Did You Know? - Milk Glass

Another installment in our Did You Know? series. Today's topic is milk glass.

Milk glass originated back in 16th century in Venice, Italy. However, the name milk glass was not really put into effect until more recently. It was more commonly known as opaque glass. It came in many colors other than white, including pink, blue, brown, black, and yellow. These colors have a "milky" appearance, and the tone is thick and coated. This was considered a high class, luxury item and was very popular at the end of the 19th century. The 20th century had what's called the American Gilded Age. During this time, some of the best pieces were made. They had a delicate elegance to them, and were viewed as a symbol of wealth in America. Moving to the 1930's however, milk glass became mass produced and lost its high value. It became commonplace. The glass made during this time is considered to be less delicate and not as finely made.

Today's Fun Fact: The four faces on the information booth clock in Grand Central Terminal in NYC are made of milk glass.

To find out about different types of milk glass, how to identify them, additional information on the history and origin and more, check out these sites: http://milkglass.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_glass