My New Favorite Drinking Glasses

A few weeks ago the Blind Pig Family went to Canton, NC for a few days. Shopping for school clothes is a good excuse to visit Papaw and Nana-and they always let us invade their house with Ruby Sue and the rest of our stuff.

In our book, a trip to Canton can never be complete without a visit to the Cold Mountain Hardware store. In days gone by-the store was Powell Lumber Company and was owned by The Deer Hunter's great uncle, Guy Roberts.

These days the hardware store has a hodge podge of items for sale-our favorite part is the junk/antique items they sell in the back. We always come away with some sort of treasure-this time I found 3 drinking glasses that I love-I'm positive something was originally sold in the jars-maybe jelly?

All 3 jars are 5 inches tall; one is beveled around the outside and 2 are not.

This is a photo of the bottom of the jar. (if you click on the photo it will open larger)

This is a photo of the bottom of the other 2 jars. (click the photo to enlarge it)

One of the glasses had the price of $1.40 written on the bottom of it. Not wanting to spend money on something I didn't really need I only picked up 3 of them-even though the store had several others.

When the cashier rang them up-the total was only 80 cents! Ever since I've wished I had went back and got the rest of the jars-something about the way they feel just makes them the best little glasses to drink out of-almost as good as my old snuff jars.

If you know what originally came in the jars I'd love to know!

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Almost 60 people entered the Black Pepper Visions book giveaway. I used the random number generator to choose a name-and it picked #21 which was John Reese. (John-send your address to me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com and I'll send you the book!)

Tipper

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Comments

[Gorges Smythe]

Yes, they're jelly glasses. I have about four left that were my paternal grandmothers and I suppose I'll use them until I only have one left. The emblem on the one shows that it was made by Atlas, the same company that made the canning jars.

[Wayne Newton]

Tipper, I operated a little store on Old Blue Ridge Hiway, just outside Blairsville in the early 1980s.

A regular customer dipped snuff like some folks eat breakfast. He would order a case of his snuff about twice a month.

I don't remember the brand name, but it came in big drinking glasses; had a big family, and kept everybody in his community stocked with glassware.

When he came by the store to pick up the new case, he acted like he was famished for snuff.

Many's the time he stood right at the counter, opened the box, pulled out a new glass, and proceeded to get a FIX, right then, right there.

He had a big scoop, carried in his baggy britches, held about a TBSP, which he packed in his lower lip. Made him look strange.

Big, fat, died before his time, lost a good customer.

[Tipper]

Tim-no pattern on the inside-but thanks for all the info!

Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
www.blindpigandtheacorn.com

[Karen Larsen]

I love them, too! Do they say AH? Is that Anchor Hocking???

[Tim Hassell]

The glass on the right looks like it could be a snuff glass and I'm bettin' it is the one marked Hazel Atlas. I know that Rooster Snuff came in a tall more modern glass during the late 1950's and into the 1960's. Is there a pattern on the inside of the glass like honeycomb or a diamond maybe? The old short American Tobacco (they marketed several brands) snuff glasses were in a pattern called "Hex optic". This pattern was also produced as drinking glasses in pink, green and amber, I think by the Jeanette Glass Company during the Depression era. I'm not sure if Jeanette produced the snuff glasses (in clear) for the American Tobacco Company or not, but I believe they were produced from the same molds as the Jeanette drinking glasses.

Your other two glasses look to be either jelly glasses or perhaps freebies included in boxes of laundry detergent. The thickness of the upper rim will be the clue here. Glasses meant for drinking glasses will have a thinner rim, while jelly glasses will have a thicker rim to accommodate the sealing of a lid on the glass.

[Charlotte]

From the title of your post, I just knew they were going to be snuff glasses! Probably jelly ~ anyway, they're special for sure!

The A-H mark could be for the Atlas canning jars and lids. I have a glass lid with the same marking. We could Google Atlas and see. ;)

[Ethel]

I know what you mean about the feel of certain glasses, I like a glass with nice thick walls and a good heft to it.

