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What Styles of

Glass Are You

Passionate About?

A walk-through of American glass styles

and inspiration with Peter Wade Ca. 1920s Heisey Puritan Clear (Colonial) clear
glass punch bowl on stand selling for $295
online. photo: Eron Johnson Antiques

n the late 1800s, Canary glass was “all industrial age. This period saw several
the rage” in Victorian households. arrivals and transitions in style,
IThis glass was a pale yellowish color fashion, and design, all impacted by
with a slight tint of green in it. What advancing technology. It was a period
made it special was the uranium oxide of rapid change.
chemical used in the making of the glass. The Aesthetic Movement, which
This caused the glass to optically reflect arrived in the mid-1800s, rejected
candlelight which helped to increase the Victorian preferences and introduced
amount of light in a candlelit room. the concept of “art for art’s sake” and
Victorians were passionate about this focused on exploring colors, form, and
glass. Today, we call this vaseline glass composition in the pursuit of the
because of its similarity to the color of beauty that should be part of everyday
vaseline ointment. They couldn’t get life. It borrowed from previous
enough of it. Then, something happened. sources of inspiration, medieval
Or, I should say, someone. geometric designs, and Japanese
Thomas A. Edison introduced the motifs and aesthetics. The French
world to the electric light bulb. New Art “Art Nouveau” Movement
Incandescent light had arrived and, in grew out of this. In the world of glass,
turn, it quickly became the focus Emile Gallé, Louis Comfort Tiffany,
amongst Victorians who could now easily and Frederick Carder are some of the Mt. Washington Glass Co. peach
light up their households with it. But, most famous names who brought this
The sought-after Diamond Spearhead something else happened, too. The optical concept to reality in the glass world. blow Queen’s decoration vase
pattern first appeared in a 1901 ca. 1886-1890 for sale
catalog. It was produced by wave light characteristics of electric bulbs Looking back on the Victorian era, at Etsy for $3,900.
Northwood Glass Company in didn’t react with the uranium oxide in it was the Aesthetic Movement
many opalescent colors including this canary glass. Almost overnight, that set the stage for the arrival of 20th Century modern art.
vaseline or uranium variation. reactive vaseline glass went from This impact would encompass the global marketplace.
photo: Etsy.com “must have” to “tired old In addition to the famous names mentioned, a whole
yellow glass.” Vaseline array of well-known glass companies made the
glass was done – finished by changes in style and Victorian era a rich and wonderful place for glass
new lighting technology. collectors to explore. Mount Washington
You can apply variations of this story to just Glass, U.S. Glass, Webb Glass, Stevens &
about every stylistic period of glass making, Williams Glass, and many, many more,
design, collectability, and desirability up to produced wonderful art glass that is avidly
modern times. Financial values went up sought after today. This was comple-
and down with each stylistic phase. And, mented by the many cut glass companies
when glass values went down, they created from the American Brilliant Period.
a buying opportunity. When they were As technology improved the art of
rediscovered again, the values typically glass making, the production of glass for
went back up and up. everyone expanded. Pressed and molded
The heart of the matter is literally what glass makers expanded exponentially.
is your passion about glass … the style, form, artistic characteristics, or The elegant glass companies: Tiffin, Cambridge, Heisey,
emotional attributes that are meaningful to you. Northwood, and Paden City produced beautiful glass affordable
Today, you can find and collect glass that will stir your passions and to the average family. Some options included hand-blown,
enhance your feelings of well-being. You have an amazing array of styles mold-blown, and pressed with hand finishing.
to choose from and use in decorating your home. And, there’s never been Each of these companies has a devoted, passionate following
a better time to collect the glass that you want. Currently, the marketplace today. They are preserving for future generations the best of what
is offering you a great opportunity to buy the glass you desire. was produced.

The Victorians – Mid-1800s - 1914 The War Years: Art Deco & Art Moderne
This period of time paralleled the life span of Queen Victoria from The First World War put the glass world on “pause.” When the
her arrival in 1830 to her death in 1901 and to the arrival of World troops started returning in 1918, there was an explosion of activity
War I in 1914. It was characterized by a materialistic
approach, fussy and curvaceous in design, and made Ca. 1918 Tiffany Studios “Laburnum” table lamp with a
thanks to the repetitive machine production of the new “Twisted Vine” base sold for $214,200 in March 2022.
photo: Christie’s

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