What is depression glass, you ask? Introduced to the public: colored glassware. Until this time, the majority of fine glass produced, especially in dinner service, had been in crystal, or colorless glass. This was felt to be more formal, yet simple, and was already widely accepted by the buying public.
Glass in a multitude of colors, ranging from the deep colors of purple, black, cobalt, and red to the pastels of pink, yellow, green, amber, and blue was created to bring a bright note into the otherwise drab times of the depression. The glass was mass produced and appeared relatively crude next to the fine, handmade crystal glass that was expensive to own. The colored glassware was very inexpensive, many times being given away as a premium at movie theaters, gas stations, or stores, or simply for selling a specified number of magazine subscriptions thus it made its way into almost every American home.
It is this glass, this colored “depression glass” as it is now called from the era of time that it was produced, this crudely made and inexpensive glass, this “my mother had that old stuff” glass, this “depressed” glass (mistakenly called, thought to be due to the raised and depressed areas forming patterns on the glass), that started one of the largest collecting trends ever, from collectors to nostalgia hunters. Over 100,000 eager collectors now seek this prized glass, whether to complete a handed-down family set of dishes, or to find the highly sought and elusive rare pieces.