Your grandma probably had some, if she liked dishes at all.
If you’re looking for some charming glassware to complement your cottage or farmhouse style, you may have some already.
If not, what are you waiting for? Milk glass comes in all kinds of shapes and piece types. It’s easy to find in secondary marketplaces and is still made.
Its classic white goes with everything.
Milk glass is a good description for this white, opaque glassware. It looks just like a dairy delight poured and fixed into a shape. Sometimes pieces are decorated with color, but most often include simply an impressed or embossed pattern molded into the form.
It was made by lots of companies, such as Fenton and Federal, in types both decorative and utilitarian.
The covered, square glass box with the top works for comb hones (as the decorations imply) or can be used to hold candy or any other small items. These were made for Tiara and sold at home parties, in several other colors as well.
The small mixing bowl was made by Federal glass, a workhorse in the vintage kitchen. I have several bowls of this kind that come in handy for whipping cream, and storing leftovers, due to their upright sides.
The two pitchers are in the Hobnail pattern, made by multiple companies. The large one works for lemonade or another cold drink that you might want to serve your guests. The small one is useful for serving cream or syrup. Either can double as a container for flowers when not otherwise occupied.
What to Look for in Vintage Glassware
I always look and feel for cracks and chips in glass -- carefully. I might buy a piece with a flea bite, but if I do, I want to know before I purchase and bring it home. Just as often, I’ll hold out for a perfect piece, because this ware is common.
Dark marks caused by contact with metal are more difficult to remove. I have done it with special cleaners made to take off utensil marks, but the results are uncertain. I often see this inside mixing bowls, and sometimes in pieces that were placed in the dishwasher.
And as for haze that dulls what should be a shiny surface, most of those pieces I leave in the store. It would have to be uncommonly unusual for me to make an exception. There is no cure for glass pieces that have been micro-abraded in a dishwasher.
Most milk glass that I see is reasonably priced, probably because it is so common. And people seem to be downsizing these days. Good news for those of us looking to acquire a special piece or two.
Milk Glass Style
I often see this glassware grouped together when I shop in thrift stores. A quantity, displayed as a collection, does make an impression, especially when there is another common theme, such as all vases, or kitchen items. The sleek forms work well in a farmhouse kitchen and the frilly ones will sweeten a cottage china cabinet or side table.
If you already have some milk glass, or what to had some to your vintage glassware collection, there are plenty of examples to interest you, and brighten your shelves.
Granny would be happy to know you like the same charming glassware that she loved, too.
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