OK, I was going to pan these glass collectibles because cars used to hold liquids and having the cap be the front grill or whatever was questionable. Or worse, add the cap for a design that does not allow it to be part of the design, like a cap on top of a Model A Ford. The after shave in a bottle shaped like a razor. (This last at least limits the amount of after shave lotion to be used.) The after shave bottle that looks like a shot gun shell. Fishing lures, teddy bears, glass slippers, a pipe, a spark plug, a sea horse. You get the idea. Even the several cat shaped bottles are not as good as they could be.

Then I saw the moose bottle. Nice moose. The attitude of the neck and head is a little odd, but the overall effect is much better than all the other Avon bottles I have ever seen. So, I bought one. It arrived today and I am still pleased. If they can do the moose this well, what happened in the design of all the others?

The bottles designed for after shave lotions are aimed at men, but as gifts from women. Most men would like to be able to throw an empty bottle out, but the “collectibility” of Avon bottles is going to require him to keep them, unless no one searches the trash at his house, and no one keeps track of which bottles should be in the bathroom. So, the recipient is stuck decorating his bath or end of the counter in these after shave bottles. Might make a man give up shaving.

The bottles aimed at women are little better. The female figures are usually of two colors, like pink and white or pink and flesh color or two shades of pink, and not particularly interesting or well modeled. The animals interesting to women, frogs, turtles, kittens in baskets, etc., are not all that great either. It is like the company figured that had a captive audience with marginal taste and went no further than absolutely necessary to depict the object in question. Women at home parties or looking through the catalog would buy them regardless, simply because of what they represented and would not worry about the lahttp://glasscollectiblesguide.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpck of fine detail or good design.

Even as I write this, there are 92 pages of bottles for sale on eBay, so apparently the company was right about women buying them. Add a good percentage have been saved over the years, obviously, so I guess that makes them collectible, but do not plan on making money on the secondary market. The high price end f the list involved many, many bottles in a lot or a bottle and the mold it was made in, which should be hard to find and in very limited number. As usual, bottles with the box will do better than those without. Having the product inside does not seem to be a factor.

I guess what I would say to you, if there are some of these bottles that have a special meaning to you, by all means own them, for you own pleasure and not because they will ever be worth anything to anyone else. Perhaps your dad had a special one he kept, or you mom gave you one. Select your Avon bottles for sentimental reasons, and let any others go by without a tweak of “should I buy it and hold it until”, because they are not of any real value beyond personal attachment.

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OK, so I just ordered three more glass candle holders, one each in red, green and blue. Like I need any more, but how am I to stop? There are s many shapes, sizes and colors, getting one of each is an ongoing project. And, as a serious collector, one of each is a necessity.

Not so rabid about a glass candle holder? Be grateful. If you can limit your household to only 50 glass candle holders, you have the strength of steel in your soul. Only 100, still strong, but edging towards medium strong. Really. Look around, including your closets and cupboards, and see how many candle holders you have. You don’t have to count the ones that come with a candle in them, if the candle cannot be removed without destroying it, like candles in jars. They don’t count. I’ll wait until you get through.

How many? Well, I’ve got you beat. I have glass candle holders for taper candles, some for votive candles, and some for round candles. I do not actually have a glass pillar candle holder. The ones I have are metal. But I can envision one. Shaped like a column. Unless you consider candle plates are pillar candle holders, in which case, I stand corrected. I do have glass pillar candle holders after all. So, I have at least one glass candle holder for every type of candle. I feel better.

So, having the types of candle covered, we’re on to shapes and colors. Wide at the top, wide at the bottom, wide in the middle. Stemmed and stemless, footed and footless, taller than the candle inside (usually a votive) and shorter than the candle inside. With and without the metal candle lifter. Spherical, cubic, pyramidal, free form. Lots of variation here.

