Wavecrest, Kelva, and Nakara

C. F. Monroe decorated opaque white glass beginning in the 1880s in Meriden, Connecticut. Much of the glassware was made by Pairpont Manufacturing Company of Sagamore, Massachusetts, and French factories. Three names were used on the pieces: Wavecrest, registered in 1892; Nakara, which was in use about the same time but never registered; and Kelva, […]

Spangle and Spatter Glass

Spatter glass is made with multicolored irregular blotches. During the shaping of the item, the glassmaker rolls the gather of glass in little pieces of colored glass, and the pieces adhere to the gather. Spangle glass is spatter glass with metallic flakes, also called inclusions, mixed in. Spangle glass, and sometimes spatter glass, is cased […]

Satin Glass

Satin glass has a dull, velvety finish. Glass is given a satin finish by hydrofluoric acid vapor treatment. Many English and American companies produced satin glass during the 1880s. Vases, rose bowls, fruit bowls, baskets, lamps, pickle jars, and other types of decorative pieces were made. Nineteenth-century satin glass items usually have a white lining […]

Royal Flemish

Royal Flemish is a thick, clear satin glass with elaborate enameled designs in transparent colors and gold. Mt. Washington Glass Company introduced it about 1889 and patented the process in 1894. Royal Flemish items were made in the same shapes as Crown Milano. Few are marked. Photo: James Julia Royal Flemish vase

Pomona

Pomona glass is a clear glass with a soft amber border decorated with pale blue or rose-colored flowers and leaves. The colors are very, very pale. The background of the glass is covered with a network of fine lines. It was made from 1885 to 1888 by the New England Glass Company. Pieces referred to […]

Opalescent Glass

Beginning about 1884, Northwood Glass Company (1888–1924); Jefferson Glass Company (1900–1930s); Hobbs, Brockunier, & Company (1863–1888); and other companies made colored glassware with bluish-white patterns and edges. The factories used the term opalescent to describe the glass because of its similarity to the opal gemstone. There are two molding processes used to make opalescent patterns. […]

Rainbow Satin Glass

Glass with pink, blue, and yellow striations and a satin-like finish is called Rainbow satin glass. It was often made by the same process as Mother-of-Pearl glass. Several companies produced Rainbow satin glass in the 1880s, however few pieces were made.

Mercury Glass

Mercury, or silvered, glass was first introduced in London, England, in the 1840s. It became popular in the United States during the 1850s and again in the 1910s. The silver color is actually inside the wall of the piece. Clear glass is blown into a vase or globe with two walls separated by a small […]

Matsu-No-Ke

Matsu-no-ke is an applied clear glass decoration patented by Frederick Carder at Stevens & Williams Ltd. in England in 1884. The decoration is shaped like a pine branch, called a matzu in Japanese, with applied flower blossoms. Carder used the decoration at his Steuben Glass Works in 1922. Other companies, especially Bohemian glassmakers, made similar […]

Mother-Of-Pearl Or Pearl Satin Glass

Mother-of-Pearl is a special type of mold-blown glass with a satin finish. It is made of two or more layers of clear or colored glass. Indentations or ridges between the layers trap air bubbles giving the piece a pearly effect. The process was first patented in England in 1858. Mt. Washington Glass Company, received a […]