Collecting Crackle Glass....What is Crackle Glass?

First let me introduce myself, my name is Deanna, my husband & I have been collecting many different items or treasures as we call them throughout our 21 years of marriage, but Crackle Glass has always been a favorite of ours! We will always be adding new pieces to our Bonanzle booth, http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/treasurechest39 .

When I met my husband, he was already intrigued by the crackle glass as his mother and step-father had collected it for many years. I myself had never even heard of crackle glass let alone know how it was made. So I give all credit to my husband & mother -in - law for the now obsession I have with this glass.

!Now moving onto the good stuff with this extraordinary glass!

Crackling of Glass is when the Glassblower takes the hot blown glass piece and submerges it into cold water causing a quick temperature change giving it the crackle effect. The Glassblower then puts it back into the fire sealing the "cracks" and finishes blowing the glass till he reaches his finished product.

Glassblowing is definitely done only by an expert. I myself was fortunate to have seen this performed by a couple of expert glass blowers at a company called GlassWorks in Louisville Kentucky back in 2005. I would not trade that experience for anything. If you love to see glass made and have any place like that near you....you will not regret going and seeing how much work is put into these glass pieces by these highly skilled craftsman.

!A short history lesson on Crackle Glass Companies!

However, there are a few factors in deciding the value of a particular piece of crackle glass is usually done by its age & rarity but also if it has its original label, if it is a Decanter or Cruet does it have its stopper still with it. The ultimate factor really is how much a collector is willing to pay for that particular piece. There are some pieces that currently are in museums that are dated back to the 1800's - 1900's. It has been noted that there are pieces that are extremely rare, and almost impossible to find, which if found they would demand a high value. These rare pieces have exquisite enamel work of animal scenes on them and the work on each individual piece is certainly a work of art. They would not only attract crackle glass collectors but also intrigue the collectors of the antique and art world.

*Here Are A Few Different Glass Companies Whom Produced Crackle Glass*

Some different glass companies in Europe and America that produced this style of glass during the early time period were; Moser, Loetz, Harrach, Steuben, Imperial Glass Company, Durand Glass Factory just to mention a few. There were more but these are the most popular names that collectors recognize. In later years some West Virginia Glass Companies came along and began producing crackle glass which some of these companies are more known today by Blenko, Rainbow, Pilgrim, Viking, Hamon, Jamestown, Gibson to mention a few.

Moser Crackle Glass are your pieces that have the animal enamel work on them and the company began exploring some different colors such as amber, turquoise, dark red. Loetz crackled glass was also produced during the late 1800's and if you are fortunate to find a piece it usually will be extremely expensive.

Blenko Glass & Gibson Glass Companies are the only ones still producing crackle glass and Blenko is still the most popular among collectors.

~Some Popular Styles of Crackle Glass~

Pitchers, Cruets or Syrup Cruets, Vases, Bowls, Cups, Dishes, Decanters, Fruit, Jugs, Baskets.

OverShot Glass - Was made by rolling part of a blown hot glass on finely ground pieces of glass and placed on a steel plate called a marver. The blown glass was reheated slightly to remove any sharp glass edges from the ground glass and then finished being blown into its final shape. Sometimes "overshot" glass pieces were also submerged into cold water before the grounded glass was applied giving it both the crackle & overshot description.

*Some Colors that Crackle Glass Pieces are made in*

Amberina, Topaz, Cobalt Blue, Honey, Red, Amethyst - Very popular, Blue, Green, Rose, Charcole/Grey, Lemon Yellow.

There are many more colors but these are to name a few.

I hope this gave you a little background and insight to the collecting of Crackle Glass pieces. It to me is like I said an obsession with my husband & I and we attend flea markets, estate sales, & auctions in lieu of finding that perfect piece.

Where You Can Find Us On Bonanzle

You can find us at http://www.bonanzle.com/ and our booth name is treasurechest39. We have many other collectible items in our booth as well! We welcome offers & have discounted our christmas items by 30%. We also gladly ship to Canada, so come check us out & the many other wonderful booths at Bonanzle.

I want give a big shout out THANK YOU to ActionHealthyLiving for helping me through my first blog! Please stop by her booth on bonanzle at http:www.bonanzle.com/booths/ActionHealthyLiving or her blog at http://www.actionhealthyliving.com/