And color: all the colors of the rainbow, and all the combinations as well. White, gray, black, brown. Spotted, striped, swirled. Transparent, opaque, iridescent, hand formed, molded and cut. With the possibilities of glass as a material, this facet is endless.

So, multiplying the type of candle, by the number of shapes, by the number of colors, by the variation in where the color is placed, by the finish, and the answer is: a kagillion. So, I am only partly there.

Most of my candle holders will never actually hold a candle. Getting melted wax out of a glass container without breaking it is a challenge I can pass on. With my get-a-bigger-hammer method of doing most things, getting candle wax out of a glass container is best left to someone else. Of just don’t get melted wax in the candle holder to begin with (my ploy).

So, what do I do with candle holders that never hold candles? Place them in masses where light can shone on and through them. I am considering have glass shelves fitted to all my windows so I can replace curtains and blinds with rows of glass items, some candle holders and some not. Since there is no baseball in my neighborhood, it should be safe enough. And what a sight the windows will be on a sunny day. Hand me my mouse, I need to order more candle holders now.

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How are antique perfume bottles different from just perfume bottles? Usually antique is defined as over one hundred years old. That means that the perfume bottles designed by famous names of the Art Nouveau just made the grade. As Art Nouveau was advocated and used predominately by French artists and designers, the French perfume industry was a bigger supporter of the art and artists than any other part of the perfume industry. Because French perfume is known and distributed worldwide, the perfume bottles of the Art Nouveau also made the world cognizant of the new art. So there should be quite a few antique perfume bottles out there to look for.

Older than Art Nouveau, perfume bottles the many centuries of glass making are also collectible. More likely to be an after market container, these perfume bottles were made by any center of glass manufacturing. Hundreds of years of Murano perfume bottles are existence, and the glass is so well loved that quite a few must have survived. The problem here is telling the new ones from the antique. You must buy from someone who knows their Venetian glass and ca assure you that the one you are looking at is actually old.

Ancient glass perfume bottles are sometimes unearthed in digs in the Fertile Crescent. These may show up on the market from time to time. This is a very risky purchase for two reasons. If it is truly ancient, it may be from unlicensed digs or sold without the proper paperwork. If you buy it and it is later determined that it was exported illegally, you will have to give the perfume bottle back, and you lose the money you spent on it. The other problem is fakes. Ancient items are in such demand that they have been faked for centuries. An expert should verify the authenticity of the perfume bottle before you buy it. All of which makes it easy to leave this area to someone else so you can pursue other glass collectibles.

If you decide to collect antique perfume bottles, do your research. Read all the available books, not only on perfume bottles, but also books on glass that have sections on perfume bottles. Study the pictures. Go to museums that have antique glass collections and study those on display. Buy auction gatalogs that include antique perfume bottles and study those pictures. If you can, attend a few auctions an examine the actual perfume bottles. With time and study, you will begin to be able to determine the antique from the non-antique, and can begin to venture into purchasing antique perfume bottles.

For those looking for an easier area to collect, antique perfume bottles from the Renaissance on may show up at auction on occasion. You are still going to have to do the homework, but you are less likely to deal with issues of stolen items and demands for repatriation. And there are those lovely Art Nouveau perfume bottles out there. They are desirable for their unique style and for the identification of the designer/artist. Usually the designer of antique perfume bottles is unknown, so these perfume bottles represent a different take on what is usually merely a container.

Antique perfume bottles can be interesting to read about, and to look at the pictures, but if you are going to collect them, prepare to do a considerable amount of homework before you even begin to collect.

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A cut glass pitcher is really a beautiful thing. It is also usually heavy enough to require two hands to use it, since the glass has to be relatively thick to allow for the cut facets. But the way it reflects light, it doesn’t matter if it is never actually used.

A collection of plain glass pitchers, of various round shapes and various colors, would make a great decorative statement in a kitchen. Just a simple shelf with these glass containers standing in beauty would bring light and color to the room.

