Front cover: top right, Westmoreland Charlton decorated 7" hen covered dish. $125.00; middle left, Indiana milk
glass hen covered dish. $12.00; middle right, L.E. Smith 3" hen covered dish. $22.00; bottom left, Westmoreland
purple marble 7" rooster covered dish. $200.00; bottom right, Westmoreland hand-painted chick on eggpile covered dish. $55.00.
Back cover: top left, Dithridge milk glass decorated chick in egg on sleigh. $65.00; top right, Anchor Hocking hen
covered dish. $85.00; middle center, Imperial caramel slag rooster covered dish. $125.00; middle right, Kemple 7"
hen covered dish. $50.00; bottom left, Westmoreland standing rooster, Minorca hand painting. $85.00.
Cover Design:
B eth Summers
Book Design:
M ary Ann Hudson
COLLECTOR BOOKS
P.O. Box 3009
Paducah, Kentucky 42002 – 3009
www.collectorbooks.com
Copyright © 2007 Shirley Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form, or by any means including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise,
without the written consent of the author and publisher.
The current values in this book should be used only as a guide. They are not intended to set prices, which vary
from one section of the country to another. Auction prices as well as dealer prices vary greatly and are affected by
condition as well as demand. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes responsibility for any losses that might
be incurred as a result of consulting this guide.
Searching for a Publisher?
We are always looking for people knowledgeable within their fields. If you feel there is a real need for a book on
your collectible subject and have a large comprehensive collection, contact Collector Books.
01-1-16-gh 2
12/22/06 9:42:17 AM
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
L.G. Wright Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
History of Hen on Nest Covered Dishes . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pricing/Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
European . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Adlerhütten Glashüttenwerke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Bayel et Fains, Verreries de Bayel (Aube), France . . 135
Brockwitz A.G., Coswig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Fenne Glashütte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Hofbauer Glashütte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
International Bottle Company LTD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Inwald A.G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Ivima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Luminarc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Ohnstein & Lachmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Radeberg Glasshütte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Reich & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Riedel Glassworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Riihimäki Lasi Oy (Riihimäki Glassworks) . . . . . . . . 153
Rindskopf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Shannon Crystal Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Sowerby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
SV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Turnbull and Co. Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Vallerysthal/Portieux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
von Streit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Walther & Söhne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Zabkowice S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Anchor Hocking Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Atterbury Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Avon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Boyd Crystal Art Glass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Central Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Challinor, Taylor & Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Coudersport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Degenhart Crystal Art Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ed Bowman Collectibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Fenton Art Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Flaccus Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Fostoria Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Gibson Overseas, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Greentown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Hazel-Atlas Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Imperial Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Indiana Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Kanawha Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Kemple Glassworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Levay Distributing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Longaberger Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Martha Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
McKee Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Mosser Glass, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Plum Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Rosso Wholesale Glass Dealers, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . 105
Smith Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Summit Art Glass Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Westmoreland Glass Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Wetzel Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Wheaton Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
01-1-16-gh 3
Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Maker Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Appendix A — Chicken Anatomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Appendix B — Company Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Bibliography and Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Quick Identification Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
12/26/06 3:29:22 PM
Everyone’s grandmother had one, and “they all look alike.” This is the universal reaction to seeing a glass
Hen on Nest covered dish. I have no doubt that everyone’s grandmother (or mother) had one, but they certainly
do not all look alike!
All of this documentation was pulled together simply to enable me to personally study and learn about my own
collection and to aggregate everything I could find about the glass animal covered dish called “Hen on Nest.” Previous books document elephants, swans, frogs, and other animal figurines and a few books mention the Hen on Nest
in passing, but no work has addressed the ubiquitous, widely recognized Hen on Nest covered dish in detail.
I can give no other reason for this obsession of mine other than how Regis and Mary Ferson so succinctly put it:
“But the lure of collecting lies not just in finding but in finding out about each individual discovery” [FER, p.8].
In accumulating this material I avoided other glass animal covered dishes as far as possible and refer to them
only briefly and where it might be relevant in attributing hen dishes. I include rooster, as well as chick (peeps)
covered dishes also.
This documentation is not meant to be misconstrued as the last word on glass Hen on Nest covered dishes, but
as a starting point to hone one’s collecting skills in this area. I hope it will prove useful to other glass collectors.
