What is American Tableware Glass?
From the earliest days of American history, glassmaking has been an important industry. Glass jars and bottles were utilized for storing and preserving foods, medicines and beverages, and glass panes were needed for windows and doors.
Tableware and decorative pieces were produced. Lead glass was made extensively until the Civil War when the lead needed for bullets was replaced by a soda lime formula.
Milk glass and pieces exquisite in color and design graced many elegant
Victorian homes, and by 1900, the brilliant cut glass was at a peak of
popularity.
By the end of the 19th century, elegant hand-painted glass lamps and light fixtures, crystal candlesticks and 5-7 arm candelabra were standard offerings.
By the time of the great depression, a method of making glass with machines had been developed. Some companies used pieces of this glassware as give-aways, making it even more available to the masses. Thus, depression glass was born.
After World War II, both elegant and depression glass companies began to feel the pressure of competition from: foreign imports, labor costs, EPA standards, and other factors. One by one, the factories closed.
Collecting became an important way of saving and preserving glass from these companies.
