Fostoria Coronet Elegant Glass

Fostoria's Coronet is one of their less-well known patterns, which is hard to understand since it is far more classy and elegant than some of their best known patterns. Coronet has the three wavy lines that you can see in our ice bucket and many of the pieces have scalloped rims.

Fostoria made Coronet from 1939 to 1960 and it was used for a few etchings, notably Mayflower. The handles on pieces like creamers and sugars look like rams' horns, all twisty and neat.

If you are looking for a very attractive set of vintage crystal you may want to consider Coronet. You'll be glad you did!

Guarantee and Return / Refund Policies on eBay

I buy glass on eBay and so far have had mixed results. Some pieces have been far more worn than described, some have had big chips or came broken due to poor packing. And some have been wonderful purchases, just as described, shipped quickly and carefully.

I only started buying glass in 2007 and it gave me a new appreciation for a good refund / return policy and careful descriptions. Now when I find appealing glass I email the seller to confirm condition. Sellers respond almost always, although a few don't bother, and most of the time they report everything is fine. About 1 in 4 comes back with a damage report. It's interesting to see whether they update their listings - some do and some do not.

Even with the extra checking there have been some unpleasant surprises. Since those experiences I have liberalized my guarantee policy and now offer full refund on return, including shipping both ways, if the piece does not match the description. A few pieces with damage that is described in the listing are specifically restricted to item price only with shipping not refunded. That's in case someone doesn't read the description (yes, it happens) or doesn't realize how something looks in person. Buyers do have a responsibility but sellers need to be reasonable and accurate.

Despite this liberal guarantee a recent buyer left me a neutral due to a scratch. I checked the piece over before shipping and didn't see anything wrong, but he must have been disappointed. He didn't contact me to complain or ask for a refund. That puzzles me since I always complain if pieces are not as described, but we're all different.

So sellers, if you want to see why buyers are fussy, go be a buyer yourself.

Fire King Mugs - Retro Fun

Fire King was Anchor Hocking's line of oven proof dinnerware and bake ware. One of their successful lines was mugs. Fire King made a huge variety of mugs - several sizes, a zillion decorations, many colors and themes - and these are collected today for obvious reasons. Mugs are fun, relatively inexpensive, useful and neat.

The one shown here is part of the Game birds series, this one featuring two Canadian geese flying over a pond on a fall day. You can find humorous mugs, cartoon character mugs, like Snoopy, plain colored mugs. There are some hideous ones too, including some rather ghastly avocado green or mustard and brown combinations. Of course there are people who like those colors. There truly is a mug for everyone!

Fortune Pink Depression Glass

Fortune - isn't that a great name for a glass pattern? It evokes visions of fancy stemware and gorgeous glass. Actually Fortune was a small depression glass pattern made by Hocking Glass from 1937 to 1938. It is a simple pattern with alternating wide and narrow vertical ribs.

Most of Hocking's patterns came in quite a few pieces - think of Cameo or Block Optic with their huge array of shapes and sizes - but Fortune was an anomaly. Hocking made a small lunch set of cup, saucer, lunch and sherbet plates, two tumblers, several bowls and a covered candy dish. There is no creamer, sugar, shakers or dinner plates.

Sometimes people confuse Fortune with Old Cafe, which is another small Hocking depression pattern. Fortune has one wide and one narrow rib. Old Cafe had two narrow ribs between one wide rib.

Fostoria Heirloom White Opalescent Candle Vase - Art Glass

Looks high end contemporary art glass, doesn't it. This is Heirloom by Fostoria, made from 1959 to 1970, thus once again proving that styles come around. This is a particularly nice design with a white opalescent glass that has a lot of fire, giving it a blueish tint in some lighting. The design is completely simple, with ribbing and classic shapes.

This is called a candle vase because the inside has a candle holder so you could use it for candles, and it would look great with flowers. If you wanted to use both flowers and a candle at the same time you would need a tall taper!

We have this listed on eBay this week and on our online TIAS store.

Sharon Cabbage Rose Depression Glass

Sharon, or Cabbage Rose, is one of the most popular depression glass patterns from Federal Glass. It has a mold-etched design of large open roses in an asymmetric spray on the center and more roses on the rim. Rose designs are always popular and this one is nice. The asymmetric design gives it a bit more punch than many patterns.

Sharon comes in pink, green and amber mostly and we have all three colors. Plates, like the dinner plate shown here, are thicker than many depression patterns.

Like several other patterns that are highly collected, Sharon has been reproduced. I worried about telling the repros apart but it really is pretty easy. The ugly, misshapen creamer shown next is a repro. I got carried away one evening on eBay and the photo was awful and I thought it might be Mayfair. The green Mayfair creamer is quite valuable so I took a chance like a dummy. You can tell that this is a bad repro by the strange color, lumpy shape, and poorly molded pattern.

