Federal Glass made many of the most recognized and important depression glass patterns. We’ll give tips to collect and enjoy two patterns, Georgian, also called Lovebirds, and Diana, this month.

Georgian and Diana are two very different patterns although Federal made both of these. Let’s look at some differences to compare these before we go into each in depth.

Depression glass designs either have mold-etched designs or are pressed with geometric designs like ribbing or squares. Federal made several well known mold-etched designs, such as Madrid, and only a few of the geometric patterns. Georgian is in the mold-etched tradition, with a really neat design that alternates birds and baskets around the edge, connected by swags, and with a medallion in the center. Diana is one of the very few Federal geometric patterns with its swirled fine ribs that catch the light and add sparkle to your table.

Federal made a lot of green and amber depression glass, with some crystal (clear), pink and blue. Georgian came almost exclusively in green although my reference books mention some crystal and amber. Federal made Diana in crystal, pink and amber.

Another difference is price. Diana tends to be quite affordable while Georgian is on the higher priced side in today’s markets. These differences start with simple sherbet plates that are a few dollars in Diana but may be twice that or more in Georgian.

Something both patterns have in common is the general quality. Depression glass is known for having flaws such as rough seams, bubbles, strawmarks and such. Federal Glass patterns certainly will have bubbles and strawmarks, but they are usually fairly well made and don’t have the protruding seams you will see in other companies’ wares. The colors tend to be pretty consistent so you won’t have to hunt for pieces in the same shade of green or amber.

Georgian is a personal favorite and we have a good selection in our store Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass. Federal made Georgian from 1931 to 1936 so it is one of their earlier depression patterns.

The design is wonderful, with rounded triangle cartouches that frame pairs of birds alternating with baskets. The pairs of birds give this pattern its nickname “Lovebirds”. The triangles are connected by swags of leaves and the center of each piece has an elaborate medallion design. This glass is mold-etched. That means the mold was etched with the design and the glass was then pressed. The design is recessed on the mold so the pattern is raised on the surface of the glass. Mold etching was an innovative method to mass produce large quantities of glass with intricate patterns without the expense and hand labor of individually etched pieces.

Federal made another pattern with parrots, called Parrot, but you should not have any problems distinguishing Parrots from Georgian. The Parrot pattern lacks the baskets, the birds are larger and the pieces were square while Georgian pieces are round. Indiana’s Lorain pattern also has baskets with swags, but it does not have the birds and the pieces are square and often have rough seams and inner rim roughness. You won’t have a problem telling Georgian apart!

When you buy Georgian there aren’t any spots that you need to be especially wary of, just be sure to check carefully for wear on the surface or nicks on the rim. Georgian plates and rimmed pieces are round and don’t have protruding points or sharp edges that are likely to chip. You should check the rims on the plates to be sure they don’t have rough spots, but this design has more a sloped rim that is less prone to roughness than designs with a sharply defined inner rim.

Federal made Georgian in a complete dinner set, with tumblers, serving bowls, plates, platters, cups and small bowls. There are two sizes of tumblers and you will need to budget to get a full set as these range in the $50-120 each in today’s market. Other choice pieces include the butter dish with lid, hot plate and a cold cuts server. The cold cuts server is a wooden lazy susan with seven hot plates sunk into round recesses. Interestingly, there is no pitcher, candleholder, salt and pepper shaker, stemware or vase in Georgian.

Diana is a later Federal pattern, made from 1937 to 1941. As noted above, Diana is a ribbed swirl design that gets its looks from the way it catches the light. It also is pressed glass, made quickly and inexpensively from molds.

There are many patterns from the depression and even earlier with swirls and ribs. You can tell Diana because the ribs are rounded and thin and pieces with a center, like plates or bowls, have a separate swirled center. The shapes are different among these patterns too, so if you look at the shapes you won’t mix up Diana with other patterns. The only piece that could cause problems is the sherbet. I have personally not come across one, but photos show the sherbet to be very similar to Hocking’s Spiral sherbet. Since Spiral was mostly green and Diana was not made in green, you should not find this as much a problem as it could be.

You can find crystal Diana trimmed with gold or silver and these are handsome pieces. The clear glass sparkles quite a bit already and adding a bit of metal trim makes it glitter even more. The silver trimmed pieces are especially nice and you can see a demitasse set trimmed in silver in the photo. If you choose to collect the trimmed pieces be sure to wash them by hand to keep the gold and silver intact. If you buy these online you will want to ask about gold or silver wear before buying. Don’t be afraid to get glass with some light wear, but you probably will prefer pieces that have rims that are fully trimmed. You may find pieces with other trims, including colored bands or satinized.

Diana is a fairly small pattern but it has some eye-catching pieces. The demitasse sets are very nice and unusual to find in depression glass. Demitasse sets are about the size of doll dishes; cups are about 1 7/8 inches tall and saucers are 4 1/8 inch inches across and have a definite cup ring. Federal made the demitasse sets in pink and crystal and crystal with silver and possibly crystal with other treatments; my reference book shows a set with red stain. There is only one size tumbler, the water, and no stemware. You may find dinner plates, sherbet plates (which are the size for a small salad), cereal bowls, cups and saucers, cream soup, platters and candy dish. Federal didn’t make a Diana pitcher, vase or candleholder. There are two large serving bowls, one with a scalloped rim and one with a plain rim. The scalloped rim bowl is 12 inches across and called a scalloped fruit bowl. It is a pretty piece.

You do have to be careful not to mix up the small sherbet plate with the saucers as both are the same size and look a lot alike, especially in photos. The saucer has a definite cup ring with the swirled ribs being above the ring. The sherbet plate rim slopes down to a wide center section but this center section is too large to hold a cup.

Diana is not particularly prone to damage. The ribs are small enough and rounded that they don’t tend to chip and the plates do not have inner rims. Just check the edges and make sure the rims are intact and the centers are not worn.

One nice thing about Diana, especially compared to Georgian, is that it is priced reasonably enough that you could use the glass for every day if you wanted. Plates will show wear over time but with care you can use and enjoy your set for several years before you need to consider replacing pieces.

We offer a good selection of Georgian on both our website Cat Lady Kate’s Elegant and Depression Glass and our eBay store Vintage Elegant Depression Glass. Check our website for some nice pieces of Diana, including the demitasse sets pictured. We offer careful packing, fast shipping and take care to get your glass to you intact. We take time to inspect each piece before listing and shipping to be sure there are no surprises and we stand behind our glass with a full money-back guarantee.

Come shop our stores for good glass and quality customer service: Cat Lady Kate