BLACK GLASS HOME PAGE Depression Glass, Elegant Glass, Antique Glass WELCOME

If you are a new visitor to this site or if you haven't been here for a while, I encourage you to read or at least skim this first page. This site is not a "set in stone" site; it is constantly being modified.

This HOME PAGE has several sections:

• What Won't Be Found On This Web Site?
• What is Black Glass?
• Black Glass vs Black Amethyst Glass vs Black Ruby Glass
• How To Collect Black Glass
• Page Listing, Descriptions
• 2 Tips For Viewing Any Web Site
• Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due - Hope You Do The Same
• Page Foot Including Email Address

• You won't find discussions of black glass buttons and beads.
• You won't find information on old, old bottles that are called "black glass bottles" but are actually green in color.
• You won't find a collector of black glass jewelry.
• You won't find the schedule for a rock band called "Black Glass".

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1. Black Glass is GLASS - not pottery, porcelain, china, etc. Now don't groan over that statement. I am often seeing that mistake, particularly on online auctions. One time I bought a "black glass" item on Ebay. It arrived and it was china. I wrote to the seller and her reply was " 'Glass' is anything that is breakable". True Story!!!
2. Black Glass is OPAQUE or SEMI OPAQUE. Glass in general is:
   

   Transparent - You can read a newspaper through the glass. Transparent glass can have a color such as pink, green, smoke, etc. (is not black glass or black amethyst glass) Translucent - You can see shadows or forms through the glass but you can't see distinct images. (is not black glass or black amethyst glass) Semi Opaque - You can see a light through the glass, but you can't see shadows or forms. (can be black glass or black amethyst glass) Opaque - You can not see light through the glass. (can be black glass)

3. Black Glass, even when it is Black Amethyst, is BLACK. Strangely, at times this is difficult to judge. Deciding if a piece is Black Amethyst or whether it is a very dark Amethyst is at times just a personal judgment call.

4. Black Glass has the COLOR ALL THE WAY THROUGH the glass. Some glass looks like black glass when first seen, but on closer examination it is cased (a thin layer of black glass over clear glass), fired on enamel or painted without firing. Often when a sugar/creamer or stemmed goblet has a clear glass body and a black foot, the black foot is cased. I personally may buy a stem with a black cased foot, but I won't pay as much for it as I will when the foot is "black glass".

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Here is a little background on glass manufacturing. The different colors are due to the different formulas used by glass companies when making their various colors. Glass colors are made by adding various ingredients to the basic glass formula. The ingredients may be manganese, charcoal, iron, etc. Depending on the added ingredients - the type, the amount, etc. - the glass will end up a certain color. There is no ONE formula for Black Glass. An individual glass company may have used several different Black Glass formulas. In fact even using the same formula may end up with different shades of a color from one day to the next due to varying conditions such as the heat of the glass mixture and the purity of the ingredients. Glass companies didn't care if their Black Glass was Black Amethyst or something else. They were just interested in producing a "Good Black".

Now, let's talk about the term "Black Amethyst" as used by glass collectors. If you hold semi opaque Black Glass up to a strong light you may see purple. The color is a result of the particular formula used when that piece of glass was made. This is referred to as "Black Amethyst Glass". The purple can range from light purple to royal purple to red violet. Sometimes you can see just a dot of purple or you may see purple throughout the entire piece. The shape of the piece and thickness of the glass will result in the varying degrees of "purplish". Some people think that all Black Amethyst Glass is old...not so. It is still being made today. Some people think quality or elegant glass is always Black Amethyst Glass ... not so. Some is very poor quality.

"Black Ruby Glass" is a term that is seldom used. When it is used, it means that a vivid red (not purple) is seen when you hold the item up to the light. Many of Fostoria Glass black pieces show red.

Purple or red are not the only colors that may show through the glass. Hazel Atlas is one company that often used a formula resulting in yellow or brown when held to the light. Some of Liberty Glass shows a dark gray. I've also seen green and blue.

Again, all these underlying colors were caused by different formulas. They are all Black Glass.

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• A specific pattern such as Mt. Pleasant by L.E.Smith Glass Company
• Glass from only one glass company such as Cambridge Glass
• Specific items such as vases, creamer/sugars or animals
• Glass with a pattern of silver overlay
• Black Amethyst Glass
• Those pieces that you fall head over heels in love with
• and on and on and on

You can spend small or large amounts of time on researching the who/when/what questions about your black glass pieces. On my "Book & Bibliography Page" I have listed some books to help you ID your piece.

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Do you try to revisit web sites after a month, only to discover "that page can not be found"? Use THE BOOKMARK TIP.

THE BOOKMARK TIP If you find one page at a website particularly interesting, you can bookmark it. But the url address could change. So I suggest you also BOOKMARK the HOME PAGE of the site. That url address isn't quite as likely to move or disappear.

Have you been at pages where you are repeatedly clicking on a link, clicking on the back arrow, clicking on a link, clicking on the back arrow, and on and on? Use THE BIG TIP. This tip is especially helpful when viewing pictures of glass items.

THE BIG TIP- OPEN 2 WINDOWS AT ONCE Sometimes when you encounter a "link" on a page, you would like to "click" and follow the link. You know you will be returning to the original page. So open the link in a 2nd window. This will save you from repeatedly having to click the "back" arrow. Also you won't be sitting twiddling your thumbs while the 1st page is repeatedly reloading. click here for detailed instructions

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I can never repay the glass authors who spent hours researching material and then more spent hours writing books. Some of my personal heroes are Hazel Marie Weatherman, Marlena Toohey, Margaret James, William Heacock and Margaret & Ken Whitmyer. I own over a hundred books and have used and enjoyed many more. (Information on some of these books can be found on my "Books & Bibliography Page".) To all of you - Thank You.

When I started this website I did not know HTML. So this site would not have been possible without the HTML websites of Pongo, Webstlouis and Webwork. I've visited several other HTML sites and have picked up tips from most of them. But I keep going back over and over to the three I mentioned. They should not be held responsible for mistakes that I have committed. Links to their sites will be found on the "Links Page".

Now it is your turn to give credit. I know that people "lift" web content just as they photocopy books. I've done it myself. But if you do redistribute the contents of this web site, written or image, it should include credit to me in the form of my name and my url address.

You may include a link to this site on your web page. If you do, please let me know your url address so I can stop by and visit your website.

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Click on picture to E-MAIL ME at BLKAPP@AOL.COM. Please type SUBJECT- "black glass web site" If you are writing about broken links, bad colors, etc., please tell me:     - Your Internet Service Provider - AOL, Prodigy, etc.     - The Browser you are using - Microsoft Explorer, Netscape, etc. © 1999, 2000 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 BLK GLASS, Beverly L. Kappenman

revised Nov. 1, 2007


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