Well, today I learned about Swankyswigs. These are the small glasses Kraft used to package their cheese spreads in.  Remember? There were cartoon characters or something else painted on the outside, under the Kraft label. After all the good stuff (?) was gone, the glass remained to drink juice or milk from.

Kraft used these glasses from the 1930s to the 1970s. Such was their appeal that other glass companies and product companies started using their own versions as well. No doubt there are many still available at garage sales, estate sales and second-hand stores. Some may be worth big (?) money, like $20, but most are very reasonably priced, as collectibles go.

The key here is to buy glasses with the paint still in good condition. It is not really dishwasher friendly, and some fading occurs with simple use and hand washing. So buy for small prices, and as you learn the ins and outs, trade less vivid colors for more vivid colors as the opportunity allows.

There are some rare versions, so keep all your finds until you are sure that you have duplicates and not earlier, less viable paint versions.

Also, there is no reason not to collect cheese glasses from other glass or cheese manufacturers. Equal time …

* * * * * * * * * Later addition to post * * * * * * * * *

The following information is from Swankyswigs by Mark Moore and Sheila Moore, Schiffer Book for Collectors (Paperback – Aug 30, 2003). There are plenty of pictures in the book as well as information about the release dates and patterns.

The earliest swankyswigs were issued in 1933 in Canada and the US. They had simple bands of color in combinations of red, blue, black and white.

In 1934, glasses with a diamond formation of dots was issued in red, green, blue or black.

1935 saw the issue of Lattice and Vine pattern glasses, which have a white lattice with flowers in green, red, blue or black,  and Circle and Dot glasses in red, green, black or blue. 1935 also saw the issue of glasses with stars in the usual colors, plus a blue glass with white stars and a clear glass with yellow stars..

In 1936 Checkerboard glasses were issued in red, blue and green. Two sailboat motifs were issued in 1936.

Tulips in pots came out in 1937 and 1938. These are not as cute as they sound.

Carnival ware in solid colors of orange, yellow, green and blue were issued in 1939.

Posy glasses were issued from 1941 to 1946. There are light and dark blue cornflowers, yellow jonquils, red tulips and blue violets.

Cornflowers in red, yellow and light and dark blue were issued in 1947.

Forget-me-not flowers were issued in 1948 in red, yellow and two colors of blue.

Glasses with tulips growing from the bottom, with leaves, came out in red, yellow, and two blues in 1950.

In 1951, a new, paint-less glass was released. It had a ring of simple vertical petal shapes formed in the glass at the bottom.

1953 saw the release of a series called “Bustlin’  Betty” which shows a woman in a maid’s costume doing house chores. These come in six colors: red, green, blue, yellow, orange and brown.

The 1954 release shows antiques in six colors.

The 1955 series is a glass with one ring of red bachelor buttons, one ring of white bachelor buttons, with or without a ring of green leaves.

1956 saw the release of glasses with kiddie designs and called Kiddie Cups.

Another all clear glass design was released in 1960. It had a square bottom with flutes that morphs into a round glass.

1968 saw the release of the third all clear glass, with roundish indents at the base of the glass. This glass was decorated with tulips in 1975.

A colonial waffle-diamond pattern was impressed in clear glass in 1976.

Different patterns were issued in Australia, and there were some Canadian designs issued only above the border.

Special issue glasses were made for historical anniversaries, like the Texas Centennial in 1936, and for conventions.

If you are really interested in these glasses, you need to buy the book. It includes prices, and shows lids, labels, store displays and ads.

To see listings on eBay, go to my Squidoo lens on the subject.

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