I have never been that fond of milk glass, but perhaps that is because most of the milk glass I have seem was hobnail pattern, which I do not like. So, maybe if the milk glass is in some other pattern, perhaps, I will find some I like.

Why should I like milk glass? Well, I like nearly everything glass, especially decorative glass, so not liking white glass is an anomaly. In addition, I have a nice piece of milk glass, inherited from my mother, which I do like, so maybe this is the piece that will change my mind about milk glass collectibles.

Large Slag Glass Covered Bowl © by Tobyotter

I will approach this adventure as I do most: read up and see what I already have, identify possible acquisitions, and, this time, document the process.

My milk glass is a round, vertically sided bowl. It is just short of eight inches across and the wall is three inches tall. The bottom looks like it was formed by the plunger, and the walls are in four sections, so it would seem to be the product of a four-part mold.

SOLD: Hobnail milk glass lamp © by TheLivingRoominKenmore

The upper edge is scalloped by a garland and small clumps of roses. The bottom also has the garland and roses, but instead to scalloping up and down and providing feet, this garland scallops horizontally a bit, so the edge against the table is solid and smooth.

The inside of the glass piece is completely smooth. It has been used to hold a potted plant, and is probably a jardiniere. There is no makers mark that I can see, but that is not unusual. The color is consistent throughout the piece, and the thin parts are not less opaque, which can be an identifying feature.

OK. That’s it for now. I need to get a couple of books from the library that may help me identify my piece, and which will give me plenty of pictures of other pieces I might like. More soon.

Vintage White Vitrock Milk Glass Vase and Saucer with Fired Orange Glaze - Made by Anchor Hocking © by GranniesKitchen

What is Milk Glass?

According to Wikipedia, milk glass was first made in Venice in the 16th Century, and came in colors besides white, including blue, pink, yellow, brown and black. According to this source, the material added to the glass to make it opaque is either tin dioxide or bone ash. There is little more information about this form of glass in this source.

Warman’s Glass, A Value and Identification Guide (4th ed., 2002) adds that this glass was especially popular during the fin de siecle, the turn of the century from the 19th Century to the 20th Century. One reason milk glass was popular was that was cheaper than porcelain dinnerware but provided the same white dishes and serving ware for those who could not afford porcelain china. Milk glass is also a substitute for porcelain in some jewelry, like hand-painted brooches, etc.

Because there are other colors of this glass besides white, opaque glass is perhaps a better name, but it is probably too late to get everyone to change now. There is some variation in the opacity of milk glass pieces, with some being more translucent where the glass is thin. This is sometimes a mark of the age of the piece, but not always. Furthermore, old and popular pieces are often reissued from the same or similar molds by the same or different glass makers, so you must learn to tell the difference of old from new milk glass or work only with dealers you trust.

Jadeite is the term for any green opaque glass. It was originally a company-specific name for this glass, but it has entered the popular terminology as more encompassing than one company’s production. The actual shade of green changes with glass manufacturers, and within the production of most glass makers as well. The other opaque colors have names applied by their makers, but these have not become so wide-spread.

Milk glass was often mixed with glass of other colors to make end-of-the-day items, where the glasses were swirled together as the piece was made. The milk glass makes the other color stronger and more visible. Although these pieces were not necessarily made at the end of a shift, they may often have been the result of the ends of glass batches that needed to be used up.

still life with milk glass © by mazaletel

Covered Dishes and Border Plates

Covered dishes, especially where the cover is in the shape of a resting animal and the bottom is shaped like a nest, have been very popular with the makers of opaque glass. There is some variation in the base form, and some of the covered bowls look like normal candy dishes, and there are lids with other motifs, such as man-made objects or ornaments like fleur-di-lys, etc. There are also opaque glass boxes where the top and bottom form the whole animal, like a duck or rooster. One of the interesting items I have found since beginning this project is a camel covered dish, which comes in white and and brown. I am going to have to look for this covered box and buy one, or two.

Another area where there are plenty of opaque glass items is in that of plates with fancy or cut-out borders. These borders have names like club and shell or rabbit and horseshoe which describe the motifs in the border. It took be a minute to realize that the club in club and shell was the three-lobed trefoil of the club suit in a deck of cards, rather than a large piece of wood for hitting things. The other names are just as descriptive. These plates may also have a motif in the center of the plate, commemorating an event or famous person. Although one could eat, carefully, off of these border plates, in general they are made for decorating a china hutch or to be hung on a wall.

There are plenty of opaque glass vases and candlesticks, including some that are decorated with enamel paints or with touches of gilding. The white glass provides a fine backdrop for such embellishment, whether done by professional decorators or by amateurs. For glass objects with impressed flowers and garlands, the embellishment takes the obvious tactic of picking these details out in appropriate colors. For smooth items, the embellishment can be much like the motifs used on casual china: song birds, fruits or nursery rhymes.

Opaque Glass, by S. T. Millard, provides a wonderful catalog of the many forms that this glass has been made in. It is an old book, but has been reprinted, and you may find it in your library. The black and white pictures do justice to this subject, as the white objects are shown against a black background. There is enough contrast in the lighting to allow the reader to pick out some details, and each object has a short description that may further identify one object from another. The book shows like pieces together, like all plates, rather than trying to group them by maker or pattern.

I think I will split the sections on each specific glass company’s milk glass production into separate posts, for ease of access. Here are the one’s I have done so far:

• Atterbury Milk Glass
• Fostoria Milk Glass
• Imperial Milk Glass
• Kemple Glass Company
• Vallerysthal Milk Glass
• Westmoreland Milk Glass
• Akro Agate Glass

Go to the Table of Contents to see all topics covered so far.

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