings, how do you identify a piece of glass? So far all I went by was the pattern of the base on the glass (which is just a square).

I'll post pics later when I have a chance, but thought I'd throw it out in case we have any glass experts here.

Thanks! :hi:

[Duer 157099]

1. Oops, now I found some Hazel ware that looks like it too n/t

[grasswire]

2. I look forward to learning more!

Thanks to you, I know who invented the hotel chair!

[Duer 157099]

4. Yay!

Who invented the hotel chair? :D

[sufrommich]

3. Glass,and how to identify unmarked glassware

is a total mystery to me. I have a lot of respect for those who are willing to study the nuances needed to identify glass,I'll never have the patience for it.

[Duer 157099]

5. Boy I hear that

I usually avoid it, but have just tested the waters a little bit. It's amazing how helpful ebay is. It just usually takes a few steps and trying to look at things like most people would and then describe them using the words you think most people would use. That usually at least leads you to the right category, or close. I like finding the strays, the ones who use good descriptions but leave out the very critical key words that collectors would usually be searching by.

I still don't know what "carnival" or "depression" glass is, lol. I've browsed those categories, but somehow it just doesn't quite make enough of an impression for me to recognize it. It's all just glassware to me.

I tend to just look for either colors or textures that appeal to me, figuring that if I end up keeping it, at least I'll like it -- unfortunately that strategy is flawed, because I usually end up keeping EVERYTHING, especially after researching it and investing time. Even worse, I also usually end up buying MORE of it on ebay during the course of researching.

[zabet]

6. Glass..

For the most definitive site on carnival glass, with thousands of color pics.... www.ddoty.com

As far as 'Indiana Glass' goes, the carnival glass they mass produced it readily available and was made for many years up to the 1970s for most of it. Indiana glass, other than some of the hard to find carnival pieces (like the complete canister sets) and the depression pattern Tea Room....well other than those...Indiana glass is plentiful and cheap. I find loads of it in thrift stores and yard sales for pocket change prices. BUT, the canister carnival set can bring up to $550 for a blue set and the depression era tea room pieces bring big money too.

IDing depression glass is hard if you are not familiar with it because there are cheap repos creeping into the market. Gene Florence has some good books on Depression Glass and the hundreds of patterns...some are high dollar and some are not....depends on what pattern and what color you are trying to sell.

[sufrommich]

7. lol.love your sig line...

It sounds like you are our resident glass expert(or glassie as they call themselves in Ebay's pottery and glass discussion group).I have heard that fake depression glass is more prevalent than the real thing out there,thats why I would never attempt to buy some for resale,I'd be afraid I was selling fakes.

[zabet]

8. One key thing to look for

when looking to see if it is a repo or not....normally the depth and richness of the color is nowhere near as good as the original, there are also usually 'mold over-runs', meaning it is not a 'clean press' which can happen when the mold for the repo is actually made from an original piece. The pattern usually is not as sharp and defined either.

It just takes looking at lots of glass to get where you can readily spot it. Some repros are good enough that you need an original to compare it with but, luckily most are not.

There is good money to be made with glass, if you know what to look for. The European market is wide open with buyers paying good prices for choice pieces. Elegant glass is another type that certain patterns are worth big money and some are not.

I have found on ebay, simply because people do not know what they have, or they list it wrong, many pieces of expensive glass for very little money.
I just recently scooped up a Loetz vase (proof from the mold!!) for $35, its value is in the $300-400 dollar range, maybe more because there are so few proof pieces out there...plus it is vaseline glass (which makes it a cross-collectible in the glass arena) :)

* A proof piece is a piece just as it comes out of the mold, not stretched, ruffled, pinched or anything.

[sufrommich]

9. I do the same thing with pottery on

Ebay and have found quite a few treasures that way .
I understand the concept of "mold over runs" as it is a common way to reproduce pottery also.The vases end up slightly larger than the originals.

[zabet]

10. Pottery is awesome...

I have a small collection. I have a piece excavated in Charleston, SC in the early 60's that is signed and has a blue bird on it, small jug with a finger hole handle (I know the provenance on the piece because I personally know the person that dug it up - and I have documentation to prove it)....I also have a small Dickensware piece I got for almost nothing..(pics are in the first mystery piece thread in this forum). I also have a lovely face jug that is quite unusual in that is is made with blue and white swirled clay, appraised value 600+, I have some other pieces I have picked up but have not researched them yet.

My true weaknesses are, glass, quarter-sawn oak furniture and danish modern furniture.

[sufrommich]

11. Your definitely in the right part of the country

for the types of pottery you own,am I right about that?The face jugs are exclusive to the Carolinas,aren't they?

[zabet]

12. Yep, Seagrove

is where all of the face jugs come from. There are hundreds (I kid you not) of generational potters in Seagrove. It is worth a several day stay just to visit there. You can watch them pot on the wheel, be there for kiln openings (which is exciting when new glaze mixtures are tried out)...hear the history...I have some pieces from Mildred King, she is in her late 70s and she still makes pottery...I actually have a 'face vase' she made, a chicken bank, and several utilitarian pieces I use in the kitchen. She sells at the Oyster Festival every year where our Beach House is at and I make it a point to pick up at least one piece of hers every year. I really do not consider these real collectible YET, I know they will be in time. I love the roaster I have she made....you put it in the oven cold and let it heat up as the oven heats up...nothing roasts like that thing!

[Duer 157099]

13. Here's a photo

Here's the item that made me think it might be Indiana glass:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120261051392&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=002

but then I saw this item and then thought it might be Hazel Atlas:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160239368466&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006