Glass A Gem Of Depression For Homer City Man

HOMER CITY--There's gold to be found in some old glass dinnerware, according to longtime collector Jay Bennett.

For nearly 30 years, the Homer City resident has been seeking out antique glass plates, goblets, serving bowls and other vessels dating from America's Great Depression. He gathers choice pieces for his own collection and for those of fellow hobbyists.

"It was a way to bring color into the drab world of the (1930s) Depression," Bennett said of the glass, which varied from translucent to opaque and came in hues ranging from amber to aquamarine to misty green "jadeite."

Through years of examining and researching the highly collectible, extremely fragile pieces of Americana, Bennett also has amassed an impressive collection of facts about them--including the basic chemical ingredients used to create different glass colors.

"Red is the scarcest and highest priced of the Depression glass," Bennett said, pointing out, "They had to add gold to the original formula" to obtain a bright cherry color.

Then, substituting copper and selenium for gold, "In the 1940s, they found a cheaper formula, and they flooded the market" with a darker, wine-colored shade referred to as "royal ruby" or "pigeon blood."

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Bennett indicated, glassware which gleamed with shades of aqua was the most common, and the cheapest to produce.

He explained the iron content of the sand used in all glass is what creates a bluish-green cast. "For an ultramarine color, you add more iron," he noted.

With the use of a black light, Bennett demonstrates how the uranium salt added to give some glassware a green tint also lends it a glow-in-the-dark effect.

Having lectured on the topic to IUP's continuing education students, he also is happy to reveal the key ingredients for some other glass hues: nickel or manganese are preferred for purple glass; chromium creates a blue color; addition of tin or zinc results in an opaque white finish.

Mass-produced and often flawed, Depression glass pieces originally were sold for pennies apiece at the local Five and Dime store--or given away as premiums with boxes of baking mix or packets of garden seeds.

Bennett noted, "A 25-cent admission to a theater would get you two 'B' features, numerous short subjects, a newsreel and a piece of glassware--to keep you coming back."

Now, as striking reminders of America's past, individual items of Depression glass can command anywhere from a few dollars--for a commonplace saucer--to several hundred--for a large platter or bowl.

"Before the Depression, everything was hand-blown and hand-molded," Bennett said of the nation's glassware industry. "Then, with compressed air and machine molding, they started to produce glass cheaper and faster.

"They used to make these by the trainload, pack them in barrels with sawdust and ship them. That's why a lot of them were damaged."

According to Bennett, such manufacturing flaws as bubbles in the glass normally don't degrade a piece's collectible value. But, "If it's chipped, that usually reduces the value drastically."

"You'll see bubbles in some of the give-aways and 10-cent items," Bennett noted.

At the other end of the scale was more finely crafted glassware which sold for a higher price at jewelry or gift shops.

Bennett noted those pieces, since categorized as "elegant" glassware, are identifiable by such finishing touches as acid etching of designs and hand polishing of bases.

"Every time the glass was touched by human hands, it increased the cost," he explained.

One method of etching was to apply the acid with a needle, penetrating through a layer of wax. Said Bennett, "The wax would protect the area they didn't want etched."

"Most patterns were placed on the bottom side of (translucent glass) dishes so the food wouldn't get stuck in the crevices," he added.

Some companies--such as Fostoria, which moved from Ohio to Moundsville, W. Va.--boosted the lead content of their glass to enhance the quality, Bennett indicated.

Fostoria items in his collection include a pickle jar, marketed by the company from 1919 up until 1980.

On the down side, in an era when the dangers of lead poisoning weren't recognized, "Lead would be leaching out from the glass into things people would drink," Bennett noted. As a result, "They had a lot of dementia."

In addition to color, size and condition, the relative scarcity of a glass item will help determine its collectible value, Bennett said.

He pointed out patterns which were produced in small quantities to begin with, or which were most subject to being broken or discarded over the years, are now among the rarest and most desirable Depression pieces.

So, for an item such as a sugar bowl, "The lid usually is worth equal to or double what the bottom of the bowl is."

