This is the first part of an eight-part identification guide to vases made by the Jefferson Glass Company.   If you're having trouble identifying an early opalescent vase, and don't see it in this guide, try our other guides on opalescent and carnival glass vases, which can be accessed by clicking on GUIDE INDEX. This guide was made possible by the many E-Bayers who contributed photographs to the project.  Please leave feedback by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.  Sellers should feel free to link listings to this guide.

 

ID Guide to Opalescent Vases
of the Jefferson Glass Company, 1900-1907

by curculiosglass

A Jefferson Wide Rib vase, with cranberry frit
photo courtesy of diantiques

INTRODUCTION

             This eight-part vase identification guide features 20 pressed-glass opalescent vases issued by the Jefferson Glass Company of Steubenville, Ohio, circa 1900-1906.  The guide's purpose is to help E-Bayers identify old opalescent glass vases; to provide information on Jefferson vases not currently furnished in widely available resources; and to document rare and unusual early American glass that passes through E-Bay.

             This section of our guide, Part I, furnishes information on the history of the Jefferson Glass Company and on general characteristics of Jefferson Glass.  The seven parts that follow provide a photographic ID guide to Jefferson's vases.

 

Special Topics Covered by this Guide

A one-of-a-kind green opalescent Twisted Rope vase,
with a rare canary opalescent Single Lily Spool vase

photos by unclechamps (left) and curculiosglass

            Since this guide was established in 2007, E-Bayers have sent us photographs of rare and unsual Jefferson pieces, and continue to do so.  With the help of E-Bayers, the guide has furnished first-time documentation of many previously unknown pieces, among them the green Twisted Rope vase and canary-yellow Single Lily Spool epergne vase shown above, and the blue Jefferson Wide Rib vase shown farther below.  We welcome E-Bayers to continue to send in photographs of Jefferson glass.

           This guide also provides regularly updated new historical research on Jefferson patterns; for example, this guide first established conclusively that Twisted Rope vases are a Jefferson product by linking them to early Jefferson wholesale catalog advertisements (Part 6).  The guide additionally seeks to correct some misidentifications of early vases as Jefferson products; for example, it disputes the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass's attribution of Inverted Chevron and "Jefferson Spatter" vases to the Jefferson Glass Company (Parts 2 and 8).

          Finally, this guide provides information about, and photographic documentation of, all known Jefferson vase patterns issued in opalescent glass.

    History of the Jefferson Glass Company

Jefferson Glass Co. advertisement
from the August, 1901 China, Glass & Pottery Review

           To date, there are no comprehensive guides on the history of Jefferson, a glass works that produced wonderful novelty items, and which exerted enduring influence on the prominent Northwood glass company and invented several patterns Northwood later issued in carnival glass.  Only one surviving Jefferson catalog from the company's first decade is known to exist.  A scant handful of wholesale catalog advertisements from the early 1900's aid in tying early opalescent glass patterns to Jefferson. 

           By far, the best summary of the history of Jefferson Glass can be found in David A. Peterson's Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary (2002), pp. 181-184.  According to Peterson, the Jefferson Glass Company was founded in 1900 by four partners -- Harry Barstow, George Mortimer, Grant Fish and J.D. Sinclair.  Initially the company was located in Steubenville, Ohio, the county seat of Jefferson County, from which the company took its name.  The company remained in Steubenville until 1907. 

          From 1900-1906, Jefferson specialized in the making of opalescent pressed glass; all of the opalescent vases featured in this guide were issued in a narrow time frame, between 1900 and 1907.  An early Jefferson advertisement placed in the December 13, 1900 Crockery & Glass Journal proclaimed that Jefferson's opalescent glass was "better and cheaper than imported".  The January, 1901 China, Glass & Pottery Review announced that "the company was formed to manufacture fancy glassware, which heretofore has had to be imported.  There is nothing too fine for the Jefferson capacity."  

