Amber Center Handled Server Bowl New Martinsville

Isn't this an interesting piece? You'll see more of the center handled serving trays or sandwich trays than ones like this that are shallow bowls.

The handle on this bowl is a rounded pentagon with two little ears beneath the open center. It reminds me of an ankh. New Martinsville made this piece and the maker can be identified by the handle shape.

The handle is offset from the square sides and aligns to the corners. You can see the corners have interesting scallops and there are more scallops, albeit quite gentle ones, on the sides. This pattern doesn't have a name, and is line number 36. The color is a deep, rich amber, very nice and warm, perfect for this time of year.

We have this listed in our TIAS store.http://www.tias.com/stores/catladykate/

New: We started a blog for people who are just beginning to enjoy depression glass called Depression Glass 101. http://depressionglassguide.blogspot.com/

Viking Sonata - Elegant Rose Trailing Vines Etch

Here's one of the prettiest designs from Viking or New Martinsville, yet it isn't well known. This is Sonata, also called Sonita. It was one of the etches that Viking made early after they took over the reorganized New Martinsville.

This particular piece is the oval celery bowl and what makes it so very nice is the utter simplicity of the shape -a simple oval with no molded ornamentation - combined with the graceful, pretty rose etch. I had this piece for many years and finally got help from a glass expert to identify it. It's listed now on both eBay and TIAS; beautiful as it is, I cannot keep every piece of glass and this one needs a new home!

Janice - New Martinsville's Elegant Depression Glass

Janice is one of New Martinsville's elegant glass patterns that is often classified as depression glass. You may find it with various etches and in colors like blue or red. This bowl here is crystal and one of the less common shapes. It is about 11 inches across with a ruffled rim.

Janice is a molded design with a prominent drape design on the lower portion. The base is ground and formed by little scallops. It's a nice pattern that deserves more appreciation!

Prelude Etch - New Martinsville Begun, Viking Continued

Isn't this pretty? It is the bon bon with turned up edges and two handles and the etch is Prelude by New Martinsville. New Martinsville was reorganized into the Viking Glass company near the time that Prelude was begun. Prelude was a successful etch for New Martinsville and Viking continued it, and in fact produced more pieces.

Some of the later pieces have less elaborate shapes or less careful finishing and I've read that you may even find pieces where the design was applied externally, as a paint, instead of etched. This piece has a ground base rim and likely dates to the earlier part of the production.

We offer this on our eBay site and our online store within the TIAS collectible mall.