In particular, he noted, the going price for a sugar bowl in the "American Sweetheart" pattern, produced from 1930 to 1936 by Charleroi's MacBeth-Evans Glass Company (eventually folded into the larger Corning company), is just $15. But the matching lid can cost $500.

The case is similar for the vulnerable "Lace Edge" pattern manufactured by the Hocking Glass Company (later Anchor Hocking) in 1935-38.

"Lace Edge" sherbet plates originally retailed for 10 cents through such stores as Woolworth's, Bennett said. "Today they book for $125."

In the same vein, Bennett reported, only four sets of salt and pepper shakers are known to exist in the original pink "cherry blossom" pattern put out by the Jeannette Glass Company in the '30s.

It was "one of the first patterns that was reproduced" in a modernized version, he noted.

Other rarities which add to a piece's value are an intact label or an original box.

Bennett owns a MacBeth-Evans plate with a seldom seen "back stamp."

Also in his collection is a light blue "delfite" children's dinner set of opaque glass in its original packing box from Jeannette Glass.

Perhaps Bennett's most unusual piece is a joined pair of glass knives which were never separated and finished after emerging from the mold.

He explained glass knives were popular at one time for cutting citrus fruit and tomatoes: "The acid would pit a metal knife, and glass was considered more sanitary."

Bennett first was dazzled by Depression Glass indirectly when his sisters inherited some of the family's glassware in the 1970s.

He explained, "My brother-in-law decided he liked (the glass). So I started looking for more pieces for him, and he gave me my first glass (reference) book to show me what he wanted."

When Bennett bought glassware in multiple-piece sets, "I kept what my brother-in-law didn't want." As a result, it wasn't long until he, too, had the collecting fever.

Beginning with two basic patterns--"American Sweetheart" and the "Sharon Rose" line from the Federal Glass Company--he soon began expanding his glass holdings.

Bennett noted yard sales used to provide frequent bargains for Depression glass collectors: "I would see things that were priced at only 50 cents, but it would say in the book it was worth $5."

Now, "That's changed. People have become more knowledgeable," and increased their prices accordingly.

Meanwhile, auctions featuring vintage glassware are becoming more competitive.

"Every time I go to an auction, I learn two things: I don't know enough and I don't have enough money," Bennett quipped. He said some of his best finds are through one-on-one contacts with area residents who are looking to clear out some of their family's old glassware.

"There are still bargains out there, you just have to look for them," he noted. On at least one occasion, "I've bought dishes right out of someone's dishwasher."

With the tri-state area of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania being the prime center for Depression glass production, Bennett is fortuitously situated for his hobby.

"A lot of the glassware stayed close to home," he noted.

Yet, "We've seen it in antique stores on a trip to England."

With assistance from his wife, Carol, Bennett packs as many as 50 boxes full of Depression pieces into his truck and heads out to about 10 glass shows each year.

The couple has traveled between Massachusetts and Georgia, looking to sell some of the glass items they could live without while Jay Bennett keeps an eye out for new additions.

"We buy what we like," he said, noting, "If we really like it, we'll price it high.

"Then, if someone buys it, that's OK. If not, we're not ashamed to bring it back home."

With the pool of available Depression glass becoming increasingly smaller, he noted, "Each year, it gets harder to replace what I sell."

The show circuit extends year-round. While the Bennetts have two weekend shows coming up in March, during the summer, they are regular participants in antique shows at Westmoreland County's historic Hannastown site.

For Jay Bennett, shows are as much a social occasion as an opportunity to make deals with other hobbyists.

"The best part is the people we've met," he said. "When you do shows over a number of years, you keep running into the same people.

"The money is a secondary objective. Even if we just break even (with show entry fees), we've still enjoyed a weekend away from home."

While he prefers seeing and handling antique glassware in person before buying it, Bennett acknowledged Internet auction sites have become a major new force in the Depression glass field.

"There are thousands and thousands of listings (of Depression Glass) on eBay," he noted. "Glass is probably the most traded and collected thing after stamps and coins."