Or combine glass pitchers and decanters: similar shapes but some with stoppers and some with handles. Stand them together in a mass on the wet-bar or buffet table, where they will look like a million dollars without actually costing that much. Beautiful new decanters and pitchers are made every day all over the world. Get a few and see what you can do.

If you have antique, rather than modern, glass pitchers, handle them with care. They have survived until now, so don’t be the one that breaks the good luck that brought that about. Wash and dry gently, and do not let any beverage or pulp dry in the pitcher. Rinse as soon as the last glass is poured. This is not rude, but prudent. Tell the story of the pitcher as you work and no one will notice what you are doing.

Smaller glass pitchers are used for various sauces, if one keeps this kind of household. Mine sit and look beautiful with other members of my glass collection. Some are cut glass, and some are not.

The form of a pitcher is really graceful if made correctly. The rounded bowl on its short foot, then gathered into shoulders and neck, with the mouth formed into a spout. Finally a handle is added, anchored at one or two points. Sounds almost indecent.

Not all pitchers are round in cross-section. Some are square or triangular in shape. Other have a stem between the foot and the bowl. There are pitchers with lids, usually of metal, and pitchers where the glass forms only the rounded body and a metal addition provides the ability to stand up and the handle to pour.

Glass pitchers are not only used for holding and pouring beverages. They can also be used as vases if the flowers are many and large. Long-stem daffodils or tulips stood in a clear glass pitcher is the essence of spring. Or small branches with fall leaves in a glass pitcher for Autumn. A glass pitcher can be a versatile container or beautiful glass collectible. Your choice.

Antique glass is anything over one hundred years old. For something as fragile as glass, one hundred years is a long time, but for something as strong as glass, it is just a walk in the park. Glass is both fragile and strong, depending on how it was made and how thick it is. Other determining factors in the survival of glass objects are how precious the object was considered at the time it was made, whether it was part of the grave goods for someone important, or whether it was buried.

Important objects usually pass into the hands of the community caretakers, museums in the case of the modern US. Previously, community caretakers were temples or the palaces of royalty. Many truly antique glass objects owe their existence to one or more of these care-taking entities. If the glass object was buried, either intentionally or unintentionally, then its survival until dug up was pretty much ensured, as glass is relatively immune to the action of any chemicals in the soil and to the actions of plants.

This is one of the marvels of glass, that once properly made, for the most part the only damage it takes is being broken. No tarnishing or oxidation. Bits remain intact forever, or until they are recycled. Bits buried in the ground can develop a patina that is highly prized, and ancient mosaic pieces and broken vessels are routinely dug up in the Fertile Crescent that have that patina. Glass exposed to the sun in the US desert sometimes changes from clear to a pale purple, and this glass is highly prized as well. But, in general, glass stays the same from the time it is made until it is recycled.

Glass makers have long recognized the need for recycled glass as part of the manufacturing process. Around twenty percent of the ingredients of a batch of glass is cullet, glass from prior batches that was not used and was poured out to cool or from breakage within the glass plant. The presence of the cullet speeds the melting of the raw materials. This is a major reason antique glass is so rare, as unwanted and broken items were recycled. During times of shortage, like war or economic upheaval, this is especially true, and people glean all the recyclable materials they can, picking up broken bits or donating unfashionable items to the recycling effort.

Antique glass, as opposed to glass antiques, is highly prized, and priced accordingly. If you want to collect this material, you need to do some serious reading and study of the real thing in museums. Then work with reputable dealers to build your collection. Time and money, and a reputation for knowing your stuff and paying fair price, will allow you to build a good collection of antique glass. It may never be a large collection, but it will be an important one.

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Glass decanters come in so many shapes and sizes that collecting them becomes a huge project, or one is forced to specialize in only one or two types of glass decanters.

The glass decanter is, as the name specifies, a place to hold some form of liquid in a container that is not the storage container for the liquid. One decants wine to prepare to serve it. Some wines require time to breathe before they are served, and this is done in a decanter without a stopper, or with the stopper not placed in the new of the decanter.

