During the Great Depression, glass manufacturers often went out of business, merged with other companies, or were destroyed by fire and never rebuilt. Those that survived managed to encourage the heart of a nation defeated by poverty and suffering, offering tableware in many cheerful colors, including pink, blue, yellow and green depression glass. The cheaply mass-produced pieces, now known as Depression glass, looked expensive but were cheap enough for every household. Pattern names such as Florentine, Mayfair, and Royal Lace helped people to forget about the troubling times and remember a happier, more elegant past.

When the Hazel Atlas Glass Company made Florentine between 1932 and 1935, they didn’t realize the pattern would become a collectible. In fact, their method of production caused some confusion among collectors. The pattern was made in Florentine Number 1 and Florentine Number 2. The manufacturer sold boxes with mixed pieces, so many people collect the two styles together. In fact, the butter dish and oval vegetable tops from both sets are interchangeable.

All of the flat pieces of Florentine No.1 have scalloped edges and all of the footed pieces, such as tumblers and pitchers, have a serrated edge. Florentine No.2 was made with all pieces having a plain edge. During the Depression, Florentine No.1 was advertised as hexagonal and Florentine No.2 was described as round.

Because Depression glass was mass-produced, two identical items were sometimes slightly different in size, or the same pattern had several shades of the one color. Rarely was the glass marked with the manufacturer’s name or mark.

Although museums have taken a lot of the best pieces of Pink Depression glass, if you are able to add a good piece to your collection, it can often as much as double in value. Look for quality, not quantity, since an inferior piece is unlikely to appreciate very much. Foggy, cloudy and lime-deposited glass isn’t worth buying since it can’t be cleaned.

When shopping online, ask the dealer to double check for damage before shipping and verify the return policy, just in case you need to use it.

Some collectors think pink is the hardest color to find in the Florentine pattern and think it’s almost impossible to collect a complete set. But for those who enjoy the thrill of the hunt, this delicate flower design is worth spending time searching for.

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