          Glass expert William Heacock chronicled Jefferson's brief history in Harry Northwood:  The Wheeling Years 1901-1925 (p. 157).  Heacock detailed that in 1906-1907, the Jefferson Glass Company changed location to a site five miles away in Follansbee, West Virginia.  Shortly before its relocation, Jefferson placed an ad in the December 29, 1906 issue of China, Glass and Lamps that described the company as "manufacturers of Crystal, Colored and Opalescent Tableware, lemonade sets and novelties," and promised "a new line in Opalescent colors" (see Loomis, p. 17). Jefferson's single trade catalog from its early years, issued shortly after its relocation to Follansbee, shows opalescent glassware in a variety of shapes of patterns (see Kamm, A Seventh Pattern Glass Book,[1953, pp. 143-157], which reprints the catalog).

           In 1907, Jefferson leased its old Steubenville plant to the Imperial Glass Company, but at the end of the year, the plant was destroyed in a fire.  After Jefferson's relocation from Steubenville, the company purchased patents and molds from the recently bankrupted Ohio Flint Glass Company.  For the next eight years, Jefferson specialized in producing glassware in transparent crystal.  Among the Follansbee plant's products was "Chippendale" colonial glassware originally marketed as "Krys-Tol"  by Ohio Flint.   Jefferson also briefly operated a plant in Toronto called the Jefferson Glass Co. Ltd. of Toronto, which produced the same lines of glass as the Follansbee plant from 1912-1914.  After 1915, Jefferson increasingly focused its interests in the lighting industry, finally closing its doors in 1933 (see Loomis, pp. 15-20). 

          Heacock has noted in various works that Jefferson sold several of its opalescent pattern molds to the Northwood upon relocating to Follansbee.  In Collecting Glass, Volume 3, Heacock wrote that "George Mortimer, a prime force in the establishment of the Jefferson factory, went to work for Northwood in 1905, which may be why Northwood copied some fast-selling Jefferson designs" (p. 17).   Quite a few of Jefferson's early opalescent glass patterns are familiar to carnival glass collectors -- Vintage, Fine Cut & Roses, Meander and Ruffles & Rings are all Jefferson opalescent-glass patterns used later in Northwood's carnival glass.  In addition, at least two Jefferson vase patterns entered Northwood's opalescent vase repertoire:  Jefferson's Block (featured in this guide's Part 4), and Jefferson's Wide Rib vase (featured at the end of this guide page).  Northwood also copied Jefferson's Barbells pattern in opalescent glass; as noted in Part 3, this pattern occasionally appears whimseyed into opalescent vase shapes.

           Most of Jefferson's opalescent vase patterns, however, vanished after the company's relocation to Follansbee and never resurfaced in the carnival era.  Jefferson's early opalescent vases thus tend to be quite distinctive and unlike anything that appeared later in a century of American glass production. 

 

Colors of Jefferson's Opalescent Glass

 
Opalescent vases made by the Jefferson Glass Company,
circa 1900-1906, in light green and emerald-green

photos by curculiosglass (left) and maggie_kai

        Jefferson's opalescent vases typically were made in three colors:  white (also called "flint"), blue and green.  Jefferson's blue is a rich shade that borders on aqua; a blue vase is shown further below.  Jefferson's green is customarily the bright pure green shown above left. Occasionally, however, a Jefferson opalescent vase is found in the unusual shade of dark emerald green shown above right. 

         Jefferson also issued a limited number of vase patterns in the yellowish color known as "canary"  -- an example of a canary opalescent Single Lily Spool vase is shown higher up on this page. Canary glass, also known as "vaseline" glass, contains uranium dioxide as a colorant, which makes the glass glow bright green under a black light.  David A. Peterson, author of Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary, has written that Jefferson "produced some of the finest vaseline glass during the early part of the 20th century" (p. 181).  According to Peterson (p. 184), Jefferson's canary opalescent pieces were made between 1903 and 1905 (p. 184).

         Jefferson was also known for its high-quality cranberry glassware, which included some patterns in cranberry opalescent glass.  An example is the pitcher shown below.

A Swirling Maze cranberry opalescent pitcher,
made by Jefferson Glass of Steubenville, Ohio, circa 1903-1904.
photo courtesy of 5hills

Jefferson's Swirling Maze pattern also appears in bowl shapes in cranberry opalescent glass.  Other documented cranberry opalescent pieces include Buttons & Braids bowls and water sets.  There are, however, no recorded examples of any Jefferson vases issued in cranberry opalescent glass.

