In love with green glass

Overheard on a Salmarsh
by Harold Monro

Nymph, nymph, what are your beads?

Green glass, goblin. Why do you stare at them?

Give them me.

No.

Give them me. Give them me.

No.

Then I will howl all night in the reeds,
Lie in the mud and howl for them.

Goblin, why do you love them so?

They are better than stars or water,
Better than voices of winds that sing,
Better than any man's fair daughter,
Your green glass beads on a silver ring.

Hush, I stole them out of the moon.

Give me your beads, I want them.

No.

I will howl in the deep lagoon
For your green glass beads, I love them so.
Give them me. Give them.

No.

You might be wondering what is the green thing in the background of my "KudZen" image at the top of this blog. You might also be wondering what is the green thing in my "About Me" avatar.

Well, they have to do with a passion of mine - collecting glass.

Some people collect certain patterns of depression glass - so called because it was manufactured during the years of the Great Depression. Some of this glass is worth a lot of money. A LOT of money. I've seen a picture of a cream pitcher that is valued in the thousands. Wow.

I'm not one of those collectors. The glass I'm after isn't depression. It isn't carnival glass or elegant glass or any sort of antique. Mine will probably never ever be valued in the thousands. None of my individual pieces will likely ever be valued even in the hundreds.

I collect two patterns of glass from the 50s and 60s. I love it for two reasons:

1. My grandmother had some tumblers in the first pattern I collect and I have fond memories of my grandmother and those halcyon days of my youth.

2. The second pattern is of the same glass colors and I (and my husband) just think it looks cool.

So, what types of glass do I collect?

The first pattern is called El Dorado. (Kinda cool, isn't it? In Search of El Dorado) It was part of the Hazelware collection, manufactured by the Continental Can Co. glass plant in Clarksburg, West Virginia (which was bought by the Brockway Co. in the early 1970s). The El Dorado pattern consists of dots raised on the inside of the glass. The outside is smooth. It was produced in two colors - Avocado (green) and Granada Gold (amber). I collect the Avocado glass, but I have a few pieces of the Granada Gold, too.

Here's what it looks like:

In this pattern, I have the dessert set (large 9 inch bowl and 6 smaller "berry" bowls), the chip & dip set, 2 large pitchers, 1 small juice pitcher, console bowl and 2 candleholders, candy dish and lid, juice tumblers, old-fashioned tumblers, water tumblers, and highball tumblers. I have found one of the large "iced tea" tumblers (pictured above), but it's the only one I've found. Those glasses are the most elusive. I just can't seem to find them anywhere. (If you have any of these you don't mind getting rid of or would be interested in selling, PLEASE let me know!)

The second glass was made by Libbey and it was discontinued in 1957. It's called "Ripple," and it consists of raised ripples on the inside of the glass. Again, the outside is smooth. It was made in a variety of colors. I only have a couple of pieces in amber which they called "Golden Smoke."

I recently discovered that Continental Can Co - Hazelware - also made tumblers very similar to this pattern. I can't find out what it was called. Here's what they look like in green:

I don't know what it is about all this glass, but it is very soothing to me, especially the green glass. Perhaps it brings back the wonderful presence of my grandmother - the way she used to hug me and how she'd sit on the front porch and watch me play in the the front yard. I'd often tie one of her aprons around me and play in her flower beds.

I love the way this glass catches the light. I love looking into it and seeing the depth. It's almost like looking into water. It's beautiful. Mesmerizing.

So, am I the nymph or am I the goblin? I think it's a little of both.