In addition to looking for what interests him at a glass show--including the local output of old glass plants in Indiana and Jeannette--Bennett tries to fill "want lists" submitted by his regular clients.

"Every time there's an earthquake in California, I get a lot of requests for replacement pieces," he noted.

Bennett noted he and his wife take extra care in storing their glass treasures--packing them in bubble wrap or Pampers, But they admit they usually break or chip a few pieces while hauling them to shows.

Breakage also can occur with sudden changes in temperature. That's why Bennett recommends cleansing antique glassware in warm, not hot water.

Also, when bringing home a new find during cold weather, "Make sure it sits for a day inside the house to bring it up to room temperature," he advised.

A number of factors affect what is most in demand on the collectible glass market at a given time.

Bennett noted, "With the current economy, it's a soft market now for Depression glass."

In the long term, he said, "Pink is probably the most collected color because there is more of it available." Also, "Kitchenware is usually pretty stable."

Other glass categories may be subject to cyclical appeal.

"Elegant stemware with etching did well last year," he said. "Five years ago it was reamers," used for squeezing juice from fresh fruit.

"It depends on what is being reproduced."

A reproduction "stunts" a glass pattern, "but it doesn't kill it," Bennett maintains. "People get afraid of it," worrying that they might mistake a reproduction for the original.

There are exceptions to that rule.

He noted, "Jadeite was hot for a couple of years," fueled by promotion of a reproduction line by home decor maven Martha Stewart.

"But now it seems to be on the decline."

Bennett pointed out even the most knowledgeable collectors sometimes have to engage in detective work to distinguish similar patterns issued by different manufacturers.

Rather than a particular company, he noted, "Some patterns were owned by the designer." And, "When people moved from factory to factory, they would take some of the molds with them."

Ultimately, "If you're not sure, you'd better know your dealer," he said.

Patterns from the Depression period aren't the only type of glass coveted by collectors.

Bennett also owns examples of the earlier "carnival glass" which came into vogue in the first decade of the 20th century.

"It's the glass you used to pitch dimes at to win at the carnival," he said, explaining the name.

Among the distinctive types of carnival pieces were iridescent dishes and bowls bearing a "Three Fruits" pattern popularized by the Northwood Glass Company of Wheeling, W. Va.

Bennett explained the shiny effect was achieved by spraying a metallic salt solution--such as tin chloride--onto the glass, highlighting subsidiary shadings within the basic purple pigment of the glass.

He noted, "If you come across a piece that is iridescent on the base, 99 percent of the time it's a recent reproduction."

He explained, during the original process, a piece of glassware usually was placed on a stand while the remaining surfaces were sprayed with the necessary agent.

Bennett also collects ceramic dinnerware--including the popular Fiestaware, which is still being produced in various solid pastel shades.

He also displays originals and reproductions from the "Autumn Leaf" pattern of table settings and serving vessels issued by the Jewel Tea Co. from the Depression up through the 1960s.

Originally, the dishes were produced by the Hall Co. in East Liverpool, Ohio.

Orange, brown and yellow colors pick out the stylized floral design.

Bennett said there are multiple benefits recommending glass collecting as a pastime: "Depression glassware is not only something you can enjoy as a hobby; it's functional and it's an investment."

Though the hobby is maturing, marked by rising prices and dwindling supplies, Bennett noted there always is the possibility of some previously unseen design emerging from decades of dormancy in an attic, basement or barn:

"There are still new discoveries being made."

Bennett also is hoping more young people will begin taking an interest in the hobby, to keep it flourishing in future generations.

Bennett encouraged those with an interest in vintage glass, dinnerware or kitchenware to join him as a member of the Indiana-based Rainbow Diamond Glass Club.

With more than 100 members currently on its rolls, the club meets at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at the Indiana Salvation Army headquarters on Water Street.

For more information, contact club President Carol Schurman (724-254-2103) or membership Chairman Carol Buterbaugh (724-349-2337).