Collecting Antique Glass

Explore the world of antique glass if you are interested in antiques and collectibles or want to buy collectibles. Most of us take glass for granted today. We look out our windows and watch the world go by. We drink from our glasses without a thought. We arrange flowers in glass vases to bring color into our homes. However, we have a long history of craftsmen and artists creating beautiful works using glass throughout the ages.

History of Glass
Glass has existed in a natural condition since the beginning of time. However, it was not until about 3500 B.C. that humans actually figured out how to make glass themselves. It would take centuries for people to develop the craft of blowing glass. This honor goes to Syrian craftsmen who developed the blowing glass technique between 27 B.C. and 14 A.D.

Romans had been on the march long before glass blowing was invented. Romans not only conquered territory, they also spread culture, created trade routes and improved transportation. Glass making technology spread through the Empire and was used in trading to distant lands such as China. The Romans were the first to use transparent glass in buildings after the technology was developed in Alexandria about 100 A.D. Although this ancient glass would not meet our standards today for transparency, it was a major improvement.

Over time, the way that craftsmen made glass varied from region to region. This was due, in part, to the different additives available in any given location, the desire to protect trade secrets and the development of skills and techniques that were unique to a given area.

Further developments in glass making included:

• The invention of leaded crystal in 1674 by George Ravenscroft.
• The Industrial Revolution: Glass could be mass produced rather than hand crafted.
• Sheets of glass that had an even width, invented in Belgium in 1905.

Types of Glass
Glass isn't just utilitarian. It's fun to collect, too. Here are the types of glassware that are popular among collectors today.

• Carnival Glass. Fenton Art Glass Company introduced what is now called Carnival Glass in 1907. This iridescent glass was actually an "art" glass at the time. While carnival glass was pressed, the finishing was done by hand. This allowed the middle class to own "art" glass. Carnival glass was actually referred to as the "Poor Man's Tiffany."
• Purple Glass. Glass needs additives in the formula to keep the glass clear. One such additive is lead. During the Civil War, lead was scare, so glass manufacturers switched to manganese for glass clarity. By around 1915, the additive changed to selenium. What glass manufacturers did not during the period between the Civil War and the change to selenium was that glass made with manganese turns purple when exposed to ultra-violet rays. 
• Vaseline glass. Vaseline glass included uranium salts, which makes the glass glow when exposed to sunlight or blue light. Vaseline glass will register on a Geiger counter, but is not harmful to people.
• Cut glass. Cut glass was made by pressing glass against a rotating wheel, resulting in a glass that feels "sharp" in comparison to other types of glass. The heyday of cut glass in the United States was during the American Cut Glass Period, running from about 1876 - 1917. www.cutglass.org/articles/art11.html
• Depression glass. Depression glass covers the periods when clear glass was made during the 1920s, during the Depression and during World War II. Colors included yellow, blue, green, pink and amber. This mass produced glass had little or no hand work. http://www.ndga.net/articles/whatisdg.php

Glass is very fragile. If you break a piece, it is gone forever and cannot be replaced. Even glass that was mass produced in the past is unique by today's standards because the margin for error in early factories was much higher than it is today.

If you decide that you want to delve into the world of collecting glass, make sure that you educate yourself.

Watch out! Collecting glass could turn into a passion.