Wine and hard liquor is frequently decanted to hide the brand or maker. Removing them from the labeled bottle makes then the “house” brand, whether better or worse than average. This occurs in private homes as well as restaurants and bars, and is at least more honest then pouring the lesser product into a better product’s bottle to pass it off as what it is not.

An old style decanter without (or missing) a stopper.

Water decanters hold water at more convenient places for use, like on the bedside table for the middle of the night. That way water is available if needed with getting out of bed. Frequently glass water bottles for bedside use have a drinking glass that either fits over the outside or into the neck of the decanter, serving as a cover and minimizing the space taken on the bedside table. These decanter/glass combination are quite useful. They have been made since before homes had running water, and are still made today.

Cut glass decanters are very elegant and quite beautiful when full of red wine or a colored whiskey. They grace a sideboard or bar and bring the serving of wine or hard liquor to the highest level of refinement. Even empty, cut glass decanters provide sparkle and light, an make the viewer glad. However, be careful of keeping hard liquor in a lead glass decanter too long, as the lead can be leeched out of the glass and into the liquid. The alcohol may also etch the inside of the decanter, leaving it partially frosted on the inside.

Decanter and glasses on a silver tray.

Modern glass decanter can be safely used for short-term storage and serving of liquids. They are usually strong enough to stand up to handling and cleaning with a mild soapy water and rinse clean. Try not to let anything dry in the bottom of these containers, as it may be difficult to get out later. At least rinse them once the liquid is served, and wash as soon as possible. You should treat the glasses the liquid is served in in the same manner.

Antique glass decanters, those that are more than one hundred years old, require a little more care. You will have to weight the risk of damage to the decanter against the pleasure of using it. This is especially true if the original stopper is included with the decanter. Many time one or the other is chipped or broken, leaving the remaining half of the pair to wander the earth alone. If your antique encompasses both pieces, consider carefully before using the decanter. Perhaps just looking at it is enough, while you serve from a modern glass decanter.

The images on this post are from Stock Xchnge.

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Vintage glass comes in many forms. But, first, lets discuss the term “vintage.” In collectibles and antiques, vintage is the term used for things produced in the past but not old enough to be antiques. As far as I know the cutoff for antiques is still about 100 years. So, anything produced in the Twentieth Century would be vintage. Frequently, vintage also implies used. If something is still in the original packaging and has not been used, is it vintage? Depends.

Vintage glasses, as in drinking glasses, may be very gently used and still look as if they have not. For these objects, vintage would seem to be more a reflection of the style of the glasses, like the 50′s cocktail sets or Tiki glasses. New Tiki merchandise is produced today, but the fact that its original heyday has come and gone gives these items their vintage label.

Vintage glass beads are beads that come from our mother’s or grandmother’s jewelry boxes. The beads themselves may be of a shape that is timeless, and the vintage applies to the form they take, like mourning beads. Or the beads may have been made 50 years ago and been lost in a warehouse until recently. These will also be described as vintage due to the time since manufacture instead of the mode of stringing or other associations.

In the case of Murano glass, which has been in production for hundreds of years, vintage may be used because the same techniques have been used for centuries and attributing the glass to any one period or maker is not possible. Where vintage becomes antique, and how one can tell is best left to experts. Murano glass products made today may be indistinguishable from those made over the centuries to the casual observer, so be very careful about paying extra for “old” when it comes to Murano glass. It really is a matter for experts to tell how old a piece is.

Vintage glass bottles are a great glass collectible. You can specialize in the color of the glass, when the bottle was made, where it was made, the maker of the bottle, or the product sold in it. Thus, an old Coke bottle may be of interest because of the pale green color, the shape, because it was used for selling Coke, or the maker and time period it was made. Each of these options will lead you into learning about commercial glass objects and the way they are/were made. Glass bottle is usually the first product of a new glass company, so you can find glass bottles made in the colonial days up to today. Some companies only make glass bottles for a while and move on to other products as their businesses survive their first years, other continue to produce bottles along with other products, and some glass bottle makers make only glass bottles. Learning which is which and how to recognize them can bring many hours of fun. There are many books on this subject, and lots of bottles to learn from.