Central Glass Thistle Etch Stems

I'm really excited about these stems. They are Thistle etch by Central Glass. Central went out of business towards the end of the depression, 1939, and Imperial Glass acquired some of their molds. Central is best known for their Morgan etch, which has a fairy on a swing, Harding etch, which has two griffins, Balda etch and Frances pressed pattern. They made many other etches besides these.

The etch shown here is Thistle which is intricate. This is a plate etching, where the glass was coated with wax, the design applied by tracing through the wax and then the piece was immersed in acid. The acid dissolved the glass where the design had been applied through the wax. It is called a plate etching because the design was on sheets of paper that were carefully laid onto the surface. It took skill and hand work to position these just right.

There are other Thistle patterns by makers such as Tiffin. Central's is distinctive with the thistle in the center pointing down. Our stem here is the 4 inch tall cocktail and will be listed later this week.

Fostoria Contour and Raleigh - Less Known Elegant Glass

Almost everyone who enjoys glass has heard of Fostoria - makers of fine elegant glass they had many gorgeous etchings on colored and crystal glass. Here are two of their less known plain designs, Contour and Raleigh.

Fostoria's Contour has the space-age lines of the early 1950s, perfectly fitting the mid century mode and style preferences. Contour is line number 2666 and you are able to buy a full line of stylish serving pieces. There is no plain dinner or lunch plate although there are canape and snack plates that have an interesting upwards twist, and a plain lunch sized plate that is cupped. Fostoria used Contour for several of their most popular decorations, notably Holly and Nosegay cuttings.

You can find this same shape in a heavier glass that was introduced a couple years earlier; the heavier pieces are not as readily found nor are they available in a full line of dinnerware. This heavier line is number 2638.

The second pattern we'll show is Raleigh, which is very different from Contour, with its squared shapes and log handles. Fostoria made Raleigh from 1939 to 1965 and used it for many of their Colonial styled etchings, such as Sampler and Colonial Mirror. You can tell Raleigh easily by the rounded facets and the little log shaped handles.

We have pieces of both these patterns in our store, which is linked below. Recently we bought some of the sherbets in Contour which have really neat stems, but we'll show them another day.

Depression Glass Candy Jars - Doric Pink and Others

Isn't this pretty? This is the footed candy jar in Jeannette's pink depression glass Doric pattern. This is a traditional look for a candy jar - footed, round, with a tall lid topped off with a finial. The Doric pattern alternates plain squares with squares that have a stylized design in the corners. Even the finial has the little squares, making it just the perfect touch.

Jeannette Glass made Doric from 1935 to 1938, primarily in pink but you can find green and some pieces in delphite opaque blue. We've had mostly pink here in mid-Michigan.

One interesting piece that is far more common is the 3-part flat candy that is shaped like a pansy blossom. It surprises me that this is considered part of the Doric line instead of part of the similar Doric and Pansy, but that's what it is. You may find this in pink, ultramarine and delphite blue, but by far the most common is an iridescent carnival like color. Jeannette remade the flat candy in iridescent glass during the 1970s. We show the delphite blue candy.

Petalware - Pretty Depression Glass with Fanciful Decorations

Petalware is one of MacBeth Evans popular depression glass patterns and it comes in pink, cremax, monax, Ivrene, plus a few pieces in crystal or other colors. Monax is a soft white, translucent glass; cremax and Ivrene are tradenames for a darker shade of cream. MacBeth Evans eventually became part of Corning but was independent during the depression. Petalware dates to the 1930s but was made into the 1940s as well.

It is a very pretty pattern in any color, but my favorite is the white monax with the Florette red flower design pictured on a salad plate. These were hand painted and should be hand washed to preserve the design.

If you like this pattern, you may want to seek out various other designs. There is an Iverene decorated with pastel bands that is popular and chic, and several flower-bedecked cheerful designs on monax. Find your favorite, or mix and match. You'll be glad you chose fresh happy Petalware!

Plate shown is available in these two sites:

http://www.tias.com/stores/catladykate/

http://stores.ebay.com/Vintage-Elegant-Depression-Glass

Block Optic Depression Glass Creamers and Sugars

Block Optic is a neat depression glass pattern from Hocking Glass that has an art deco style. It combines rounded shapes with square blocks and has a lot of looks. Hocking made Block Optic for only 4 years, from 1929 to 1933, although it comes in a wide range of shapes and pieces. It is one of the most popular depression glass patterns because of its looks, the fact that is is moderately available and moderately priced and the huge collecting appeal.

One point to be aware of is there are Five different creamers and sugars! There are three basic shapes, cone shaped as with the green creamer, rounded, as the yellow sugar bowl and a flat squarish shape that I've not seen. Then there are three different handle shapes, plain, which the creamer has, fancy scroll as on the sugar, and pointed. You can find the angled and plain handles on the cone shaped pieces, and the plain and fancy handles on the round pieces. Now that is a lot of collecting opportunity!

Plus Block Optic came in green, pink and yellow, plus some was satinized and decorated, and you can find clear pieces, too. Wow! That is a lot of pieces for the depression glass lover!

