My glass collecting journey

I am most certainly not an expert on antique glass, but I have quite accidentaly stumbled upon some attractive glass made during the Great Depression.  In my search for living room accessories, I found an antique plate that started me on the path of glass collecting, and researching.  Since my learning is continuous, some of the information contained in blog posts may not be entirely accurate.  However, when I enter my journal entries, I assure you that's the best I know at that moment. 

Collecting old glass has been entertaining.  These collectibles somehow survived 80, 100 and more years and I am now being interested in it. Someone before me bought it, loved it, and either sold it, or passed it onto the next generation.  Similarly, my unique interest in glass will eventually subside, and once I am older, it will probably be sold on eBay. 

I am saying this in an ironic tone as many of the glass pieces I have acquired came from eBay.  People come and go, and their posessions change hands.  Glass being so fragile has a quality that reminds us of our own life.  We can exist 100 years but be broken in a few seconds.  We can be precious in a moment, and forgotten in another moment.

So far, I have collected an enviable collection, all made by Imperial Glass Company, an American manufacturer no longer in business.  The glass I like is blue and has a whitish edge.  The edge looks like lace, and Imperial was very successful with this Lace Edge series.  There are 3 patterns all designed around the same time and meant to be used together.  I started collecting a single pattern and then expanded to all three.  Lace Edge comes in variety of colors and designs, but I only collect blue.  It was the collor I was initially attracted to.

Manufacturer: Imperial Glass Company
Style: Lace Edge
Color: Blue, Baby Blue, Periwinkle, Seafoam
Dates manufactured: 1930-ties

Patterns: Katy Blue, Sugar Cane, Genie

Katy Blue is by far the most popular.  This was a pretty extensive series.  The triangular pattern looks like diamonds and it is very pretty.  This is the pattern I fell in love in completely accidentaly.  I will cover what items were made in each pattern to the best of my knowledge in additional posts.

Genie pattern is more of a criss/cross pattern, and the lace is more open. 

Sugar cane pattern looks like buttons and those old woven chairs. All three patterns are very pretty.


Here is a photo of 8' Genie pattern bowl from the collection.  This bowl (pictured below) has been very easy to find, and current market price is between $20-$40 for this bowl. (2015)

Shown: Shallow 8 inch bowl in Genie pattern