Vintage glass include depression glass, carnival glass, glass souvenirs in many forms and types of glass, glass beads and buttons. There are an abundance of items for the kitchen and dining table as well as products that used to be sold in glass but are not now, whether for safety reasons. These include bath and beauty products, and food products like peanut butter, which are handled by youngsters, who drop things.

Look around and see if there isn’t something made of glass that is disappearing from the grocery or drug store shelves, and save a few. They will be vintage before you know it.

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No matter what size or type of candle, a glass candle holder will not only make it look its best, it will probably save your furniture from melted wax. Only the most poorly designed glass candle holder will allow the melted wax to get away, and those are not popular for that very reason. Properly designed glass candle holders hold the melted wax and thus give the candle the longest burning time possible.

So, how do you tell if a glass candle holder is properly designed? That’s pretty simple from a functional point of view. A properly designed glass candle holder makes it easy to light the candle, and holds the melting wax. Simple. Aesthetically, a proper design is a little more complicated.

First, what kind of candles are to be held? The requirements for taper candles are quite different that those for a votive or pillar candle. For tapers, usually one, three or five candles are arranged together, and the whole lifted up off of the table. This allows more light to envelope the surroundings. The odd number is more pleasing to the eye, and the long, thin tapers bring the eye up from the table top, to the people around the table. This is why the taper candelabra is so often found on dining tables and buffets.

Glass candle holders for pillar candles are generally very simple. A candle plate that keeps the candle off of the table, with a slight rim to keep any leaking wax on the plate, and a design pressed into the plate from below to decorate any part of the plate showing is all that is necessary. Several pillar candles can usually be placed on a single candle plate, allowing the arrangement to be the magical odd number. Additional non-flammable items can also be placed on the candle plate.

Glass candle holders for votive candles and tea light candles generally form a cup into which the candle is placed. These candles seem to flow more as they melt, so enclosing the wax is more important. By placing the light down inside the cup, votive candle holders allow the beauty of the glass to be appreciated better than other forms of glass candle holders. The drawback of most votive candle holders is that you have to expose your fingers to the flame as you try to light the candle. Frequently the holders have just enough room for part of a hand to get into the cup, and the flame of the match or lighter is aimed at the hand trying to light the wick. Some votive candle holders have a metal candle holder that hangs from the rim of the glass portion, which you can lift out to light the candle. Then the metal component is replaced, the candle is safely below the rim of the candle holder and the glass pattern shows up best. And no burned fingers.

All in all, glass candle holders promise the best of design and functionality. The marriage of light and glass brings each to a higher level of beauty, which is not a common happenstance. If you like candles, look for the best glass candle holders you can find to truly show off the beauty that is light and glass together.

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Once cheap and dismissed by collectors of glass, carnival glass is now a cherished vintage glass collectible. This cheaply produced molded glass was produced in a number of base colors, to which metallic slats were added as the piece was removed from the mold. The metallic salts produced an iridescent finish on the glass object, giving it a sheen somewhat like the fancy glass being produced by Tiffany and other fine glass manufacturers in the early twentieth century.

Since it was molded with the same mold used for clear and colored glass objects, the same piece can be found in all three variations. The popular patterns of one manufacturer were frequently emulated by others, so identifying the exact pattern can be tricky. In addition, makers marks are seldom used, so the source of any piece can only be established through the original makers sales catalogs, known examples or through the collectors literature that has been published in the area.

