Mad Men, Was one of my favorite TV shows not only because of the story lines and plots, but because of the vintage collectible
items that would appear on various sets.
It would be nothing to see a character on the show light up a cigarette and use an ashtray, but only a trained eye would
notice that it might have be a cranberry Murano vintage ash tray, like the one seen here.
Like most vintage collectibles today, a lot of things that we collect actually had a useful purpose. A lot of these things were
used in daily life and were part of out daily routines.
Most of the ones that you saw on Mad Men were not a beautiful or valuable as this example that we had in our collection. This ashtray is a white cased, clear glass with cranberry base. I would have cringed to see a character put out a cigarette in one of these.
I have large collection of Murano Art Glass, so I've dedicated a page just to Murano. Please check it out from the link above.
You can go to Bed Bath and Beyond or The Container store and find apothecary jars, but I'm positive that none are as beautiful as these.
The cranberry glass vase on the right was made by Fenton glass and every once in a while a vase would appear on the show Mad Men.
This vase was probably made in the 70s and is etched with flowers. The vase did and can still have a useful purpose, but I would
not recommend it.
Although your flower arrangement would probably look beautiful in this vase, I would be afraid to leave the water in it too long and then have calcium deposits where I can't reach to clean them out. Why go through all the trouble?
Once companies like Fenton, Blenko, and Kahawha found that people were actually collecting different items, they started mass producing them as collectibles. Cranberry glass is one of those things. As an example the mini-pitchers below were produced as collectibles.
The cranberry glass pitchers above were pretty much produced for people who collected. The beauty of these is not only the obvious color, but in the fact that they can be collectible to many collectors.
These mini-pitchers appeal to vintage cranberry glass collectors, mini-pitcher collectors, cranberry glass pitcher collectors and then to people like myself that love and have colorful glass collections.
Can you see these being used in everyday life? I couldn't imagine pouring milk or creamer into my coffee from one of these. Some people call me grandma because I collect all this beautiful glass, but in fact I'm a grandpa and you don't have to be old to love beautiful things.
These vintage cranberry glass apothecary jars are etched with what looks to be grapes are not worth $17,000. These are on display in my house and I wouldn't use them for intended purpose. However, they are sealed with a wax ring and could easily hold your pills. I would be afraid to drop it on the floor and break it.
In ancient times, haha, instead of a pharmacist we had an apothecary. If you went into his shop, you would see long rows of apothecary jars, mostly made of ceramics or glass. The held all types of medications and pills to be dispensed. Those apothecary jars and bottles are now worth a small fortune. I just saw a set online for $17,000
I love all of my glass collectibles, but one of my favorites is my cranberry glass bird figurines. These were made by Murano which is probably little wonder why I love them so much. I have three different ones in my current collection and each is as beautiful as the others. There rare pieces usually go for a pretty penny. Don't get fooled by the knockoffs at the retail stores though.
I will be writing and posting more pictures in the near future. You'll want to visit often, or you might miss out. Below are more examples of cranberry glass collectibles from our current collection.
