If you are someone who loves old glass, you already know that almost every antique store, estate sale, and auction house has collections to choose from. Old plates and glasses are among the most common items people collect partly because they tend to be affordable and small enough to fit on shelves. Finding interesting vintage glassware collectibles is fun, especially when you know what you are looking at.

Some people have eclectic collections, picking up random pieces that catch their eye. Others hunt for specific types of glass in an attempt to build complete service settings. Whatever your preference, you really need to understand the most common types of vintage pieces available. Cut glass is one of the oldest kinds. The Venetians began grinding it nearly two thousand years ago. Today artisans still create pieces using a grinding wheel to cut classic designs and patterns into cooled glass.

During the American Brilliant period, entertaining with large pieces of pressed leaded glass, with intricate designs and patterns, was a sign of wealth and prestige. This was at the turn of the twentieth century. The period came to an end with the Depression when manufacturers began churning out inexpensive versions of the earlier Brilliant period pressed glass.

About the same time, European manufacturers came up with a method of producing even less expensive pressed glass and surpassed the Americans. When the Great Depression hit however, an Ohio firm began to mass produce its own version, which became aptly known as depression glass. It was so cheap to manufacture that the firm could offer it on the open market for pennies.

It was during this same time period, when so many Americans could only dream about owning a genuine Tiffany lamp, that two companies began to mass produce glass pieces in the style of Tiffany. It eventually became known as Carnival Glass because is was such a common prize on carnival midways. There was so much competition in the making of this type of glass that one company even put out a product that glowed thanks to coatings of uranium salt.

All most people have to do is glance at certain pieces to know they are some version of milk glass. These pieces are found in shops all over the country, but milk glass is not native to the United States. It is actually a product of Venice where craftsmen first created it in the sixteen hundreds. The English variation became popular during the Victorian Era. The glass can be found in a wide variety of colors.

When you decide to become a collector of glass and china, you need to learn how to care for it. These pieces are not dishwasher safe. The water temperature gets much too high for them. Hand washing them in mild detergent and hand drying them with a clean, soft cloth will help protect your investment.

If you like to collect things, glassware is something that has an interesting history. Most pieces are affordable, and trying to find missing items to complete service settings can be a lot of fun. It is always a good feeling when you come upon the last piece you needed to complete a set.