Depression Glass Decanters

During the period known as the Great Depression, many businesses in the United States used special premiums to reward those consumers who continued to buy from them. Usually the premium was a piece of colored and beautifully designed tableware now known as Depression glass. The glass could also be purchased at the local department store for about the same price as a loaf of bread and many women stocked up on the inexpensive pieces.

Today, the glass that graced many a table from 1920 to 1940 has become of great interest to collectors. Due to breakage and wear, quality pieces are harder to find, but make better collections. A single piece of glassware in mint condition is usually worth much more than five worn pieces.

Often people collect all the pieces of a pattern, or one of every design they like, or everything manufactured by a specific company. Others pick certain colors, or one of every color, or a particular theme or type of glassware. For instance, if you are interested in decanters, you can find them in a number of colors and patterns. Blue, pink, and green are the most popular with collectors, but decanters were also made in yellow, crystal, amber, and red.

Although over 100 patterns of Depression glass were produced, only about ten of them include a decanter as part of the set. The majority of decanters manufactured during the depression years are thin and sleek looking - usually about 10 inches tall when the stopper is in place. However, the New Martinsville Glass Company made a striking Radiance pattern which has an extremely round look and features a handle.

During the depression years, the Anchor Hocking Glass Company produced five different patterns of glass that included decanters. The Cameo design in green, yellow, and pink; Circle in green and pink; Mayfair in pink; and the Ring pattern in green. One of Hocking’s sets in crystal bore the name Hobnail and had no resemblance to the English Hobnail decanter made by Westmoreland Glass. The Indiana Glass Company included decanters in their pink or green Sandwich pattern and Hazel Atlas called their green pieces New Century.

The New Martinsville Glass Company, although not as well known as some of the other glass producers, made their decanters in a number of different sizes for their red, blue, or amber Radiance pattern - one for milk, another for juice, and one for water. Their Moondrops design boasted decanters in four different sizes, with the most valuable colors being dark red or cobalt blue.

Because Depression glass was more cheaply made, sometimes the hot glass didn’t completely fill in the mold. Other times there were bubbles in the glass or a tiny missing piece of glass, referred to as a flea bite. These defects are common and serve to verify that the piece is original.

As a new collector, you will no doubt be constantly learning. Collecting Depression glass decanters is one of the most interesting ways to find out about an important time in American history.