GPSA Glass Faq's

Frequently Asked Glass Questions:

Welcome!
The items on this page represent some of the most common questions asked by people new to buying or selling glass.

This page does not even scratch the surface of glass collecting, nor is it intended to do so. These are quick summaries for those who seek short answers to their glass questions. Please see the GPSA Home Page for resources if you are looking for more advanced or more detailed information.

*What pattern is this?*
Early American PresCut (EAPC) Anchor Hocking 1960-1999 Found almost exclusively in clear. Most items in this pattern are common. Less common items include the iced tea, oil lamp and the large paneled bowl. This pattern is sometimes called Star of David. Design Motif: Star and Rays
	Willow, Oleander, Magnolia, Laurel Indiana 1940's The pattern name is not known, so it is often called by one or all of these names. Also shortened to WOM or WOML.. Found almost exclusively in clear. Occasionally found with frosted leaves or colored. Design Motif: Deeply pressed leaf pattern, except the candlesticks. The pattern is large and dramatic on the round tray and bowl. The sugar and creamer are the most easy to find and feature one spray lying nearly horizontal across the front.
Harvest Indiana 1970's Found in blue carnival, green carnival, amber carnival and milk. Many pieces including a goblet, covered compote, iced tea, and punchbowl set. Design Motif: Grapes and leaves.
Photo courtesy of eBay member lyndemar	Diamond Point Indiana 1960's Tiara Exclusives 1970 - 1998 Found in clear, milk, black, ruby stained. By Indiana in the 60's, Tiara Exclusives (sold at home parties) in the 80's. Design Motif: All over diamond pattern with plain rim
Heritage Princess House 1970's through present Sold at home parties. Pieces include stemware, hurricane lamps, and candleholders. Design Motif: Half flower cutting with three extensions from the flower. Many companies made wheel cut stemware, particularly in the 1940's. Much of it is misidentified as Princess House. Heritage is PH's only floral wheel cut design
	Wexford Anchor Hocking Late 1960's and 1970's Found almost exclusively in clear, though there are some colored pieces in existence. Design Motif: Raised diamond design with a band of smaller diamonds above and a plain band at the rim or edges.
*What is the definition of this glass term?*

Blown Glass Glass blown by a glass blower-may be blown freely or into a mold Pressed Glass Glass made in a mold Pattern Glass Usually used to describe pressed glass from the 1850's - 1910, especially American glass. Also abbreviated EAPG - Early American Pattern Glass Cut Glass Glass whose pattern is made by actually cutting the glass after it has been made into a vessel. Fancy cut glass made in the US between the 1880's through around 1917 is known as being from the American Brilliant Period, abbreviated APB. Depression Glass American glass made inexpensively during the Depression years, often given out as premiums at places such as movie theaters. Most common colors: pink, green with a slight yellow tone (not emerald green), amber and clear. Manufacturers include Hocking, Hazel Atlas, Federal, McKee, and Jeannette. Elegant Glass Glass made by higher end manufacturers during the Depression years into the 1960's. Manufacturers include Fostoria, Heisey, Tiffin and Paden City. Early American Pressed Glass (EAPG) Pressed glass made from around 1850 to around 1910. Most common color is clear. Manufacturers include Boston & Sandwich; U.S. Glass; Hobbs, Brockunier; Bryce and Gillinder. Mid-Century Glass Glass made in the 50's and 60's. American manufacturers include Kanawah, Viking, and Blenko, as well as many of the Depression glass companies that remained in business such as Jeannette, Anchor Hocking and Federal. Art Glass High end handcrafted glass. Art glass was made in every glass generation.	Kitchen Glassware Utilitarian glass such as measuring cups, mixing bowls, reamers, etc... Opalescent Glass with a misty white decoration that appears colorful or fiery when held to the light. Carnival Pressed glass with an iridescent finish made from around 1905 to about 1930. Reproductions made from earlier patterns are called "new carnival." Newer glass that are not reproductions are called iridescent. Vaseline This term is used differently in different geographic locations. Most vaseline collectors use it to mean yellow-green glass which glows bright emerald green when exposed to black light. Goofus Pressed glass that was painted with a gold base and then either red or green on top. Given as prizes at carnivals, this glass was cheaply made. As a result, it is difficult to find goofus in excellent condition. Etched vs. Cut Those pretty floral decorations on stemware can be cut, usually using a wheel, or etched. The pretty ones with a simple flower and leaf decorations that look whitish are cut. If they are highly polished so they are as clear as the glass they are on, they are called rock crystal cutting. The fancy ornate designs with lots of detail are acid etched. A cutting is never referred to as etched. Cut-to-Clear Glass that is clear and then layered with another color, most commonly red or blue. Designs are then cut into the glass to show the clear base. Designs often include deer and castles. Pontil Mark The place where the glass left the glass maker's rod. If left unfinished it is called a rough pontil. If smoothed out, it is called a polished pontil. When people first hear this word spoken out loud, they sometimes think the speaker is saying "ponytail mark." Fleabite Tiny fairly round little nick no larger than the size of a pencil point. More accurately described as a pinpoint nick.
For more information and terms describing item condition, please refer to The GPSA Glossary. *Whose Mark is This?*
This mark looks like an arrow through a G? It's IG, Imperial Glass When did Fenton start marking their items? 1970. (?) If it's a Fenton pattern, but unmarked, it's earlier. Who marked their items with an H in a Diamond? Heisey Glass Whose mark is a C in a Triangle? Cambridge Glass Is this mark anHA or an AH? It's HA for Hazel Atlas (not Anchor Hocking as many people think) What about a cursive style L? Libbey Glass An F in a shield? Federal Glass More Glass Marks Can Be Found Here.
*What is a good first glass book?*
Warman's Glass 3rd Edition Ellen T. Schroy Krause Publications	If you want an overview to help you understand the different types of glass, start with Warman's Glass. It's a great intro book because it breaks everything up by category and shows examples of each and a summary of prices. It's the kind of book that's great for starting out, but you will outgrow it as you begin to want more specific information. More General Glass Books Listed Here.

