Adam To Windsor - What's That?

By Author: Murray Hughes
Total Articles: 15
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In Depression Glass parlance, from Adam to Windsor refers
to the alphabetical order in which collector's guides
typically list all the patterns of the seven largest glass
companies that produced this now-collectible glassware.
Some of these companies made the lucky (or smart) decision
to re-tool with the machinery necessary to produce this
new, mass-produced glassware before the stock market crash
of 1929, which enabled them not only to survive the Great
Depression, but also to continue onward to perfecting and
expanding their product lines.

Hazel-Atlas, Hocking, Indiana, Federal, U.S. Glass,
MacBeth-Evans, and Jeanette made up these seven glass
companies, and between them all, 92 designs came about to
brighten the lives of people living just before, during,
and just after the grim days of the Great Depression.

U.S. Glass was actually a combination of companies that
rallied together to survive the economic downturn.

For the sake of brevity, the following information touches
upon only the first and last of these 92 designs.
...
... opefully, the reader will go on to research the remaining
designs to further expand their knowledge of these
brilliant designs that came from the minds of artists in
those days - without the use of computer-aided technology!

As one might assume, the first of these patterns
(alphabetically, not chronologically) turned out to be
Adam, produced by the Jeanette Glass Company for three
years, beginning in 1932. Jeanette's Adam pattern embraced
the Art Deco movement of the time period with its
geometrical squares and conical shapes that beautifully
complemented the flower-and-leaf floral motifs. Produced in
green, pink, yellow, dark green, and crystal (clear),
Jeanette manufactured utilized the Adam design in 37
pieces, and many reproductions of this design find their
way into the marketplace - notably, a yellow butter dish
notorious among knowledgeable dealers and collectors as a
fake.

Windsor, coincidentally another pattern from Jeanette, first
reached Depression-era consumers in 1936. Because of its
popularity - which translated to sales - Jeanette
continued to produce Windsor for the next 11 years,
completing its run in 1946. Also available in 37 pieces,
Windsor could be bought in six colors: green, pink, blue,
ruby, dark green, and crystal. The appeal of the Windsor
design lay in its similarity to the cut-glass look that
became so popular toward the end of the 1930s and lasted
well into the 40s.

These two patterns claim a place as classics among
collectors, but so do many of the other 90 designs that lie
alphabetically between Adam and Windsor. Hopefully, your
appetite has been whetted enough to learn about at least
some of the remaining patterns - like Avocado, the very
first pattern, made in 1923; or English Hobnail, first
manufactured in 1928 and continuing on until 1983; or
Radiance, a Depression-era glassware made well enough that
the New Martinsville Glass Company eschewed the typical
designs used to cover up flaws in other patterns; or the
list goes on.

Both the Adam and Windsor patterns, classics among
collectors, are but two of the many patterns coveted by
Depression Glass fans the world over. Hopefully this bit of
information about a fraction of the 90 designs that lie
between will suffice to whet the appetites of novice
Depression Glass aficionados enough to further their
knowledge of the rest. And once accomplishing this,
patterns from the remaining dozen or so glassware companies
that produced Depression Glass await investigation. It's
easy to see why Depression Glass collectors become
collectors for life!

Until next time,

Murray Hughes
http://www.DepressionGlassSecrets.com

http://www.depressionglasssecrets.com/DPweb-articles/depression-glass-atow.htm
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