Glass Animals of the Depression Era

Rating:
Summary: Depression Glass Figural Fantasies
Review: This book features solid glass animal figurines, animal boxes, bookends, decanters, vases, and lamp bases. There are also a large number of non-animal items, notably figural flower holders (nude and draped ladies, & geishas), glass Buddhas, and sundry mermaids and madonnas. Where appropriate, the authors note reissues. Companies featured in this book include: American Glass Co., Cambridge, Co-Operative Flint Glass, Duncan, Fenton, Fostoria, K.R. Haley, Heisey, Imperial, Indiana, New Martinsville, Paden City, L.E. Smith, Tiffin, Viking, and Westmoreland. And what glass book would be complete without the ever-popular "mystery section?" There are lots of Cambridge swans, Heisey horses, Imperial slag animals. (There is a dizzying array of glass horses: rearing fillies, kicking colts, Clydesdales, Plug Horses, and so on.) Some of the items are actually post-Depression: for example, Viking's colorful Epic line, which was issued in the 50's, 60's, and again in the 80's.

This is a truly charming book, and I have obtained a lot of pleasure from it. It is filled with both black & white, and full color photos, as well as a few original ads from magazines. Many of the items are true collector pieces, and high-end, from hundreds to thousands of dollars: for example, Heisey's large amber "Flying Mare," which books at $2,200-$3,000, and L.E. Smith's green King Fish Aquarium, an enormous fish-shaped container valued at several hundred dollars (a shipping nightmare, I imagine!). Some pieces, such as Tiffin's crystal pheasant paperweight with controlled bubbles, are so rare that the authors are at a loss to put a price on them. Nevertheless, some of the smaller animal figurines are still widely available at inexpensive prices. This book is currently out of print, but available secondhand. The authors have done a fabulous job, and it is a must for collectors of collectible glass figurines.