*How Does One Decide Which Glass Will Sell on eBay?* A Few Suggestions From GPSA's Own WGPaul Bill’s 15 Rules for Happy Glass Buying Don’t buy oodles of clear glass until you know something about it. Most clear glass is relatively worthless on Ebay. And that’s from a guy who collects clear glass! There’s some great pieces in clear glass but you will waste your time if you buy every piece of clear glass you can find. Ditto for milk glass. Read the Milk Glass 101 posting from eBay's Pottery, Glass, and Porcelain Board. Learn about the most commonly found glass. While there are some rare pieces in these patterns, most of the items you will find are common. Look at the following patterns: Early American PresCut Wexford Indiana Harvest (Carnival and Milk Glass) Stars and Bars Concord by Brockway See the pictures above for examples of this glass, and also check out this helpful page: Undocumented and Under Documented Glass Patterns Don’t buy cube glass thinking it’s Fostoria American. Learn to tell Indiana Whitehall from American first. (Besides, what did I tell you about clear glass?) Don’t buy small square dishes with frilly edges that look like English Hobnail. They aren’t, and there’s a gazillion of them out there. Learn about florist glass - E. O. Brody doesn’t usually sell. Also that Teardrop pattern from Indiana. Not all glass with cut flowers is Princess House. The PH flower looks like a fuschia from the side. the pattern is called Heritage. Learn to recognize it. Although fairly contemporary, some of it sells very well. But be sure it’s PH first. (OK, it’s clear - rules were made to be broken.) Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s valuable. There are currently over 20 pages of EAPG items in the completed listings under $9.99. While some of these are misidentified, many are lovely old pre-1910 items that just don’t sell. I started collecting a US Glass pattern after I kept seeing sell for so little on eBay. (Just what I needed - another pattern to collect!) Learn to recognize recent Polish cut glass. It’s pretty but not very sale-able on eBay - especially in clear. (Did I mention not to buy clear glass?) Now that the categories are back, you can do my favorite exercise. Choose a category. Sort by price. Look at what’s selling for big bucks. Pray you find one. Now sort by lowest. See what’s selling for under $10. Don’t buy this stuff. Now search for items in that category between $20 and $50. These are the items you are likely to find if you know what you are looking for. Buy wisely. Do your homework. Study. Hang out at the discussion board. Go to the library. Read something about glass every night. If it can’t be ID’d, dump it. Sell it cheap, give it away or donate it. Sure, it could be that $5,000 item you’ve been waiting for, but it’s more likely a $10 item you’ve just spent 5 hours trying to ID. That’s $2 an hour. It’s not even minimum wage. I think I had a job in 1970 that paid $2 an hour. Use the GPSA glossary for descriptions of flaws. Describe damage in factual terms. Don’t use judgments like good condition, small chip, doesn’t take away from the piece. Let the buyer decide all that. Just describe it by size and shape - a 1/4” flat chip on the bottom where the piece sits. The buyer can decide whether that’s “good condition” or not. Have fun! Don’t buy clear glass until you know what sells. (Oh - did I mention that already?) Bill
*Links* GPSA Glass Links Our very own page of fabulous glass links including glass museums, glossaries, and links to pages about all kinds of collectable glass.

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Bill’s 15 Rules for Happy Glass Buying