I don't know anything about glassware, but your glasses do look a lot like jelly glasses. There were always a few in Mom's cupboard.

[B. ruth]

Tipper,
In the picture...on the upper left top shelf...do you remember if that was an old Biltmore milk bottle? At least it looks like a milk bottle...but I can't remember if their logo was blue or red...I would love to have one...especially if I could get one with the Biltmore Dairy written in script in the glass itself...at least seems like I can remember one like that...When they started firing the logo on the glass it was much later maybe late thirties, forties. We quit getting milk delivered in the early fifties...
Now I'm wanting to make a trip to Canton...
Thanks Tipper,

[Cee]

I remember jelly and sometimes jelly swirled with peanut butter being sold in that type of glass. I remember we had quite a few of them and used them regularly.

[Stephen Ammons]

Tipper,
I agree with B. Ruth but would like to say that the AH combination could be Anchor Hocking.
Also it could be a mark called a Pontil Scar made by Alexander H Kerr who also founded the Hermetic Fruit Jar company. I think what you have are old jelly jars and it's possible that it was a combination of peanut butter and jelly which tasted awful but came it pretty jars. Thanks

[Paula Rhodarmer]

Tipper, one of those glasses looks like it has the "anchor hocking" logo on it. If so, it was probably sold as a glass. I don't know about the others. Sometimes glasses or dishes were included in dry cereals or other things as a prize and people collected them, loving that they came as something "free." Other times, as you said, things were sold in them like snuff or jelly, etc. Of course, I am not sure and there may be many other explanations of where they came from. Interesting, though.

[Miss Cindy]

It's a funny thing to me how some glasses feel good to drink from and some don't. I can't explain why that is but I do know that it works that way for me.
Perhaps it reminds me of childhood and drinking from good strong snuff glasses and peanut butter glasses at my grandmother's. Those are good memories for me.
She didn't have jelly glasses because she made all her jelly and jam. She did have snuff glasses because her mother lived with her and she dipped snuff.
My grandmother never dipped snuff and didn't allow anyone to dip in her house.....except her mother. Even my grandaddy had to go outside to dip. lol!

[dolores barton]

For many years I used nothing more than jelly glasses. I always kept them, that is, until I moved. I especially liked the smaller ones for juice glasses. Recently, going to yard sales, I picked up what used to be used for peanut butter. I was fascinated with them. I would look your glasses up in one of the Kovel's antique books; maybe you bought yourself a true treasure. I'm not a judge of antiques, but I usually can feel something old and it makes me feel good.

[Jen]

80cents! Wow.Great find and perfect size!

[Janet Smart]

Hi Tipper, those are nice glasses. Of course, they've already told you they were made by Hazel Atlas. I love thrift shopping, that's where I get my favorite things.

[Ed Ammons]

My offer still stands for the old snuff glasses that seem to be falling out of favor.

[Mary Shipman]

I remember smaller glasses at a friends grandmothers house similar to those you have in the pictures.
The grandmother used 'snuff', and it came in those glasses, fitted with a metal lid.

[Sheryl Paul]

No guesses from me, but they would have made perfect jam containers.

[B. ruth]

Tipper,
The one glass is marked by the Hazel Atlas company...an H with a A inside the H...Most likely jelly came in the glass or dairy product...Of course this would have had a paper label..
I don't ever remember seeing a snuff jar in that size...We mostly sold the smaller ones...
I love jelly glasses...especially the ones with flowers on them, which are getting quite pricy..
My Grandmother always said though, "You can never go wrong with crystal" meaning it goes with everything...LOL Now I am going to have to look in my Hazel Atlas book for more info that I have since forgotten...The other glass could also be Hazel Atlas but might be Indiana, etc. I don't think it would be Ancho Hocking because they usually marked the glasses more...but about time you think you know something "up jumps the devil."
Here is a picture of your glass on the bottom...
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/glassware/hazel-atlas/stories
As usual I love this type of post...You probably should have got the other HA glasses just for "poops and grins." Remember when taking something in, take something out...However I can never follow my own advice...LOL
Thanks Tipper,