
The new Stewart clear jars do not fluoresce but neither do most old display jars. Manganese is the ingredient that causes the vast majority of clear American pressed glass made before 1920-30 to fluoresce yellow green under long wave black light. The better quality glass had less need of purifying, or masking, ingredients and so doesn't always contain manganese. Old display jars were made with better, more optically clear glass. Generally black light can help determine the age of clear glass but that is not true with old display jars. But again, the grinding will probably not look much different if you haven't handled many originals. Grinding on the stoppers is rougher than originals but completely fills the collar. Grinding around the jar opening is rougher than that found on originals and the new grinding follows a much more irregular horizontal line. An old fashioned plunger mark is the bottom of each jar. Quality is not as good as originals and there is a very slight greenish cast to the glass but this is not noticeable unless you've examined many originals. The jar bodies are very heavy glass not unlike original jars. Be alert for the new jars to be offered as "rare" and unusual. Old clear stoppers are hard to find and probably wouldn't fit new jars anyway so it's unlikely you'll find old stoppers on new jars. The vast majority of original clear glass display or storage jars had matching clear glass stoppers. Jar bodies are clear glass and the stoppers are transparent emerald green. Our samples were bought on sale for only $58 for the set of three. The new jars came in two sizes, 7½″ high and 9½″ high. True, the mark is obviously a part of the mold because the green turkey was marked but even a few unmarked milk glass pieces can be a problem.Īnother potential problem product from Stewart is the new glass storage jar with ground glass stopper (Fig. That's why it's particularly discouraging to find the new milk glass turkey unmarked.

Generally speaking, unmarked pieces are from earlier production, marked pieces are newer 2. Examples in milk glass, for example, sell for $100-150+. Smith is still in production and currently selling the turkey, early Smith turkeys are highly collectible. The green turkey, however, was plainly marked.Īlthough L.E. If you didn't know exactly where to look and use a 10X loupe, you would not find the mark. We say "most" have the mark because the sample milk glass turkey purchased for this article was marked so faintly as to be invisible. Most Stewart turkeys have a molded "S" up under the base, the S a factory mark of Smith Glass, not Stewart. The covered turkey dish was available in milk glass and Jadite from Stewart for $25 each.

Pieces posing the biggest problems are discussed item by item below. Many of the new pieces were never originally made in Jadite and in many cases, knowing the color quickly identifies the reproductions.Ī more serious problem is with pieces made in milk glass like the covered turkey dishes and clear glass reproductions like the storage jars with ground glass stoppers. This green is a pale Jadite similar to Fire King Jadeite or early Fenton Jade Green. The majority of new Stewart pieces are made in a Jadite-type light green opaque glass. In this article we will describe the new pieces, show you what marks are used and advise you on potential problems. Like many other new goods which begin as legitimate decorators items, Stewart's new glass has gradually filtered into the antiques market and is causing some confusion. Most new pieces were available in the late 1990s. New pieces included a wide range of styles from depression era kitchen jars to Victorian table wares. Martha Stewart's mail order operation, Martha by Mail,offered a large variety of confusing reproduction and lookalike glassware. Confusing Kitchen Glass by Martha Stewart Not a "Good thing"
