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!