Lifestyle

What's the worth of a bowl given as a present in 1925?

Treasures in Your Attic
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson
Published: July 5, 2009

I am writing to you on behalf of my mother, who received this bowl as a wedding gift in 1925. She would like your thoughts on the bowl. Looking at the piece, I do not see any kind of signature.

Pressed glass was made in the United States starting in the 1830s, and the most famous pioneer in this production was the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company of Sandwich, Mass. This glass was made (in simplest terms) by pressing hot glass into a mold using a plunger. The finished product was relatively inexpensive.

This process was the beginning of the industrialization of the glass industry, and it produced an enormous variety of patterns that are widely collected. This ware is also called "pattern glass" in reference to the literally hundreds of designs that can be found. Some of these patterns can be quite rare and are very valuable, but the average pieces found on the market today have only a modest value because they do not have a great following.

The piece in today's question is the "Paneled Dogwood" pattern, which traditional sources say was made by the U.S. Glass Company starting in about 1908. The U.S. Glass Company was formed in 1891 and was initially an amalgamation of 18 formerly independent glass companies trying to survive hard times.

The companies in this grouping were referred to as letters of the alphabet. Thus, Bryce Brothers of Pittsburgh was designated "Factory B" and the Tiffin Glass company was "Factory R." In the past, references have attributed "Panelled Dogwood" to this company, but new research has suggested the pattern was actually the product of the Co-Operative Flint Company of Beaver Falls, Pa., which was in business from 1879 to 1934.

This pattern was made only in various sizes of bowls and was reportedly manufactured in clear, colorless glass as well as in green, rose and amethyst. The rose and amethyst varieties were achieved using "flashed"-on color. Flashing is the process of superimposing a thin layer of colored glass onto a much thicker layer of colorless glass generally by dipping the thicker glass in molten glass of a different color.

As a general rule, pressed pattern glass in colors other than clear colorless tend to be prized by collectors, but this particular pattern is not widely sought after. The gold on this piece is somewhat worn and this is also a negative. The insurance-replacement value for this banana-boat-shaped master berry bowl in the "Paneled Dogwood" pattern is in the $30-to-$45 range.

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Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, PO Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927. E-mail them at treasures@knology.net.