What is Depression glass? For many collectors, the answer begins with color: translucent pink plates, green tumblers, amber serving bowls, or pale blue cups glowing in the light. But Depression glass is more than a palette. It is a distinctly American chapter in the history of mass production, consumer culture, and the effort to bring attractive household goods within reach of ordinary families.
Produced primarily from the 1920s through about 1940, Depression glass was inexpensive, machine-made tableware manufactured in enormous quantities. Much of it was colorful, patterned, practical, and affordable. It appeared in stores, entered homes as promotional premiums, and sometimes arrived one piece at a time until a household had assembled much of a matching set.
Today, those once-common dishes have become collectibles—and surviving pieces offer a surprisingly vivid look at everyday American life between the world wars.
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