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Collecting glass is such a pleasure for the thousands of people in the world who are mesmerized by its beauty. To think that from sand, potash and a sprinkling of metal oxides an artisan can make objects that take your breath away.

What to collect – that is the question. Collecting glass is a very personal, deciding what kind of glass to collect is a personal decision with many factors coming in to play. Knowledge is acquired over time to make a collection a thing of beauty. A little background knowledge in the field of collecting glass will help to zone in on a type of glassware that will become the focus for a collection.

  There is no hard and fast rule to collecting. Some people are very rigorous in their attempts to stay within the parameters of a certain category while others will buy pieces for their beauty and a collection will be made from an assortment of categories. Here are a few ideas of broad categories of glass that can be collected. As more is learnt about an interesting category a collection can become more and more focused.  

Art Glass – hand made glass produced from the late 1800’s through to the 1950’s. Being hand worked means that no two pieces will ever be the same. Some of the better known companies to produce Art Glass are Durand, Tiffany, Loetz and D’Argental.

Color – an easy formula for a collection is to buy glass of a certain color. If not a lot is known about glassware then this can be the perfect way to start a collection. Collectable colored glassware are black, Vaseline (yellow-green), cobalt, opaque cream (custard), opaque green (jadeite), opaque white (milk), pink, ruby and forest green.

Crystal Glass – contains lead oxide instead of the usual sodium or potassium oxides. This gives the glass a brightness and hardness; crystal can be cut to great effect.

Depression Glass – inexpensive machine made glass produced from the mid 1920’s through the 1930’s. Used as premiums with purchases such as food products and soaps. They were given out in movie theatres and service stations. It comes in a wide range of colors, such as, amber, yellow, blue, pink, red, green, cobalt, white and crystal.

These are only four of the many categories of glass collection. I collect very modern glass objects made by young artisans in Australia. I love the way they mold the molten glass to almost organic shapes.

Looking after a glass collection is not difficult when you know what you are doing. There are some basic rules to follow so that breakage does not happen. Cleaning, packing and moving and showing are all easy with a little instruction.

To find out more check out, 'Collecting and Caring for Your Glass' in the Hobbies and Crafts section of DareToBePublications.com