New Look for Alma's Attic

Alma's Attic has a whole new look so if you havent visited for a while, do stop in and see our very special selection of decorative antiques, vintage collectibles, Art Deco and Depression era glassware, Art Nouveau jasperware and metalware, vanity, dresser, and other vintage ladies accessories, costume jewelry, kitchen collectibles and an eclectic assortment of tableware, beverage items, vases, centerpiece bowls, cookie jars, boudoir lamps, glass candlesticks and so much more.

We have recently acquired a very large collection of vintage designer handbags and antique purses, vintage clothing and ladies accessories and costume jewelry and will be adding those soon.

I look forward to your visit to our freshly decorated online store.
Cheri



Alma's Attic is where antique and collectible treasures are found!

Depression, Elegant and Art Deco Glass

The term Depression Glass refers to manufactured glassware that was produced from the 1920's, through around the early 1940s, ie. the era of the Great Depression until the end of WW2.

What we have come to know as Depression Glass was cheaply mass-produced, mould pressed, colourful and highly patterned glass that was sold at very low prices. These items would appear in soap or cereal boxes, or might be given away at a local movie theater or gas station to promote sales. In fact, one glass manufacturer, Hazel Atlas, was saved from bankruptcy during the Depression years when it received an order from Quaker Oats for five Railroad Cars of glass.

The reason for the varied colors and patterns was to hide the many flaws in the cheaply produced glass. Sometimes the mold into which the glass was poured didn't fill out completely, or air bubbles remained in the glass. There are also sometimes lines in Depression Glass which are known as "straw marks". It is not known how the theory that the hot glass was placed on beds of straw to cool first arose, but it would have caused the straw to burn! and so is an unlikely scenario. Instead, it is more likely that these marks were the result of the instruments used to remove the mould from the glass. These very flaws in the manufacturing process are interestingly now what distinguishes genuine Depression Glass from modern reproductions, and so gives it a higher value!


The lovely Elegant Glass or Elegant Glass of the Depression Era maintained a higher quality of glass, as well as a more refined manufacturing process and pattern style, with beautiful etchings and workmanship. It was more expensive than it's cheap and colorful cousin, and certainly not given as freebies, and was thus favoured by wealthier customers.

Elegant Glass was mainly handmade... either pressed, blown or a combination of both (mould blown). The mould blown glass was first heated in a glory-hole opening in a hot furnace and then put in a mould, either by pressing or blowing. After removing it from the mould, the piece was often crimped, flared, or cupped to add artistic flair. Handles, feet or special ornamentation were also frequently applied. After working it to a desired shape, it was put back into the glory-hole to establish it’s final color. One of the last steps in the glass-making process was to fire polish the piece, where the glass was re-heated to remove any mold seams and to give it extra clarity. Some companies further ground and polished the bottom to allow it to have a smooth surface. Etched pieces had many labor intensive steps following the glass-making process. The patterns that were etched were usually found on several types of blanks, giving the customer a wide range of choices in building their set. Elegant Glass was sold in fine department and jewelry stores that also carried good China and Silverware patterns, allowing customers to mix and match their selections according to preference. Although some Elegant Glass was made in colors, usually pastel, it was predominantly clear glass (aka crystal, which refers to it's color rather than it's purity), which was preferred by the wealthier customers who purchased this finer quality glassware.



Immediately preceding the years of the Great Depression, there were well over 100 companies manufacturing glass in the United States, with most of them located in the mid-western United States. By the time the Depression ended, less than fifty remained. Bankruptcy, mergers and fire were the major reasons that companies ceased operations. Some of the larger and better known Depression Glass companies were Federal, Paden City, MacBeth-Evans, U.S. Glass, Hazel-Atlas, McKee, Lancaster, Hocking (later Anchor Hocking), and Jeannette. The smaller companies of that era included Bryce, Bartlett-Collins, Standard, Dunbar, and Monongah . British companies like Bagley and Sowerby also produced patterned glassware during this period. All of these companies produced a vast array of glass in many different colors, patterns and styles, with entire tableware and household ranges that included all sorts of plates, cups, bowls, pitchers, tumblers, goblets, butter dishes, cookie jars, perfume bottles, candlesticks, cruets, coasters and so much more.

The name Art Deco came from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes, held in Paris, and from which this new, elegant style in architecture and applied arts, ranging from luxurious objects made from exotic materials to mass produced streamlined items, became available to a growing middle class. Art Deco is broadly defined as the art movement involving a mix of modern decorative art styles of the 1920s and 1930s, and derived from various avant-garde painting styles of the early twentieth century. Art Deco exhibits aspects of Cubism, Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism, with abstraction and simplification, particularly with geometric shapes and highly intense colors celebrating the rise of commerce, technology, and speed. The growing impact of the machine can be seen in repeating and overlapping images from 1925 - 1930s, with streamlined forms derived from the principles of aerodynamics.





You can see many examples of Depression, Elegant and Art Deco Glass at
ALMA's ATTIC ONLINE STORE

What Are Hair Receivers?

Bedroom and Bathroom Glassware and other Vanity Accessories are amongst the specialities at Alma's Attic Antiques & Collectibles. Quite the most freqently asked question we receive on these items is "What are Hair Receivers?"

Well, as the name suggests, they received hair!

Dating from Victorian times through the early 1950s, hair receivers were a fixture on the dressing tables of most fashionable ladies. They were designed to hold hair that was removed from hairbrushes after vigorous brushing, and they resemble vanity jars or powder jars, but with the distinctive feature of having a finger sized opening hole in the center of the lid.
The comb would be run through the bristles of the hairbrush and the resultant hair accumulation would be coiled around a finger and then inserted into the opening of the hair receiver.