Attribution of any glass is difficult due to lack of company catalogs; lack of dated company catalogs; catalog
illustrations differing greatly from the actual product; misleading factory advertisements; moulds being sold or
lent between companies; combines transferring moulds of member companies; designers and mould makers
migrating to competitors; factories pressing glass for other firms; mould makers selling duplicate moulds to more
than one factory; companies flagrantly copying a competitor’s product; marks of any kind seldom being used
consistently or at all; trademarks and/or labels being fraudulently added to items; outdated moulds being sold for
scrap and resurrected; and the technical difficulty of the physical analysis of a piece of glass [WEL, pp.467 – 473].
Add to this the many obvious errors in attribution of early writers and one must tread carefully in pronouncing
positive attribution for any item. I have tried to stick to the facts as I found them in books, in periodicals, from
reprints of company catalogs, on the Internet, and from the generous sharing of other collectors and members
of the National Milk Glass Collectors Society and Yahoo e-list, GlassHen. I have pointed out discrepancies where I
have found them (and the experts do seem to disagree). I have tried to separate speculation from fact and present
a totally objective presentation with pertinent references and citations. If an unproven statement or speculation is
included that may aid the collector in future research, it is so indicated.
Individual items are listed by the name of the glass company, jobber, wholesaler, retailer, mould broker, or
importer who either produced or caused the item to be produced and sold under their name. This varies from
common practice in glass literature, but facilitates identification of reproductions, reissues, re-creations, and special orders. In all cases, the factory actually pressing the glass is given, if known. In many cases, such as with the
Asian Hen on Nest covered dishes, it is impossible to trace back to the obscure glass manufacturer who produced
the item. In other cases the item is unique in either form or color and so requires specific attribution.
Please note that the material included in brackets [ ] are references to the Bibliography and Resources section
in this book. Many references are given to not only document but to assist collectors in their own research. Company histories have been purposely abbreviated since this information appears in many other sources; references
are given for readers who would like to have more information about a particular company.
History of Hen on Nest Covered Dishes
From the late 1820s, when pressed glass was first made and used by various glass companies in New England,
to the end of the nineteenth century, this new kind of glass increased in quantity and variety of shapes and designs.
Beginning around 1870 glass covered dishes in animal forms were made in response to Victorian tastes for novelty
forms and styles. The idea was not new. Porcelain and earthenware covered dishes representing an animal originated in China and were made later in Europe where in the seventeenth century they were used for serving
5
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Certainly the identification of hen covered dishes should be easy to do with all the research that has been
done and the books and articles that have been published over the past 86 years. But much of the information
available is either merely descriptive or speculative. Patterns in pressed glass tableware and barware have been well
documented, but the area of novelties, or items not produced in sets, has not. Often produced just one time, novelties rarely appeared in company catalogs. Even when produced over a period of many years, they often failed to be
listed with a company’s products.
The Hen on Nest covered dish was first produced in great numbers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century
when Victorian tastes and the naturalistic trends in art both here and abroad made them a design well suited for consumers. They also fit in with the complicated dining habits of the affluent upper class at that time when meals took
hours and there was a dish or bowl of some sort for everything on the menu. According to glass lore, which may be
more romantic speculation than fact, the hen dishes were to hold boiled or scrambled eggs at the table. The only time
the glass hen dishes seemed to gain the advertising and publicity given to other glass items is during the packer container era of 1890 – 1910 when they were used to package condiments, mainly mustard. The McKee, Westmoreland,
and Flaccus animal covered dishes were made in the thousands to hold various foodstuffs. The housewife not only
bought the condiment, but received a nice premium in the covered dish. One cannot help but wonder what happened
to all those covered dishes since so few turn up today. Were they discarded like our plastic containers are today?
However questionable their purpose, the glass Hen on Nest has been continuously made in this country since
about 1873. This roughly paralleled their popular production in Europe. It is possible that the Boston & Sandwich
company made their hen dish before this date but it cannot be proven at this point.
In 1903, Isaac J. Collins moved to Lancaster, Ohio, to head the decorating department of a small company
called the Ohio Flint Glass Company. In 1905, Collins, along with six friends, raised the necessary money to buy the
Lancaster Caron Company plant. He named the company the Hocking Glass Company for the Hocking River near
which the plant is located and began operation in 1905.
In 1924, this plant burned to the ground leaving five acres of ashes. Plans were soon devised to rebuild and six
months later, what is now known as Plant 1 was in production. Also in 1924 the Hocking Glass Company acquired
controlling interest in what was then the Lancaster Glass Company (Ohio), later called Plant 2, and the Standard
Glass Manufacturing Company with plants in Bremen, Ohio, and Canal Winchester, Ohio. In 1928 the first automatic pressed tableware line was made.
