Depression Glass Companies

Depression Glass Companies Just before the advent of the Great Depression, more than a hundred companies manufactured glassware in the United States. At the end of the Depression, fewer than fifty percent of these companies remained in business. Of these companies, seven became major players in the production of Depression glass, and these seven companies utilized a little more than 90 patterns to decorate their wares. Indiana Glass, Hocking, Federal, U.S. Glass, Jeanette Glass, MacBeth-Evans, and Hazel-Atlas manufactured hundreds of thousands of pieces of this popular and inexpensive glass, creating a bright spot in the lives of everyday, working-class people during a grim epoch of American history. Before Depression glass came along, colored and patterned glass existed, but only for the wealthy. Because the beautifully hued and intricately designed glassware of the times was hand-blown, and the cost of manufacturing such pieces proved prohibitive for most people, this type of glass was simply out of reach for many households. However, with the invention of mass-produced, machine-pressed glassware that produced colors and patterns