There is one collectible you can find in just about every antique shop, and it’s so popular it has a nickname, EAPG, which stands for Early American Pattern Glass.
In 1820, Demming Jarvis received a patent for a process called pressed glass, where molten glass was actually pressed into a mold that formed a shape and left a design in relief. While molded glass had been made before, even back in ancient times, it could now be mass-produced on a large scale. By 1828 his process was in full use at the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
Traditional glass blowing was very labor intensive, requiring skilled craftsmen. The pressed glass machines, however, could be operated by laborers and produced more glass. As a result, more American-made glass products became available and affordable to more Americans.
Pressed glass, also called pattern glass when there is an extensive number of different pieces in the same pattern, is still very affordable and abundantly available in antiques shops.
Collectors like pattern glass because it’s still very useful, and some of the most popular pieces include tumblers, goblets, as well as both celery and spoon vases (to keep dirty spoons off the lines) which are used as flower vases today.
Because pattern glass was so popular in its day, companies lured buyers to purchase interesting and eye-catching pieces to go with their sets. These novelties are what are attracting many collectors today, and they are lots of fun.
Keep your eyes open for unusual kitchen items, children’s dishes, mugs, candy dishes, match and toothpick holders, baskets, open salts and shakers, putter pats and cup plates (where you put your cup while drinking from your saucer).
It’s fun to look up your pattern in “The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Pattern Glass” by Mollie Helen McCain to find out the name of the pattern, who made it, when, and where. You can also check out the website www.eapgpattterns.com.
Other web sites to check out include: www.patternglass.com/store/novelties, and www. rubylane.com/glass.
Appraisals: In standard patterns, tumblers are $15-25; spoon vases are $20-40; celery vases are $20-45; tumblers are $15-25; and open salts are $2-5. Popularly sought after and unusual patterns will command a premium price.
Set of six bread plates, “Prayer Rug” with horseshoe handles, Adams, $250; Salt sleigh, milk glass, Fostoria, $55; Fan Dish, “Jersey Swirl,” Windsor, $65-85, depending on color; Toothpick holder, “Daisy and Button ice bucket, $70; Relish Boat, “Russian” pattern with ruby-stain detail, U.S. Glass, $135.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antiques Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send comments, questions, and appraisal requests to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com
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