Fostoria Eilene Needle Etched Champagne

Isn't this pretty? The pattern is Eilene, etch number 82, by Fostoria. This is a needle etch; each line is traced continuously. Needle etches were perfected earlier than plate etches and this champagne dates to about 1930. It's a little more elaborate needle etch than some.

The 5082 stem is also quite nice. In fact this is so distinctive that I was able to pick up a plain amber one without worrying about identifying it. The stem is rounded as you can see, but what doesn't show well in the photo is that it is hexagonal, six sided. There is a flat round wafer at the top and the bowl is cupped. Very very nice!

I like most shades of green and Fostoria's green glass is gorgeous, emerald in tint but not quite as dark as emerald, and it has a lot of life. You can see this on my TIAS store and it will start on eBay auction on December 9.

Olive, Line 134, Depression Glass from Imperial Glass

Maybe you can tell I have my box of Imperial Glass out to list. This is another pattern from Imperial that is usually classified as depression glass - it was mass produced - and yet is fairly nice quality glass. The pattern is Olive, or line number 134, and Imperial produced it during the late 1930s. According to my reference books, you can find Olive in red, light blue, emerald green and pink, but we have seen only blue and only this particular piece, the footed fruit bowl. This is one of my favorites, partly because the color is a soft rich blue, and partly because the design is just plain cute. The elongated oval thumbprints are simple but go well with the scalloped rim and raised ribbed foot.

If I get time I want to list this on eBay as it is a super nice piece of glass. It is in my TIAS store already.

http://www.tias.com/stores/catladykate/

Customer Service

This has not been a good week for our customer service and that is a problem since we try to differentiate ourselves by accurate descriptions, clear photos, careful wrapping and fast shipping. We (I actually) made several listing mistakes.

Somehow I had 8 plates, sold 4 and figured we had 6 left. The buyer who wanted 6 is not happy to only get 4. Sure we can make it right on the financial end, but it's still disappointing. These are the plates in question, Wayside by Syracuse.

Another lady bought a cup and saucer. When I listed the cup I took pains to describe a flaw and totally missed the chip in the rim. This happened the same day I found the plate mistake. Not a good day.

To top it off, someone has an offer for stems that I am just not seeing in my inventory boxes. These stems have not sold (we just got them so I definitely know that!) but where are they?? OK, that's it. Tomorrow better go better than this!

Bartlett Collins Golden Ivy Beverage Pitcher

Bartlett Collins made lots of tumblers during the golden age of decorated tumblers, the 1940s-1970s. They had all sorts of cute designs, including hand painted fruits, silk screened poodles, flowers and more.

The design on this juice pitcher is Golden Ivy, and the white ivy leaves are formed by raised speckles of textured material. This is similar to Coraline and gives a sparkly retro look. Bartlett Collins made a whole series in similar styles, using grapes, fruits, flowers and the like.

Of course you would wash this by hand, but wouldn't it be a great way to serve your morning OJ?

Heisey Empress Etched Sahara Tall Champagne / Sherbet

This is even more beautiful in person than in the photo. It is the Empress etch on Sahara Old Dominion tall champagne. Heisey Glass called their light yellow Sahara and it is simply stunning in this piece.

This is one of the pieces I bought on eBay. Someone offered this with some other stemware and the picture suggested that it might be etched. Yes it was, the seller sent me a photo of the etch, and that was all it took to make this glass lover put in a bid!

We are listing this on Monday, picking the date to be one full week before the second Monday in December. That second Monday has been one of the best days each year for online sales. We shall see. While many people collect Empress and Sahara Heisey glass, a smaller number are in the market on any given day. My hope is that by combining a desirable item with a high traffic sales day we will make two people happy - the buyer and me!

http://stores.ebay.com/Vintage-Elegant-Depression-Glass

Tiffin Classic - Scarve Draped Dancer Etched Pink Beauty

Several etched glass patterns from the elegant depression era incorporate dancers, notably the Springtime by Monongah etch and Tiffin's Classic. When Hocking Glass bought out Monongah during the depression, they converted the lovely Springtime dancer plate etching to a mold etch which could be mass produced. That pattern became the beautiful Cameo depression glass.

The design shown here, with a dancer draped in flowing scarves surrounded by swags and scrolls, is Classic by Tiffin. We were fortunate to acquire a few pieces in the pink; this is scarce and quite valuable.

The piece shown here is the small footed juice tumbler. This footed cone shape was a classic depression-era tumbler, and to me embodies the vintage look of elegance and grace. The tumbler has a subtle vertical panel optic that enhances the beauty of the design.

One reference attributed the dancer to be Isadora Duncan an early modern dance pioneer. Whether the lady in our Classic by Tiffin is Isadora or not, this is a beautiful etch that is simply gorgeous in Tiffin's pink!

http://www.tias.com/stores/catladykate/

http://stores.ebay.com/Vintage-Elegant-Depression-Glass