Early American Prescut Color

Colored Early American Prescut (EAPC) pieces are quite prized by collectors of the pattern. However, Anchor Hocking only issued 10 of its 55 Early American Prescut shapes in Colored Glass and 8 with Flashed Color. Seven of the Colored Glass shapes were issued in Avocado, three in Honey Gold, two in Laser Blue, and one each in Royal Ruby and Spearmint. The Flashed pieces included three in Ruby-Tint, two in Avocado-Tint, and one each in Purple-Tint, Amber-Tint, and Blue-Tint. See Appendix C: EAPC Color List in Early American Prescut Glass by Tina Spain McDuffie for the specific items Anchor Hocking issued in color.

EAPC was colored in several ways. So for clarification, I’ve broken the known pieces into categories. The categories are Colored Glass, Flashed Glass, a unique Gold-Foil & Silver-Paint Technique, Tinted Glass, Water-Ambered, and Painted Glass. These are the subject of this article. I’ve described each category below and provided numerous pictures to illustrate it.

Finally, in the last section I’ve included pictures of Early American Prescut Collectors Facebook Group Members’ color collections – say that one three times fast. These collections often include color EAPC pieces from a variety of color categories, so I couldn’t fit them in before. And because I don’t want to leave anything out, the last section contains miscellaneous photos I’ve found of color EAPC pieces whose category I’m uncertain about. Be prepared, this is a long article.

When Was EAPC Colored Glass Produced

It is unknown exactly when Anchor Hocking started offering EAPC in color. The earliest catalog listing I’ve found for colored EAPC is Anchor Hocking’s 1968-69 Gift Catalog in which five Flashed pieces appear.

I also found a Shangri-La Scented Candle in a Flashed-Purple EAPC Sugar Bowl in a 1966 Studio Girl Cosmetics Hollywood ad in Good Housekeeping Magazine. So, clearly Anchor Hocking was making and selling Flashed EAPC even as early as 1966. The company utilized some Flashed EAPC in its Premium Program, too, as shown in this 1968 Tri City Grocery.

Several Flashed EAPC pieces Anchor Hocking issued weren’t listed in any catalogs, such as the Purple-Flashed Sugar Bowl made exclusively for Studio Girl Cosmetics Hollywood. Only five Colored Glass EAPC pieces were listed in a catalog. They appeared in the Anchor Hocking 1968-69 Gift Catalog. Yet, as I said at the beginning of this article, Anchor Hocking issued 10 different EAPC shapes in Colored Glass. Why weren’t the others listed? According Philip Hopper of the Anchor Hocking Museum:

Many items produced by Anchor Hocking were used as promotional items, and therefore were regionally distributed. These items were not listed in the catalog or “job-ber” sheets used by sales personnel.

Philip Hopper, Royal Ruby

†Hopefully, further research will turn up still more information on the subject. In the meantime, let’s look at Anchor Hocking’s color prefix chart.

Color Prefixes and Packaging Suffixes

Anchor Hocking’s 1971 catalog features a How to Order section with an interesting color chart. The chart lists prefix letters that specify a particular color for the product numbers listed in its catalog and a suffix letter to indicate packaging. Crystal items do not have a prefix and the default bulk packaging has no suffix. (Crystal is Anchor Hocking’s name for clear.) Here’s a summary of the chart with color codes compiled from several catalogs.

Prefix	Color		Packaging	Suffix
	Crystal		Bulk Packaging
T	Avocado		Anchor Pack	C
E	Forest Green		Carton	G
N	Honey Gold		Gift Box	GA
F or B	Laser Blue
R	Royal Ruby
Y	Spicy Brown
W	White		Flashed Color	Suffix
			Flashed Amber-Tint	/6873
			Flashed Avocado-Tint	/6875
			Flashed Blue-Tint	/6876
			Flashed Ruby-Tint	/6874

This prefix color coding and suffix package coding was used for all of the company’s glass patterns, not just EAPC. EAPC Flashed Glass colors were indicated with 4-digit suffixes after a slash. So, using the chart above for an EAPC Gondola whose part number is 752, the product number for a Flashed Avocado-Tint Gondola in a Gift Box is 752-GA/6875, whereas a Colored Glass Avocado Gondola is T752 – or T752-GA if you want it in a Gift Box.

Colored Early American Prescut Glass

Of the many methods EAPC glassware has been colored, Colored Glass is the most durable because the color is part of the glass. Different oxides, added to the molten glass during mixing, turn clear glass into colored glass. Colored Glass can be used and washed without having to worry about the color coming off or fading. Although, Anchor Hocking does recommend that you:

“Please treat this ware as you do fine crystal… do not wash this glass in dishwashers or use harsh detergents.”

Anchor Hocking

Colored Early American Prescut Glass Examples

Anchor Hocking’s Strange Color Choices for EAPC

Anchor Hocking only issued a few EAPC pieces in Colored Glass and Flashed Glass. I’m not sure how they decided which pieces to produce in colored glass and which not. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it and in my opinion, they made some strange decisions.

