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History of Milk Glass
Milk glass is created by addition of color in when glass is in a liquid state. It is one of the oldest types of art glass, having been produced in various forms from the 1700s. The most valuable milk glass popularly available is the early turn of the century glass that is nearly opaque when held to the light. Many times this type of glass was used in Victorian homes for oil lampshades, and later as ornate metal and glass shades for electric lights when they were first introduced. Early milk glass was used on turn of the century buffets as centerpieces. The displays featured silver, or silver-plated baskets, with swirled milk glass inserts to show off exotic fruits or fresh flowers. The baskets are easy to locate today, but the milk glass inserts are a rare find.
Types of Milk Glass
The milk glass produced in the 1930s through the 1970s is mostly opaque. This glass is the kind that most people collect today. Large glass manufacturing plants in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana produced hundreds of thousands of pieces. Milk glass was given away in boxes of laundry detergent, handed out to movie goers to encourage weekly trips to the movie theater, and sold in bulk in the five and dime stores that were in every small town and village across America. What was not broken, was used in everyday measuring and dining. Plates, cups, saucers and serving pieces were common. Milk glass dishes are not always white, as you might expect, but they do always have a white cast to the glass. Milk glass can be tinted in a bluish, light green or pale pink blush, but pure white is by far the most common color. Measuring cups and mixing bowls also were manufactured in milk glass. Giant electric stand mixers came with at least one milk glass bowl and standing stoves had a set of salt and pepper shakers that rode the top of the range. Some stoves had built-in nooks above the burners to hold the salt and pepper set. Additional sets of mixing bowls were frequently given as premiums when a new stand mixer was purchased. While the single bowl is common, it is harder today to find a set (called a stacking set) of bowls.
Milk Glass Manufacturers
The largest companies in the United States producing molded milk glass during the 1920s through the 1950s included Westmoreland Specialty Glass Company, United States Glass Company, L.E. Smith Glass Company, Duncan Glass, Fostoria Glass Company, Hazel Atlas, and Federal Glass. Glassware from all of these companies can be found in large numbers today, with Hazel Atlas and Federal Glass leading the group. Many manufacturers marked their pieces with some with identification, but many are not, so dating and identifying pieces is sometimes difficult. If a pattern piece sold well, then all of the competing companies would quickly make up their own molds and start producing the objects. It is possible to find the same design by five different makers. None of the manufacturers wanted stores to go to a competitor's catalog to purchase a piece or line of glass. If the design was “borrowed,” then manufacturers would purposely “forget” to put a maker stamp anywhere on the item. It was an era without strict copyright enforcement, but the companies still wanted to be cautious.
Collectors today usually select one manufacture or design line for the focus. While most milk glass collectors hope to locate a manufacturer's catalog that lists every item produced in the line, it is not always possible to complete that dream, since some items listed in catalogs were never produced. If a line did not sell well, only part of the line was actually made and distributed. The companies expected a line to sell, but competition sometimes dictated different marketing policies. Certain milk glass items in a line were sold only in one geographic location.
Decorating with Milk Glass
Milk glass today can be used as an effective design piece in any home. While collectors despair over the number of reproductions on the market, the new milk glass items are inexpensive alternatives to home decoration. Reproductions can also be easily replaced when accidents happen.
Reproduction or vintage pieces are a wonderful addition to a retro-look or vintage kitchen. Feature your pieces on a shelf above a stove. Milk glass salt, pepper and spice shakers add a light touch on a stove top or counter. Many reproductions today are difficult to tell from the originals. Stencil lettering in red or bright blue is an eye catcher for guests entering the kitchen. Open or glass cupboards can display vintage or reproduction milk glass in a striking way. Look for the new milk glass in variety and big box stores. For the decorating purists who want vintage milk glass, online auctions and antique stores are the perfect place to find the right piece of milk glass to decorate your kitchen.
In the bath, milk glass can add flare to a retro-styled bath. Milk glass shades for lighting fixtures are well-suited design features to add to bathroom with white tiles and black tile accent pieces. A milk glass vase, cup, or lidded cotton dispenser featured in a prominent location give the guest a feeling they have just stepped back into time. Reproductions are a good idea for milk glass pieces used in a bath with tiled or hardwood bathroom floors.
Milk glass side table lights are common decorating touch for vintage style bedrooms. Most of the milk glass companies in the United States produced the main glass parts that were made into either dresser, table or vanity lights. Hobnail milk glass is frequently found in reproduction lamps. Hobnail glass has tiny raised bubbles (or hobnails) where the mold pushed the glass up into small indentations or domes. When used on lampshades, the hobnails have a thinner glass than the rest of the shade and make for an interesting pattern over the entire shade. Frequently the hobnail section is combined with clear glass. The hobnail milk glass section is then used as ambient lighting or left on for a night light.
Both vintage milk glass collectors and the new generation of milk glass collectors can appreciate the fine qualities of this truly unique glass decoration.
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