The story of Anchor Hocking continued to be one of growth and expansion with facilities acquired nationwide
as well as abroad, and with development into plastics and china.
In 1969 the word “Glass” was deleted from the corporation’s name signifying the fact that it was no longer just
a “glass” company.
On October 17, 1977, Anchor Hocking adopted a new symbol and a new logotype to identify the company to the
world. The new symbol, a blue anchor inside an octagonal box, replaced the red Anchor-H, which had identified the
company since 1937 when the Hocking Glass Company merged with the Anchor Cap Corporation [from company
history on their website, and WG2, p.133].
8
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American — Anchor Hocking Glass Company
According to Kilgo and Wilkins [KW, p.148], the little hen dish was made in the
1970s. An old worker at the factory said that it was made for Avon in the 1970s and that
the green and blue and other colors were made as sample pieces. Since there is no indication that Avon ever sold this piece and that it was part of a series that Anchor Hocking
sold, one can conclude that the old worker’s tale is either faulty memory or that Avon
decided against using it. This is one of those stories so common in glass collecting; you
will have to make your own decision as to its authenticity. Although it is not known exactly
when the item was made, the mark that has been seen on those that are marked, is from
the 1937 – 1976 time period and one must assume that they were manufactured during
that time period. The blue one has been seen with no mark at all. The hen dish has not
been reproduced or re-created (copied) by any other company. The hen dish is one in a
set of similar round dishes that includes a fish and a turtle.
Forms (measurements may vary by 1⁄16")
One hen dish form: Base: 33⁄8" round; top: 33⁄8" round. The shape of this little Hen on
Nest is its most distinguishing feature; you can’t mistake it. It has a molded-in round circle
on its back, and no feather delineation. The little hen dish has been seen in clear, blue,
green, cobalt, and green with a satin finish (possibly an after-market finish) [YH, January AH01. Anchor Hock27, 2003]. It is rumored to exist in amber also.
ing trademark, 1937
– 1976.
AH02. Anchor Hocking
hen dish, clear. Available.
$5.00 – 10.00 in clear.
AH03. Anchor Hocking
hen dish, green. Very
scarce to rare. $55.00 –
100.00. Courtesy of Gil Bowen.
AH04. Anchor Hocking
hen dish, blue. Very scarce
to rare. $85.00 – 100.00.
Courtesy of Gil Bowen.
AH05. Anchor Hocking
mark as seen on bottom
of clear hen dish, 1927
– 1976.
9
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American — Atterbury Glass Company
ATT26. Atterbury 8" hen dish, smooth rim
base, inset eyes, milk glass. Very scarce. $100.00
– 175.00.
ATT27. Atterbury 8" hen dish with smooth rim
base, red marble. Rare in this color treatment.
$150.00 – 200.00.
ATT28. Atterbury 8" hen dish with smooth rim
base, Electric blue. Very rare in this color. $250.00
to market.
ATT29. Atterbury 8" hen dish with scalloped
rim base, milk glass. Rare. $150.00 to market.
ATT30. Atterbury 8" hen dish base bottom. The
pattern on the bottom of the base is the same for
both the smooth rim base and the scalloped rim
base.
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American — Fenton Art Glass Company
FEN13. Fenton 7" rooster dish on smooth rim
base. Scarce. $29.00 – 125.00.
FEN14. Fenton 7" rooster dish on smooth rim
base bottom.
FEN15. Fenton experimental piece. Opalscent finish on
milk glass with amber/rust cased head. Date not known.
Bought at the Fenton factory on a table of miscellaneous
bits and pieces, discontinued items, etc. Frank M. Fenton
confirmed it was a Fenton piece while it was being purchased. Price originally paid was $52.50. Shown to point
out that anything is possible! Rare. $125.00 to market.
Courtesy of Dan Tracy.