The shapes of the pieces include plain shapes where the iridescence is the attraction, geometrical shapes derived from cut-glass styles, and the myriad styles of pressed and molded glass. The base colors, determined by looking at an un-salted section held up to the light, include: clear, amethyst, reddish-purple, blue, green, amber and red. The color of the base can vary considerably in shade within each color. The application of the mineral salts was not a well defined process, so the variation in the final product varied from batch to batch as well as from manufacturer to manufacturer. Special combinations of base color and iridescence have been given names that are used by collectors to described these objects.

Many utilitarian pieces were made from carnival glass, including kitchen items like butter dishes, cruet sets and celery vases. Plates, bowls, tumblers, and pitches or jugs for the table are common. More ornate or larger decorative items are less common, including jardinieres, float bowls and statuettes.

The name carnival glass is predicated on the cheapness of the glass, the showy nature of the finish, and the fact that some pieces were given away as prizes in hopes the winner would be moved to buy more to match it. Made all over the world, the total number of pieces made is staggering, but the loss rate is equally large. Not valued, pieces were used daily and broken, thrown out by one generation after another, and probably used for target practice. Still, common pieces are readily available and the sheen on older pieces has not lessened with the passage of time.

Look at resale shops, thrift stores and country flea markets for the beginnings of your collection. Then do some reading and decide on your approach or specialty. Even if you never get past the early buy-what-you-like stage, looking for carnival glass can be a fun way to traverse commercial premises and a way to strike up conversations with strangers, friends and family. Ask around and you will probably find some in your own family that can be had for the asking. And, while one piece may look cheap, a cluster of objects can be quite impressive. Display your carnival glass with pride.

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Glass comes is many colors as well as clear, but one of the most warming is amber. Sometimes made into jewelry to resemble the natural product amber, amber glass can also be found in the many shapes glass is made for household objects. Vases and paperweights are available in amber, and drawer pulls of amber glass are available. Think how a beautiful wooden door would be, with brass and amber glass door knobs. The warmth of the woods color would be enhanced by the golder sheen of brass and glass. The door knobs of times past are available newly made from businesses that provide replicas for furniture and house restoration.

Amber glass can be as light in color as the pale yellow Depression glass, to the dark brown of beer bottles and other containers made of dark colored glass to protect the contents from light exposure. Many things deteriorate in light over time, and dark coloring in glass can slow that process and preserve the contents for additional shelf life. Small amber bottles are frequently used to sell small portions of aromatic or essential oils for this reason. Many vintage glass bottles come in some color of amber.

Amber glass is often used with red and orange glass to make warm colored sun catchers or stained glass windows. The sunlight coming through the glass is given a mellow yellow tone that softens the light and makes everything touched by it seem happier. Yellow as a color induces cheerfulness, and yellow light from amber glass has the same affect.

The amber color of glass comes from the sulfur added to the batch. Carbon and iron salts, or calcium, are also included to make the glass the right color. The amount of these additives is varied to produce different colors of yellow and amber.

Lamps and lampshades are made of amber glass to add a warm glow to the light they produce. Serving dishes for salt and other condiments are made in amber colored glass, as are oven-proof casserole dishes and canister sets for the kitchen. Amber glass lamps for the yard are also in style as the light is softened from white to a more gentle yellow. Wind chimes and copper and glass bugs are available with amber glass as the body or head of the dragonfly or other insect.

Amber beads are worked into all the usual beaded projects: beaded evening purses, beaded bracelets, brooches, necklace / bracelet / earrings jewelry sets, cuff links, even tiaras.

In modern use are amber glass eyes made for taxidermists for wild cat and other figures. Amber glass is used in sun glasses made currently as glare reducers and UV blocks for the eyes. Amber glass filters are used in photography and movie lighting to give the effect of late afternoon or evening.

There are amber glass insulators from days past. Many of these glass items in amber color were made in past centuries, and many are still made today. The color itself will not lend itself to determining the age of the item, as far as I know. In the case of amber glass, it is necessary to either work with someone knowledgeable or do your own research if you want to enter the world of antique amber glass, but the rich warm glow these objects will give to your home are worth the effort.

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