For the Love of Milk Glass

I remember as a kid my parents having a huge collection of depression glass of all colors shapes and sizes. They still have some but have scaled down their collection quite a bit since I was young. As I got older I found my own love for depression glass... especially milk glass. I love the white lace pieces with it's quiet simplicity, but it's so hard to find now a days intact. The lace is usually so delicate that being stacked in a thrift store or antique shop shortens it's life and is rarely found without cracks or chips in them. Luckily I've finally found 3 great pieces over the last 6 months to start my collection (pictured below). All found in quaint little antique shops for next to nothing. My favorite of the 3 pieces is the one in front I found on mother's day this year, it's got that very thin lace trim that I just adore.

I love looking at pieces online, but will rarely ever purchase anything over the computer because I can't pick up and hold, turn over, or feel it, and my favorite part of finding new pieces is the hunt. Some of my next pieces I'd like to find include hobnail and ruffled edged styles.

A bit of history:

First made in Venice in the 1500's, colors included white, black, brown, blue, yellow and pink. In the 1800's glass makers called milky white opaque glass "opal glass". The white color is achieved through adding an opacifer, e.g. tin oxide or bone ash. Only recently has the name milk glass become widely used.

Milk glass was highly popular during the fin de siecle and was made into decorative vases, dinnerware, costume jewelry and lamps. Pieces that were made for the wealthy during the Gilded Age are known for their delicacy and beauty in color and design, while Depression glass pieces made during 1930-1940 are less extravagant.

Some of the top milk glass manufacturer's

• Westmoreland Glass Company
• Fostoria Glass Company
• Fenton Glass Company
• Imperial Glass Company
• Kanawha Glass Co
• Mosser Glass

So what about you? Do you collect anything that's difficult to find in good condition? Or that may be scarce in local antique stores.

Here's a photo from a blog called "High Street Market" that did a blog about milk glass also.

http://highstreetmarket.blogspot.com/2009/03/milk-glass.html

Someday, I would love to have a collection like this, so many different shapes and styles and so beautifully displayed. I'm in love. =)