Hobbies Collecting Antiques

Glassware Marks and Signatures

c. Late 1930s through late 1940s (Company in Business in 1910-1951) Akro Agate Glass Mark

Linda Marie Kennedy

This illustrated guide provides marks found on both antique and contemporary collectible glass and includes dating information if known.​

Akro Agate crow flying through an "A" mark—most pieces are also marked "Made in USA" in raised letters and include a mold number. Early pieces may be unmarked.

The Akro Agate logo is actually a crow flying through the letter "A" holding marbles in its beak and claws. The species in the logo is sometimes mistaken for an eagle or another type of bird since it is often poorly molded into the glass and can be hard to read.

Packages of marbles made from 1910 on included this logo on some boxes, but the marbles were not actually marked. The crow mark was used on glassware from the late '30s through the 1940s. Production ceased in 1949, but the company sold off its remaining inventory until 1951 when it officially went out of business.

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    ALIG Imperial Glass Co.

    ALIG Imperial Glass Company Mark
    Pamela Y. Wiggins

    This is a late Imperial Glass Company mark. Several iterations of the original Imperial Glass Company mark used in the 1950s (a capital "G" laid over a stylized capital "I") led to this mark when the company was purchased from Lenox by Arthur Lorch in 1981.

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    Daum Nancy

    Inscription on the bottom of the dish.
    Photo courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    This is one of a number of different marks used by the Daum factory in Nancy, France. Be sure to familiarize yourself with what is known as a "Devil's Tail" mark.

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    Durand Art Glass

    Durand Mark with Engraved Shape Number
    Photo Courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    This is one of several marks used by Durand Art Glass from the mid-1920s into the early 1930s. Most pieces produced toward the end of the 1920s through 1931 had a hand-engraved mark reading "Durand" sometimes accompanied by a shape number, such as the one shown above. Engraved marks such as these were traced with an aluminum pencil making them more legible on the glass.

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    Federal Glass Company

    Federal Glass Company F within a Shield mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    This one has an "F" within a shield mark used on many Federal pieces, but some were not marked. The unmarked items are recognized as Federal pieces through pattern identification.

    Federal made many marked Depression-era salt and pepper shakers and kitchenware items in a variety of colors in addition to Depression glass dinnerware sets.

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    Fenton Glass Company

    Fenton Glass Oval Mark
    Pamela Wiggins

    Fenton used this oval mark beginning in 1970 and later added the "8" to denote the 1980s. Subsequent decades were marked "9" for the 1990s and "0" for 2000 and so on. Many pieces of Fenton are unmarked but can be identified by studying the styles, colors, and shapes made by this prolific manufacturer.​

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    Fire-King Oven Ware

    Ca. 1950s Fire King Glass Mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    Made in the U.S.A. was added to the Fire-King mark in 1951. This particular mark was used through the 1950s. Pieces from the 1940s are marked "Fire-King Oven Glass." Pieces from the 1960s have the Anchor Hocking wording and logo in addition to the Fire-King Ware mark.

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    Fostoria Glass Company

    Fostoria Glass Company Mark
    Pamela Wiggins

    Most Fostoria pieces are not marked and must be identified by the pattern and/or etching found on the piece. This type of acid etched mark was used during the 1970s on many Navarre pieces, according to "Collectible Glassware from the 40s, 50s, and 60s" by Gene Florence.

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    Fostoria Paper Label Mark

    Fostoria designation
    Jay B. Siegel

    Many Fostoria pieces were marked with paper labels such as this one. Most were removed through washing and wear, however, so those pieces must be identified by the pattern or etching present on the piece. This particular label was found on Fostoria Coin Glass, which was produced from the 1960s through 1986.

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    Gallé, Emile

    The mark of Emile Gallé
    Jay B. Siegel

    This is the mark of Emile Gallé’s workshop operating in Nancy, France. This is one of a number of authentic signature styles used by the Gallé workshop, which also include a vertical version and a two-lined etched mark. Gallé died in 1904, and objects produced from that time through 1914 feature a star before the mark.

    Be aware that poor quality "Gallé" pieces are being produced in China and sold in gift shops around the United States. In comparison to authentic Gallé pieces, these are molded rather than etched, acid cut or decorated in some other hand-applied fashion.

    Many of these items end up for sale in online auctions being represented as Gallé with low starting bids. Other mouth blown Gallé reproductions are of better quality, and harder to distinguish. Authentic Gallé pieces sell for thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. It's best to buy these pieces from a reputable, knowledgeable dealer who will stand behind his or her merchandise when investing large sums in these wares.

