Thursday, February 11, 2016

Hazel Atlas Crinoline...and a little Hazel Atlas History

The highlight of yesterday's trip to the local thrift was this wonderful Hazel Atlas  Ripple, most commonly called Crinoline.  There hasn't been any Pyrex at the thrift store in months and I'd about given up hope of finding anything good, so I was thrilled to see these 8 dinner plates and 4 bowls on the dinnerware shelves!

I've always liked Hazel Atlas (almost as much as Pyrex), but I just had a few odd pieces and didn't really know anything about the company.    I've been listing some in the Etsy shop, though, so I've done some research...here's what I've found out:

The company was quite old.  It started as two separate glass companies (Hazel and Atlas) that merged in 1902.  They made the glass inserts for old zinc canning jar lids and had their own line of canning jars -- Atlas was their brand name.  They had plants all over, but had several in what I think of as the 'fertile crescent' of pottery & glass companies...West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

Their first 'pattern' was Ovide, which was really just the name they had for their plain dinnerware.  In the 1930s they developed platonite, a white semi-opaque glass that they added fired-on colors to.  They used the same ovide 'blanks' and the color they fired-on would determine the name of the pattern.  This salad bowl set is an example of the fired-on finish and I believe the greens are in the Sierra line.
They made a complete set of apple-shaped Orchardware salad pieces (large serving bowl and smaller salad bowls) in both clear glass and platonite.  This is the large serving bowl in a deep pink, just like Pyrex's Flamingo Pink.  So cool!
(If this salad bowl strikes your fancy, you can find it in the Etsy shop here).
A look at the bottom shows the platonite fired-on technique
Here are two of my favorite HA patterns, though I don't have any (they're on my wish list):
Dots and Triangles
Dots
Hazel Atlas made lots of clear glass, too.  One of their most recognizeable patterns was Criss Cross and came in cobalt blue and green, as well as clear.
Criss Cross one pound butter dish (borrowed online photo)
Another favorite of mine (also on my wish list) is Pink Elephant barware.  They made an ice bucket, drink shaker, pilsners, rocks glasses and tumblers.
Sadly, not mine -- borrowed online photo
Ice bucket (not mine) -- stars and elephants!
The company logo was a large stylized H with an A inside the bottom half -- you'll often see glass with this logo incorrectly listed as Anchor Hocking (good to know if you're doing an eBay or Etsy search).  It was first used in 1923, so any piece you find with that logo was made after that date.
In the 1920s-1940s, Hazel Atlas was the third-largest glass container company in the country.  They were bought by Continental Can Company in 1957 and were part of a big anti-trust trial.  CCC continued to make glass in the Hazel Atlas plants through the 1960s.

So that's Hazel Atlas in a nutshell; I really just scratched the surface.  There were many more patterns and styles than those I've mentioned...you can see the variety by doing a search for 'vintage Hazel Atlas' in images.  So much to choose from!

By the way, here's another Hazel Atlas piece I got at the thrift yesterday:  a square vaseline glass bowl.  Vaseline glass has Uranium in it and glows under a black light.  I also picked up a Branchell melmac double circle bowl and an Art Deco percolator.  
Happy Thursday, everyone!

6 comments:

Melissa said...

I love Hazel Atlas - probably more than Pyrex. Your square piece should have a lid - it was a refrigerator dish (I have 3 of them!)

Bonnie said...

Thanks for this info.!Love Hazel Atlas, now I'm on the lookout for the barware:}

Vonlipi said...

Thanks for the Hazel Atlas info. I always love to learn about glassware companies. The pink elephant barware is on my wish list too :)

ROSEISROSE said...

Hello can you help me I had this piece for a long time I decorated my home with colored glass at one time this piece is marked with a large H an A underneath it has 2 raised retangles in the center inside the green round piece

Anne@Kitschy Vintage said...

I can't reply to your comment, Roseisrose, so I'll add one here. Without seeing a photo of the piece you're talking about, I couldn't say. Can you send me a dm with a photo, please?

Anonymous said...

My mother in law has the complete bar set! I would love to learn more! She has much more than just the pieces listed!

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