The uses of the hair was varied, but most frequently it was used in the creation of RATTS (aka rats) These were sheer hair nets that were stuffed full of the collected hair and then sewn shut. The ladies' hairstyles of that time were fashionable buns and other "big hair" arrangements. So ratts provided a "stuffing" to enhance these hairstyles!

In addition to this use for the hair kept in hair receivers, ladies also used the collected hair for a variety of other things, including as stuffing in pin cushions, for which the oiled and scented hair of that time was well suited, as it lubricated the pins, making them easier to use.
Small other cushions and pillows were also frequently stuffed with hair instead of feathers.

Hair receivers are made from a variety of materials including glass, metal, wood and ceramics, with the most notable ones usually being made from porcelain. They were produced in a range of styles, some flat, some footed, some square and most round in shape. Production appears to have been mainly European, although we have also found many Japanese hair receivers, including beautiful Nippon ones. Our personal favourites are the exquisite jasperware hair receivers made by Schafer & Vater in Germany, like the very unusual one pictured here.




We hope you have found this Alma's Attic Antique Answer informative, and invite you to VISIT OUR STORE at http://www.almasattic.com/ where you will find our fine selection of hair receivers, as well as many other lovely vanity accessories and varied antique and collectible treasures.


We look forward to hearing from you, and to answering your antique questions.

Our Favorite Depression, Elegant and Art Deco Glass Reference Books

We specialize in Depression, Elegant and Art Deco glassware and use a variety of reference books to help us identify and value these lovely glass treasures. Here are some of our favorites:

By far the best book that we have found for identifying glassware from the Depression years is Hazel Marie Weatherman's "Colored Glassware of the Depression Era" vol 2, published in 1974 by Weatherman Glassbooks of Springfield, Missouri. Although this book is over 30 years old, it has the most comprehensive and best categorized listing of the Glass Companies and their wares, and includes many original catalogue reprints. There are no price guides in the book.

Our next favorite Depression Glass reference book is "Mauzy's Depression Glass: a photographic reference with prices" by Barbara & Jim Mauzy, the 3rd edition published in 2003 by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. The photography in this book is excellent, and the descriptions are very informative. Depression Glass patterns are alphabetically listed. We also find that the Mauzy's have quite the most accurate price guide for Depression Glass.

The top pick for us to identify and value the lovely Elegant Glass is "Elegant Glass: Early, Depression and Beyond" (2nd Ed) by Debbie & Randy Coe, an updated version of their 2001 book of the same title, also by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. We love the Coe's books because they pay so much attention to detail, and show beautiful close-up photos of the etching for which Elegant Glass is famous. The book is very well presented, with lots of clear photographs, and alphabetical pattern listing. Their prices are also a realistic reflection of current retail market value.

"Kitchen Glassware of the Depression Years" by Gene Florence published in 2001 by Schroeder Publ Inc, with values updated in 2003, is the book we use most often to identify this glass. The photos are very good, although we find that the values given are not an accurate reflection of the higher prices that these items receive.

We are still in the process of listing more of the fabulous Art Deco & Depression Glass vanity items that we are pleased to offer, and by far the ultimate reference source for identifying these is the superb book by Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer "Bedroom & Bathroom Glassware of the Depression Years" published in 1990 by Schroeder Publishing Co. Inc. This book has beautiful photographs and a very comprehensive cataloguing of the many powder jars, perfume bottles & atomizers, vanity sets, compacts, bathroom accessories, lamps. clocks and guest sets from the 1920s thru the 1940s. The price guide in this book is out of date, but we were most encouraged to hear from Margaret Whitmyer herself that a new edition should be forthcoming in the next year or two! This book has such exquisite photographs that it is worth adding to your collection just to look at the beauty depicted there. We are privileged to actually now have many of these items on our store shelves.

So, there you have Alma's Attic top selection of reference books. We use many, many more books, but the ones discussed here are, in our opinion, the cream of the crop.

Do stop by our main online store at www.almasattic.com and browse through our categories of this lovely glassware, as well as the eclectic selection of other treasures that we have in the store. We look forward to hearing from you, and hope you have found this book review interesting and helpful.

OUR CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email: almasattic@earthlink.net Phone: 407-322-7827 (9am-9pm Eastern)

Alma's Attic ~ where Antiques & Collectible Treasures are found!
posted by Cheri at Alma's Attic Antiques & Collectibles at Friday, September 23, 2005
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Name: Cheri at Alma's Attic Antiques & Collectibles
Location: Lake Mary, Orlando/Florida, US
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Welcome to Alma's Attic Info on Antiques and Collectibles

Hello and Welcome!

We will be updating here with news about our fabulous inventory as well as with articles on Antiques & Collectibles that we hope you will find interesting and informative.

Alma's Attic specializes in Depression & Elegant Glass, Art Deco and other collectible glassware, with an extensive collection of Bedroom & Bathroom Vanity Accessories from the Art Deco and Depression era, including dresser accessories like powder jars, puff boxes, perfume bottles, jewelry boxes & vanity sets. We also sell an assortment of vintage tableware, beverageware, kitchen collectibles, decorative Art Glass, pottery, porcelain, & china ceramics, cookie jars, collector plates, vintage costume jewelry and a range of other eclectic treasures from our extensive collection.

It is also our pleasure to assist you to find items you may be looking for. Just let us know. We may already have it in one of our stores or be able to find it for you. We are happy to try to help you identify your treasures and can provide informal values where possible, but we regret we cannot provide formal appraisals at this time.

We are represented on a number of online venues

Our own new webstore is at www.almasattic.com

OUR CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email: cheri@almasattic.com
Phone: 407-322-7827 (9am-9pm Eastern)

PO Box 951906
Lake Mary
FL 32795

Cheri & Marc Alma's Attic ~ where Antiques & Collectible Treasures are found!