Two strange choices involve the EAPC Sugar, Sugar Bowl, and Large Candy Bowl. Anchor Hocking issued the Sugar in Avocado, Honey Gold, and Laser Blue Colored Glass and the Sugar Bowl in Flashed Purple-Tint, but no matching Creamers. Huh?

The company also issued smooth-rimmed Large Candy Bowls in Honey Gold and Laser Blue Colored Glass and Blue-Tint Flashed Glass – but no lids for any of them. If they weren’t going to make colored lids, why not color the same-sized Small Serving Bowls with a scalloped rim instead? They’re so much prettier and wouldn’t have left collectors searching for non-existent matching lids for years!

Another strange color choice involves the stunning Rose-Lilac Platter and 7-Part Divided Platter were Anchor Hocking purportedly produced exclusively for Coles Stores in Australia, but not for the United States market. I mean, really, after seeing one of these don’t you want to run out and buy one of each color and style? I know I do!

During my extensive research on Early American Prescut glassware for my book, Early American Prescut Glass: A comprehensive guide to collecting Anchor Hocking’s iconic star pattern, I found the reasons for two of Anchor Hocking’s strange color choices.

The answer to the first question – why didn’t Anchor Hocking make matching creamers for EAPC colored Sugars – is because Anchor Hocking made the colored Sugars by special order exclusively for Studio Girl Cosmetics Hollywood. Studio Girl filled the Sugar Bowls with candles scented with its signature fragrances. For more details, see Chapter 2 of my book, Early American Prescut Glass.

As for the last question – why did Anchor Hocking make platters in the Rose-Lilac color exclusively for Coles stores in Australia when American EAPC collectors would’ve loved them? The answer is that Anchor Hocking didn’t make the Rose-Lilac platters. Crown Crystal Glass Company of Australia did. See Chapter 8: Foreign-Made EAPC of my EAPC book, Early American Prescut Glass, for more details. I found proof.

Flashed Early American Prescut Color

One problem with red or cranberry-colored glass – like Anchor Hocking’s popular Royal Ruby – is that when light isn’t shining through it, it looks black or dark brown. It’s also expensive to make because a key ingredient of red glass is gold oxide, which increased production costs considerably. So to achieve beautiful ruby-colored glass that always looks red and save money, glass manufacturers began producing Flashed glass – Anchor Hocking included.

Flashed glass – in good condition – often appears to be a solid color throughout the glass. However, the coloring is a light coating of vivid color over plain clear glass that is applied in the factory. The now colored glass in then fired to improve adherence.

Using the term “Flashed”, however, is a bit of a misnomer as the original meaning of flashed glass was as follows:

Flashed glass, or flash glass, is a type of glass created by coating a colorless gather of glass with one or more thin layers of colored glass. This is done by placing a piece of melted glass of one color into another piece of melted glass of a different color and then blowing the glass.

Flashed Glass – Wikipedia

In modern usage, the term “Flashed” has come to mean clear glass that was coated with sprayed-on color and then fired in a factory. This is the process Anchor Hocking used in its factories to make Flashed EAPC color pieces. According to Brenda Stephens Jackson, a member of the Early American Prescut Collectors Facebook Group:

The company tried the flashing in the beginning because it was cheaper then solid colors to make. They soon realized that it would not hold up. That is what the rep at Anchor Hocking explained to me.

Brenda Stephens Jackson on Anchor Hocking’s use of Flashing.

So how do you tell whether a piece of glass is Colored glass or Flashed? One of the easiest ways to distinguish Colored glass from Flashed glass is by examining it closely. Look for flaking, scratches, and wear where the clear glass is showing through. Colored Glass is colored throughout, while Flashed Glass is prone to flaking, so often has clear glass peeking through where the color has rubbed off.

Flashed EAPC pieces require special care. Many EAPC Collectors Group members have reported that simple dusting can make the color flake off. Two of my Flashed EAPC pieces are in excellent condition and don’t have any flaking at all. I don’t have any trouble handling them, but I still treat them gently. In contrast, my third Flashed piece, an Avocado-Tint Small Candy Dish, is in poor condition. I can feel the color flake off every time I touch it. By the way, the Flashed Avocado-Tint is much lighter in color, almost a sea green, than Avocado Colored Glass.

So, if you’re lucky enough to acquire any Flashed EAPC, handle it gently. DO NOT put it in dishwasher or soak it in a sink of water. Always hand wash it carefully. Or maybe just display it in a cabinet where you can enjoy its beauty without worry and rarely have to dust or handle it.

Examples of Early American Prescut Pieces with Flashed Color

Weird Gold-Foil & Silver-Paint Technique

Here’s a weird one: an EAPC Gondola that was produced in a factory. The inside is smooth glass that looks gold, while the outside is a bright silver color.