1991 – 92
Jade Pearl Iridescent (EZ)
1997
Ivory Satin/Decorated/Folk Art (NJ)
1991 – 92
Shell Pink Iridescent (PE)
1997
Champagne Opalescent Iridescent (PQ)
1992
Pink Pearl (HZ)
1997
Misty Blue Iridescent (LR)
1991 – 92
Opal Iridescent Decorated (BT)
1998
Ivory Satin/Decorated/Folk Art (FK)
1993
Iridized Opal (HP)
2000
Ivory Satin/Decorated/Folk Art (N1)
1993
Rose Pearl (DN)
2001
Black/Decorated/Folk Art (OA)
1993
Ocean Blue (OB)
2002
Black/Decorated/Folk Art (B3)
1994
Plum Slag (8A)
2003
1994
Sea Mist Slag (2A)
Ivory Satin/Decorated/French Country
(UP)
1995
Spruce Green (SO)
2005
Tuscan Meadow (B5)
1995
Cobalt Blue (KN)
2004
Red Delicious (YJ)
1996
Sea Mist Green (LE)
2005
Chocolate (100th Anniversary)
1996
Champagne Opalescent (PM)
1996
Ivory Satin/Decorated/Folk Art (NA)
Date
Unknown
Opalescent finish on milk glass with rusty
amber cased head (experimental)
50
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American — Greentown
GRE05. Greentown chocolate glass hen dish.
Scarce, but very desirable. $290.00 – 793.00. Courtesy of Gil Bowen.
GRE07. Greentown transparent green hen dish.
Very scarce. $137.00 – 197.00. Courtesy of Gil Bowen.
GRE06. Greentown clear glass hen dish. One of the
less desirable colors, the other being milk glass.
Scarce. $75.00 – 156.00. Courtesy of Gil Bowen.
GRE08. Greentown Nile Green hen dish. One of the
most desirable colors. Rare. $350.00 to market. Courtesy
of Gay Bush.
59
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American — Hazel-Atlas Glass Company
HA04. Hazel-Atlas (Continental Can) hen
dish, translucent green. The little hen was
reproduced by Continental Can Company after 1956. Relatively scarce. $15.00
– 36.00.
HA05. Hazel-Atlas (Continental Can) hen
dish in translucent amber. Scarce. $15.00
– 25.00.
HA06. Hazel-Atlas decorated milk glass
hen dish. Scarce. $9.99 – 21.00.
HA07. Hazel-Atlas hand-painted hen dish.
Very scarce. $25.00 – 30.00. Courtesy of Frank
Chiarenza.
The Hazel-Atlas hen dish has been copied. No matter who produced it, it is more than likely of foreign extraction. The measurements are base: 33⁄8" x 25⁄8"; top 3" x 21⁄4" making it about an inch shorter. HJS, pp. 63 and 119 #952,
shows the small Hazel-Atlas look-alike and says that it is “poor quality Mexican glass, unsigned, age unknown….”
HA08. Mexican? import replica of
the Hazel-Atlas Hen on Nest dish.
Very scarce. $10.00 – 15.00.
61
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American — Westmoreland Glass Company
10. Westmoreland #231 emerging chick in egg on sleigh. Sleigh measures about 5" long by 31⁄2" wide.
Made as early as 1904 as shown in a 1904 Butler Brothers catalog. The little chick has two variations: one with
a smooth head and one with a feathery head. The sleigh, too, may vary. Produced in milk glass, often with quite
detailed painting and gilding. Often mistaken for the chick on sleigh produced by Dithridge & Company (see WG23 below).
WG22. Westmoreland emerging chick in egg on sleigh.
Rather scarce. $56.00 – 75.00.
Has not been reproduced or
copied.
WG23. Dithridge Sleigh Match
Box [FER, p.135]. Shown for
comparison since it is often
confused with the Westmoreland emerging chick in egg on
sleigh.
11. Westmoreland #1872 3" hen on sleigh.
Made 1900 – 1915. Milk glass with gold trim, milk glass painted. Has been reproduced (from original mould)
by Summit.
WG24. Westmoreland 3" hen on sleigh.
Rather scarce. $56.00 – 75.00 depending on decoration.
13. Westmoreland #9 chick on eggpile. 67⁄16" round; 6" tall.
Modeled after Atterbury’s chick on eggpile. May be found on the
Westmoreland basketweave base or Westmoreland’s lacy base. Has inset
applied eyes. First produced in the early 1950s. Was seen in a March
1955 advertisement in House & Garden magazine. Reproduced (from
original mould) by Summit.
Undecorated Milk Glass
Decorated Milk Glass with pastel eggs
Yellow chick atop white eggs with
green grass and ivory base (also same
but iridized)
White Carnival
1,500 in 1979 for Levay
WG25. Westmoreland chick on eggpile.
Usually available. $45.00 – 140.00 depending on age and decoration.
125
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