 

Jefferson's Hallmark Use
of Frit Decoration on Vase Rims  

A blue opalescent Jefferson Wide Rib vase,
with cranberry frit decoration on the rim

photo by curculiosglass

            Many of Jefferson's vases are decorated with speckled-cranberry frit decoration on the rims, such as that shown above -- this distinctive form of decoration is peculiar to Jefferson, and thus many patterns have been attributed to Jefferson by the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, based solely on the existence of frit rims found on pieces.  (As we argue in this Guide's Part 8, however, this practice may lead sometimes to the wrongful attribution of some pieces to Jefferson.)  Frit-decorated rims on Jefferson glass are almost always the speckled-cranberry color shown above.  Very rarely, Jefferson pieces also appear with speckled-blue or speckled-green rims, as shown below:

 

 

Two white opalescent Jefferson Block vases,
with speckled blue and green frit along the top rims.

photos by artisanantiques and centsiblestuff

        Frit is glass that has been ground into a powder and mixed into glass that is in a hot, molten state; as it cools, the frit remains suspended in the glass, producing a speckled effect.  Jefferson opalescent vase patterns that occasionally appear with frit-decorated rims include Jefferson's Wide Rib (shown above and featured below), Fluted Bars & Beads, Jefferson Block, Jefferson Spool and Jefferson Stripe:  examples of the last four of these appear in this guide's ensuing sections.

 

How This ID Guide Works

          This identification guide is divided into seven sections that provide photographs of, and information about, all known Jefferson vase patterns:

Part 1 provides a short history of the Jefferson Glass company and general information about Jefferson's opalescent  glass.  Part 1 also showcases rare Jefferson's Wide Rib vases.  The Jefferson vase identification guide sections that follow are divided according to vase type and shape.

Part 2 focuses on early opalescent Jefferson vases that have the conventional vase shape (rather than footed and novelty vases).  These include the patterns known as Diamond & Oval Thumbprint; Heatherbloom; and Inverted Chevron.

Part 3 features three additional conventional vase patterns, all of which have ribbed designs:  Lined Heart; Rib & Big Thumbprint; and Twister. 

Part 4 of this guide features Jefferson vases that are "whimseys," that is, vases shaped from non-vase molds:  Iris & Meander; Tokyo; and Twister.

Part 5 documents Jefferson's novelty vases:  Aurora Borealis, Dahlia Twist, Fluted Bars & Beads, Jefferson Block, Jefferson Spool and Zippers & Loops.

Part 6 focuses on Jefferson's Jack-in-the Pulpit vases, Twisted Rope; and Single Lily Spool;  

Part 7 shows Jefferson's Striped vases, Jefferson Stripe and Opal Urn).

Part 8 features bulbous vases -- Convex Rib; Jefferson Spatter; and Jefferson's pink speckled vases.

         As exemplified below in our entry on Jefferson's Wide Rib, each entry in the ensuing vase identification guide sections provides the following information:  a description of each vase pattern, typical sizes and documented colors in the pattern; information on other opalescent pressed-glass patterns that might be easily confused with it; approximate date of the featured pattern's manufacture; any historical documentation of the pattern in old wholesale catalog advertisements; any disputed information or unanswered questions about the pattern; and any other information on the pattern furnished by available references on glass.

                     

PHOTOGRAPHIC ID GUIDE
to Jefferson Vases, Part 1:
Information on Jefferson's Wide Rib

 

        

Jefferson's Wide Rib Vases in white and blue opalescent glass
photos by diantiques (white) and curculiosglass (blue)

Jefferson's Wide Rib with Cranberry Frit.   The beautiful ribbed opalescent vases with the speckled-cranberry frit featured above have been attributed to Jefferson by the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 6th ed., p. 160.  Jefferson presumably issued this pattern between 1900 and 1907, the years in which the company manufactured opalescent glass.  Jefferson's Wide Rib vases characteristically have 8 ribs that run from the base to the rim; and flared mouths with 8 rounded points.  The white vase featured here is 11 1/4" tall, and the blue vase measures 12".  Each has a base measuring approximately 3 5/8" that bears a moulded 32-point star. 

