An Assortment of 3 Recent Identifications

My second favorite thing besides digging is identifying the items I dig up. For every item I identify, I make a collage to post on my Instagram account. Below are some of the collages and some extra information on recent shards and relics I have discovered the origins of. Enjoy the pictures!


Green Depression Glass Measuring Cup Base   

I dug this shard at a 1920s-1930s city dumpsite. I knew that it was a base of something, but I didn't know if it was of a bowl or something else. The remaining glass on the sides came up too straight to be a bowl, so I guessed measuring cup. This was the closest match I could find. Of course, many different variations of green Depression glass measuring cups were produced during the Depression era, so without more evidence it's hard to find a exact match.



Green "Jadeware by Sebring" Bowl

This was a hard one! Based on the visible lettering I guessed the backstamp read "... Ware By ..."
I started by searching different things like "Green Ware 1930s" and other variations. I wasn't having any luck so I started inserting well known pottery companies in the search. I found a match when I searched "Sebring Green Ware". Turns out this piece was a "Jade Ware" bowl by Sebring, made in USA.  Below is a picture of some assorted Sebring Jade Ware.






Clear/Crystal "Circle" Pattern Depression Glass 
Sherbet/Stem Bottom

I identified this piece on accident. I'm not completely sure if this is the piece it belonged to but it's close enough. It's hard to find an exact match when the top part of the stem is not attached. I had dug up another "Circle" pattern shard a while back and while researching, I noticed the base had the same pattern as another shard I was puzzled on.  "Circle" was produced in the 1930s by Hocking Glass in green, pink, and crystal. Below are some other pictures of Hocking's "Circle" pattern.

As always, thanks for reading!

My Great Grandmother's Jelly Dish

When I first started becoming interested in collecting Depression glass, I told my grandmother about it and asked if she had any old glass sitting around. She dug around and brought me this dish.


It turns out that this handled jelly dish belonged to my great grandmother. My grandmother gifted it to me, knowing that I would put it to good use. It is now on display in my room and I use it occasionally at mealtimes to serve food. Its history and sentimental value makes it one of my favorite pieces. It's amazing to think that my Great Grandmother served meals off this dish back in the day!

Of course, I had to do research on my new dish. This dish was made by Imperial Glass in the late 1920s until the early 1930s. Exact dates of production are unknown. The pattern was known as "Little Jewel" and "Line Number 330 Diamond Block". According to Gene Florence, this pattern is not very well known by collectors and is just starting to attract collectors. Not many pieces in this pattern are known. In Gene Florence's Depression glass book, 14th edition, he lists a jelly dish, jug, pickle dish, sugar, vase, celery, creamer, berry bowl, lily bowl, bowl, and honey bowl. Little Jewel came in the colors crystal (clear), black, iridescent, pink, and yellow. Since this particular book was written, more pieces and colors were probably discovered.
Pictured below are some examples of other colors and pieces in Little Jewel.

Black


Blue


Pink


Green


Thanks for reading!

The Porcelain Outhouse

As a dump digger, it is not unusual to dig something very peculiar, unusual, or something you didn't know ever even existed. Below is one of those finds.


The Porcelain Outhouse
 My most unusual find is a porcelain outhouse figurine! Yes, you read that correctly. Believe it or not, many of these humorous figurines were produced back in the day. It would have been quite ironic if I had dug this up in an actual privy (another word for outhouse).
Pictured below is my prized possession, and a side by side of the closest match I could find. I showed it to a fellow bottle collector and he believes it was produced in Japan before WWII.

























Thanks for reading!

Depression Glass Shard ID- Green Cameo Pitcher

I discovered this beautiful pitcher shard last weekend at a 1930s farm dumpsite.


 It was laying on the surface of the dumpsite. No digging was even necessary! I was already sure of the pattern since I had seen this piece before online, so no research was necessary. Still, it's too beautiful not to share!

The shard belonged to this particular pitcher. The pattern is called Cameo.

Here is a side by side of the shard and the piece it originated from.


All About Cameo
Cameo, also known as "Dancing Girl", or "Ballerina" was produced by Hocking Glass from 1930-1934.  Ballerina's and other dancing motifs were popular during the 20s and early 30s. In a mere amount of 4 years, Hocking produced a copious amount of pieces in Cameo. Pieces of Cameo came in the colors green, pink, yellow, and clear. According to Gene Florence's Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, clear Cameo was sometimes produced with a platinum rim.

Green is the most desirable color of all, with yellow coming in second. Pink is a very elusive color and is hard to find. Crystal is not hard to find but does not draw much attention to collectors.
Below are pictures of all the colors that Cameo was produced in.


Green-1930-1934


Pink-Specific Years Unknown


Yellow-1932-1934


Clear (Platinum Ring)-Specific Years Unknown





Reproductions 
All miniature pieces are new. Mosser Glass from Ohio made miniature children's sets in Cameo in the 1980s. Also, the salt and pepper shaker was reproduced, but is easy to differentiate from the original due to the depth of the shaker.
Below are some pictures of Cameo reproductions. Watch out for these!

Thanks for reading!

Depression Glass Shard ID: Pink Centerpiece Bowl

I dug up this piece months ago at a city dumpsite that I visit frequently.


I never took interest to discovering its origin, thinking that it would be too difficult due to the lack of a visible pattern. A few days ago, however, I decided that I would figure out what the shard belonged to.

The research process:

I could tell from the bottom that it was a footed bowl, with four feet, so I searched "Pink Depression glass footed bowl". I got results like these.

I was definitely on the right track, but I wasn't finding what I was looking for.
I changed my search to "Pink depression glass four footed console bowl".
I found this! I was on the right track!

The picture was labelled as "Imperial Molly Etched Pink Footed Console Bowl"

Since my bowl looked very similar to this "Molly" pattern, but without the etching, I looked on http://www.replacements.com and searched "Molly" by Imperial.
To my delight, I found what I had been looking for all along!

The rims are a little more defined than they are on the bowl I have, but I'm pretty sure this is a match.
Below is a side to side picture.


Imperial's Molly Pattern
This pattern, Line number 725, was produced by Imperial Glass Company. According to Gene Florence's first Depression glass identification book, Molly was produced during the mid 1930's and was released in the colors red, blue, green, pink, and crystal. Not much other information is known about this pattern.

Imperial Glass Company
Imperial Glass Company was founded in 1901 by Edward Muhleman. However, production did not start until 1904. They produced pressed glass patterns and closed in the 1970s. 

Thanks for reading!

A Short History of the Ritz Cracker

The Ritz Cracker is an American favorite. Buttery, salty, and very light and crunchy, these crackers have been around since the Great Depression.

The National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco, first introduced the Ritz cracker to Baltimore and Philadelphia markets on November 21, 1934.

The sleek, shiny cracker was attractive enough already, but it needed a name. The name "Ritz" is derived from the word "Ritzy", meaning "expensively stylish". During the Great Depression, many Americans lived in poor conditions, and yearned for a touch of something fancy and exquisite.

Ritz crackers are now sold internationally and are a household favorite.