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    Guernsey Glass

    Ca. late 1960s - late 1990s Guernsey Glass Co. Mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    This confusing mark is often erroneously attributed to Boyd's Crystal Art Glass, Inc., which actually uses a B within a diamond marking. Guernsey also used a capital B mark in addition to this one.

    Guernsey Glass was owned and operated by Harold Bennett but only produced collectible glassware from 1967 through the late-1970s according to opensalts.net. Vaseline Glass Collectors Inc. reports that Mosser made Guernsey's later pieces. Pieces were made using old molds Bennett owned (some of them were first used by Cambridge Glass). The molds were supposedly sold by 2001, with some of them now in the hands of Wilkerson Glass and other manufacturers.

    This mark was used on open salts, glass shoes, and hats, candy containers, butter dishes, and other items generally made of slag glass, and sometimes with a carnival finish.

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    Hazel Atlas Glass Co.

    Hazel Atlas Glass Company mark
    Pamela Y. Wiggins

    This is the mark for Hazel Atlas Glass Co. It is sometimes confused with Anchor Hocking Glass Co., another manufacturer making colored glass during the Depression era. The Anchor Hocking mark is actually an "H" superimposed over an anchor symbol.

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    Heisey Glass Company

    Heisey Glass Co. H in diamond mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    This is the distinctive "H" within a diamond raised mark used on some pieces made by Heisey Glass Company. Some marks are faint due to the fire polished finishing each piece received, and not all Heisey pieces are marked.

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    Imperial Glass Company Iron Cross Mark

    Imperial Glass Iron Cross Mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    It is unclear exactly when this Imperial mark was first found on glass, but its use ceased after the late 1920s. It was used on a variety of different types of glassware.

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    Jeannette Glass Company

    Jeannette Glass Company J in a Square Mark
    Pamela Y. Wiggins

    The Jeannette Glass Company has a "J" in a square mark that is reversed so it can be viewed through the bottom of the glass when looking inside. The mark shown was found on a soda fountain glass dating to the 1950s.

    Most Jeannette Glass Company tableware was not marked. The marked items tend to be footed pieces such as goblets and glasses of varying types. Jeannette also used a "J" in a triangle or a "J" standing alone as their mark on occasion.

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    Krys-Tol Mark

    Krys-Tol Glass Mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    This mark was used by Jefferson Glass Company on utility glass and its "Chippendale" pattern of tableware.

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    Northwood Glass Company

    ca. 1908-1923 Northwood Carnival Glass Mark
    Jay B. Siegel

    This underlined "N" in a circle mark is the most prolific on classic carnival glass made by Northwood. Most pieces with this mark are old carnival pieces, but it's wise to remember that Wright reissued several patterns (the Grape and Cable butter dish and Grape Delight nut bowl are the most frequently found) with the mark after they bought the molds. They were later forced to change the mark which makes the later reissues less of a problem for collectors to identify.

    Not all Northwood carnival glass will be marked. Marked pieces are not more valuable or desirable than unmarked pieces.

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    Quezal Art Glass and Decorating Co.

    Quezal Art Glass Paper Label Mark
    Photo Courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    This is a paper label used c. 1907–1924 by Quezal Art Glass and Decorating Company.

    This glass company was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1901. Earlier pieces are engraved with a silver block mark. The paper label shown here was used from 1907 until the company closed in 1924.

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    Steuben–Aurene

    Steuben Aurene Mark on Glassware
    Photo Courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    Aurene is one of the most popular styles made by Steuben Glass Works. While the Aurene signature may look amateurish, the one shown here is on a genuine piece of Steuben glass. Some pieces are marked only "AURENE" rather than "STEUBEN AURENE." The company's etched fleur-de-lis logo is sometimes present as well.

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    Steuben–F. Carder

    Steuben F. Carder Mark
    Photo Courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    When unmarked pieces made by Steuben Glass Works were brought to Frederick Carder (the company's co-founder and longtime art director) so he could look at them, and he often marked them as they were identified. These marks read "F. Carder" as shown on this Bubbly piece, and were accompanied by the word "Steuben" etched in the same way.

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    Tiffany–L.C.T. Favrile

    L.C.T. Favrile etched on the bottom of cups
    Photo Courtesy of Morphy Auctions

    This is the L.C.T. mark used by Louis Comfort Tiffany on a variety of Favrile glass pieces.

    Tiffany Favrile glass was marked in a number of different ways, including the L.C.T. initial mark.

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    Westmoreland Glass Company

    ca. post-1940s Westmoreland Glass Company Mark
    Pamela Wiggins

    This Westmoreland Glass mark was used on a variety of glassware types. Westmoreland molds have been sold to other glassmakers over the years who did not always remove the mark so dating can be difficult. Most late milk glass pieces with this mark were indeed produced by Westmoreland during the 1950s and '60s.