Depression Glass – Its Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep

It’s evening. It has been a long day, and you’re taking a moment of quiet to yourself. You look down at the cup of coffee you poured earlier, still untouched. It must be getting cold by now. You add a bit of sugar and stir. The house is quiet; the clink of your spoon against the side of your cup sounds too loud. Your eyes wander and come to rest on the house across the street. Your brother- in- law’s house. You can’t make yourself look away—but it’s not the house that has your eyes transfixed—it’s the sign in front. New yesterday—the earth around the post still fluffy—FORECLOSURE. He lost his job months ago—and now he will lose his house. You thank God you still have your job even though they told you last week that everyone would be getting a pay cut.

You drag your eyes away now as the back door rattles. It’s your wife coming in from shopping. She calls you. Her voice is loud, urgent, but it only takes you a second to realize that she isn’t upset or angry—she’s excited. She rushes toward you, her arms cradling a cardboard box. She is smiling—her eyes too. You’re glad to see it; last night she cried herself to sleep after she saw the sign go up across the street in front of her brother’s house.

“Look at this! Look what I won! They said I was the 100^th customer this week!”

You peer inside the box and see two green glass plates nestled among some crumpled paper. Ribbons of late afternoon sun wind their way through the folds of the curtained window and sparkle briefly on the pressed glass.

This story sounds all too familiar to us today. We live in a time fraught with financial hardship—job and home loss occur daily. But my story depicts a time many years ago—over 80—when a much deeper and darker chasm engulfed us. The Great Depression.

The Great Depression was an era of severe economic suffering on a worldwide scale--beginning in the late 1920's, spanning the 1930's and finally ending in the early 1940's . In the United States, personal incomes fell along with crop prices, and unemployment rates rose as high as 25%. Families struggled to survive. What little money there was went to basic necessities; luxury items were out of the question. Many businesses closed. Those that managed to keep their doors open, toiled to attract customers. One method they used was by offering giveaways to bring in shoppers. Cheaply made pressed glass-- Depression glass—was used to attract buyers. And that very same cheaply made glass brought a little indulgence into the lives of those who struggled to feed their families during this very difficult time.

Depression glass was mass produced glass. It was molded on machines and made very inexpensively. It was created to be given away. It was designed for everyday use and often contained flaws such as air bubbles. The glass molding process made many designs and patterns possible. The glass came in a variety of colors too such as clear, pink, green, blue, amber and more. Building your collection was relatively easy: you would find a new piece in your box of oatmeal, later when you did your laundry another was hidden in your box of detergent. If you had enough extra money to go see a movie, the theatre was probably giving away more pieces. The gas station on the corner promised a set of plates with an oil change. Some of the companies that made the glass sold it in dime stores. While it wasn’t free, it was very inexpensive and gave customers the opportunity to build a large collection of a favorite pattern.

I have always loved and been fascinated by Depression glass. I remember as a little girl looking up at my grandmother’s collection of green footed ice cream dishes. I thought they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I didn’t know they were Depression glass—didn’t even know what Depression glass was. I regret that I never asked my grandmother to tell me her story of how she came to collect them. I wonder if seeing their pretty color and design made her smile during a time when smiling was tough.

As a child, I admired Depression glass for its beauty. As an adult, I came to realize that its beauty it not simply skin deep. Those sparking glass creations probably brought a little beauty and color and joy to many housewives who were burdened under the adversity of living through the Great Depression.