Jefferson's Wide Rib vases are quite hard to find; they surface less frequently than once a year on E-Bay.  The SEOG documents this pattern in white opalescent glass only, although the authors speculate that Jefferson's Wide Rib vase was made in colors that "may include blue, white and cranberry"  (p. 161)  The blue vase shown here appeared on E-Bay in 2009, and was discovered by E-Bayer jgofan. To our knowledge, this is the only documented example of this Jefferson pattern in blue opalescent glass.  (A detail of the blue vase's mouth is shown higher up on this guide page.)  According to jgofan, the vase formerly was part of the extensive and nationally known glass collection of  R.H.Ashmore.

The SEOG's authors speculate that Jefferson's Wide Rib may be "another of those moulds Northwood obtained from Jefferson and then marked with the Northwood trademark" (p. 161).  Northwood's Thin Rib vase, issued in both opalescent and carnival glass by 1909, is very similar to Jefferson's Wide Rib: 

 

Jefferson's Wide Rib, with Northwood's Thin Rib vase
photo courtesy of curculiosglass

Nevertheless, Jefferson's Wide Rib vases can be distinguished from similar Northwood Thin Rib opalescent vases by Jefferson's frit decoration and by several other traits.  On the one hand, Northwood's opalescent Thin Rib vases also feature ribs terminating in pulled up points, and the vases have 3 5/8" bases.  The bases, however, are smooth on the bottom and not impressed with star patterns.  In addition, Northwood's opalescent vases have 9 ribs and 9 pulled up points (instead of 8).  As is evident in the above photograph, the pulled up points on that Northwood vases also tend to stand out in a more exaggerated way from the vase rim.  (Additional photographs and information on Northwood's Thin Rib vases can be found in our guide on Northwood vases.)

 

Recommended References

Carwile, Mike, Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 6th ed.  Paducah:
         Collector Books (2009).

Catalog of Antique Glass Collection of R.H. ("Bud") Ashmore.  Dan Ripley's
          Antique Helper (May 1, 2009).   http://www.antiquehelper.com/catalog/235
          For video of collection, see: http://www.antiquehelper.com/catalog/235

Felt, Tom (compiler), Opalescent Glass 1883-1934:  Original advertisements
        & trade journal reports (Monograph No. 49 in the glass study series of
        WVMG).  Weston:  West Virginia Museum of Glass, Ltd. (2005).  

Heacock, William, Collecting Glass, Vol. 2, pp. 13-28,72-73;
         and Vol. 3., pp. 16-17.  Marietta:  Antique Publications
         (1985 and 1986).

Heacock, William, Encyclopedia of Victorian Colored Pattern Glass, Book II
          (Opalescent Glass from A to Z).  Jonesville:  Antique Publications (1975).

Heacock, William, Harry Northwood:  The Wheeling Years, 1901-1925.
         Marietta:  Antique Publications (1991).  

Heacock, William, Opalescent Glass from A-Z, rev. ed., edited by JoAnn Elmore.
        Marietta:  The Glass Press, Inc. (2000).

Kamm, Minnie, A Seventh Pattern Glass Book.  Grosse Point:  Kamm Publications
         (1970).   [This work reprints Jefferson's early Follansbee trade catalog.]

Loomis, Jean Champman, Krys-Tol!  Krys-Tol! Krys-Tol!  Tavares:  Self-published
          (2001).

Peterson, David A., Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary.  Marietta:
        The Glass Press, Inc. (2002).

Six, Dean, ed., Marketing Glass in America, Vol. 3.  Weston:  West
         Virginia Museum of Glass (2005).

_____________________ 0 ____________________

        Many thanks to E-Bayers  5hills,  diantiques,  maggie_kai,  perryphernalia and unclechamps, for generously contributing photographs to this guide.  Rights to all photos belong to the photographers, and pictures should not be used without their permission.  Text is (c) 2007, 2009 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.  To locate any E-Bay seller mentioned here,  just click on "Site Map" at the bottom of your E-Bay screen, and then click on "Feedback Forum" at the right top corner of the large menu that pops up.  Type or copy the seller's name into the Feedback Forum's search blank.

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS GUIDE BY PRESSING THE BUTTON BELOW!  To direct other readers to this guide, tell them:  (1) Click on "site map" at the bottom of the E-Bay Screen; (2) Go to "Buyer Resources" and click on "Reviews and Guides;"  (3) Enter "Jefferson Opalescent Vases - ID Guide".