National Depression Glass Association
Preserving America's Glass Manufacturing Heritage
Jeannette's Floral and Floragold Depression Glass
by Kathy Eickholt
Jeannette Glass floral patterns include the (appropriately named) Floral, Floragold, Iris & Herringbone, Adam, Doric & Pansy, Cherry Blossom. We'll go through the first two patterns listed this time, give tips on what to look for and share some information about our glass. Next month we'll go over the last four patterns.
Floral is a big, bold pattern! This is sometimes called
Poinsettia as it has big sprawling petals and large leaves with
five lobes. Poinsettias don't have leaves like this 
but that's ok, it's a
beautiful pattern that comes in green and pink. Jeannette Glass
made Floral from 1931 to 1935 and you may find pieces in
translucent light blue Delphite as well as the green and pink
pieces. Floral is one of the depression glass patterns that looks
like expensive elegant glass at first glass due to the 
quality of the
design and attractive shapes. You can find pieces such as vases,
comports and ice tubs that are more likely components of elegant
glass patterns.
Like all depression glass, Floral was mass-produced, machine made and sold inexpensively or given away. It has the usual flaws that give depression glass its charm, such as straw marks or little irregularities. The seams on some pieces may be raised enough that you can feel them; this is not a problem but do check for little nicks. This design is less prone to inner rim roughness because the pieces don't have flat rims, but do check around all edges for damage.
You can get a fairly complete dinner set in Floral, with three sizes of plates - bread and butter, salad/lunch and dinner - plus a divided grill plate, three sizes of tumblers, multiple bowls and serving pieces Several of the Floral tumblers are footed and shaped like rounded cones with the pattern around the full side of the glass. The foot of the tumbler will have an impressed ray design. These are fun shapes that look classy on your dinner table and you can use these to serve juice or sodas without having a full dinner set.
Pieces that are scarce (and thus more
expensive) include the ice tub, candlesticks, cream soup, compote,
lamp and vases. The cream soup looks like a wide, shallow bowl with
two handles and is about 5½ inches across. Personally, I've
not seen one! The book value for the cream soup is about $750 each,
and when you realize that each place setting needs a cream soup,
this becomes quite an endeavor.
Floral shakers have been reproduced (at left). Be wary of dark blue, dark green and red as these are all reproductions. The pink appears to be a realistic copy. According to Gene Florence's Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, the old shakers have two parallel lines where the lids screw onto the base while the newer shakers have one line. I recommend this book if you want to learn about Depression Glass.
Floragold (pitcher, lower right), strictly speaking, is not depression glass as it was made in the 1950s. It has a pretty design of leaf tendrils and open blossoms and was made mainly in iridescent. Floragold combines square and round shapes effectively, as with tumblers that have square bases and round tops.
Watch for uneven iridescence and the usual chips and roughness with Floragold. We have had an extensive selection over time and noticed this seems sturdier and has fewer flaws than some of the earlier depression glass. Floragold is heavy and perhaps Jeannette improved their production methods by the 1950s.
Floragold had a wide variety of pieces,
including three sizes of ruffled bowls, three tumblers and the
usual serving pieces. Oddly, the saucer is the same piece as the
sherbet plate and does not have a cup ring. The dinner plates are
square and not very big, only about 8½ inches across. They
are surprisingly scarce, in fact pitchers and tumblers, which are
usually among the harder-to-find items, are much more common, at
least where we live. 
Pieces to watch for include the
candleholders, deep salad bowl, dinner plates and vases. The round
butter dish, small comport and vase are the most expensive.
You don't need to worry about reproductions because Floragold has not been reproduced. Do be aware that there are two tumbler styles, one with a smooth band around the top and one without the band. Personal preferences vary so if this matters to you then be careful to check photos or ask a seller if buying online. An embarassing incident for me was when someone bought tumblers from me several years ago and I had not listed the styles separately. The tumblers did not match what the customer had already. That was a learning experience for me and now we do show them separately.
Webmaster's NOTE: The NDGA wishes to thank the author for permission to use this article. Kathy is a dealer from Midland, Michigan. Her web site is Cat Lady's Glass.