A friend of Bob Cadle’s who is a long-time EAPC collector described the process:

A thin piece of gold foil was formed around the outside of a clear Gondola. It was then heavily painted with Silver paint and baked on. The Gold foil inner layer gives the inside of the Gondola its gold color. While the silver paint provides the silver on the outside of the Gondola.

An Anchor Hocking employee

Collectors have found several over the years – I have two. So, it’s clear at least a small run was produced. There are several photos in my book, Early American Prescut Glass, which show a Gold & Silver Gondola that’s lost most of its silver paint and another that’s halfway there.

Tinted Early American Prescut

Collectors have reported finding EAPC glassware with very light color in the glass. They’re not Flashed or Painted, the color is definitely in the glass, but so light is the color that it’s easy to miss unless you place it side-by-side with a clear piece. You may have passed one by without realizing it! Tinted pieces can often be mistaken for glass that has yellowed with age or is stained by nicotine.

One theory is that the pale tint was produced by adding a minute amount of oxide to color a glass batch. Another is that some color was left in the mixing pot from a previous batch. Yet another theory says the pale color may simply be due to differences in the ingredients available in various regions.

Whether tinted EAPC glassware was an accident or intentional is unknown at this time.

Tinted Early American Prescut Examples

Water-Ambered EAPC Color

Water-ambered glassware often has an iridescent sheen to it, though the level of iridescence varies from piece to piece. Water ambering is created by placing clear pieces of glass in the water of mineral springs. The minerals in the water permeate the glass so the resulting color is permanent and throughout the glass.

In Slaterville Springs, along the banks of Six Mile Creek, the Clarence Stephens house had a well that ambered glass. When asked about the water ambering process, Clarence Stephens had this to say:

The process consisted of glassware arranged on shelves under a pipe with small holes where water from the artesian well continually flowed evenly over them. Every two days the glass was washed and polished with soapy water and returned to the shelves. Glassware is ambered on both sides and takes six to eight weeks to complete. Less time the lighter the amber and longer time the darker the amber.

Clarence Stephens, author of The Water Ambering of Clear Glassware

Purportedly, water ambering was done in Marlin, Texas, and the surrounding area, as well as New York. However, the practice may have ended in New York before EAPC glass was made.

So how do you tell Water-Ambered EAPC from Anchor Hocking’s Honey Gold Colored Glass? When viewed in person, the difference is noticeable. Water-ambered glass typically has an iridescent sheen and is more orange and lustrous than Honey Gold Colored Glass, which has more brown tones and no iridescence. In photos, it’s not as easy to them apart because the coloring and sheen can be greatly affected by lighting and reflections from nearby objects when the photo was taken.

If, however, you encounter an EAPC piece that wasn’t issued in Honey Gold, then there’s a good chance it’s Water-Ambered. It’s still no guarantee because Anchor Hocking employees made many end-of-day Whimsies in a variety of Flashed and Colored Glass shades. Anchor Hocking issued three EAPC pieces in Honey Gold: the 3-Toed Bowl, Large Candy Bowl, and Sugar.

For more info on Water-Ambered Glass, check out these articles:

• Ambered Glass
• Hot, mineral-laden water once made Marlin a spot for tourists
• Marlin and Water Ambered Glass

Water-Ambered Early American Prescut Glass Examples

Painted Early American Prescut Glass

Glass can be painted in a number of ways and artistic EAPC collectors have applied a variety of techniques and used a variety of paints to decorate their favorite pattern. Specially-formulated translucent glass paints, like Pebeo Vitrea 160, when baked after applying the decoration, can make your finished piece waterproof and dishwasher safe. There are also less resilient paints, just for decoration, that you don’t have to bake, but they’re not waterproof or dishwasher-safe. And then there are spray paints for glass that don’t have to be baked with similar results.

Some painted pieces may have been produced by Anchor Hocking. During my research, I found several EAPC pieces that were painted by West Virginia Glass Specialty Company in its Golden Jewels style. I have a Small Candy Dish, the Large Candy Dish I ordered arrived broken. My friend, Nancy Hobbs, has a Sugar & Creamer Set with Tray. I’ve also seen a Golden Jewels Divided Relish. By and large, however, most painted EAPC you find was hand-painted after market. With some glass paint and a few brushes, you can paint EAPC, too.

Painted Early American Prescut Examples

Early American Prescut Collectors Members’ Color Collections

Here are some photos of Early American Prescut Collectors Facebook Group Members’ color collections. These collections often include color EAPC pieces from a variety of color categories, so I couldn’t fit them in before. Some are Whimsies.

Miscellaneous Colored EAPC Glass

While searching posts, eBay listings, etc. I and other members of the EAPC Collectors Group often run across colored EAPC pieces we had not seen before. Unfortunately, when you find a picture on the Internet, on Pinterest for example, there is often little to no information about it. So rather than guess, and provide inaccurate information, I’ve listed those items here. Most of these are likely Whimsies made end of day by Anchor Hocking employees.