Everyone has a certain type of glass they are partial to. Mine is uranium glass. The way it illuminates under a black light or stands out in the sunlight. This prompted me to ask, what is Vaseline glass? Is it different from uranium glass?  How and when did it come into production? I thought I’d share what I have learned. Uranium is what makes this type of glass glow a bright green under a black light. So to understand how they got the uranium into the glass, we need to first see how they got the uranium. 

The first usage of uranium glass dates back to 79 AD. A mosaic containing yellow glass had 1% of the uranium in it. By the Middle Ages, pitchblende (a form of the mineral uraninite containing radium found in brown or black masses) was extracted from a silver mine in Bohemia. It was used as a coloring agent in the local glass-making industry.   Martin Klapreth, (1743-1817) a chemist and pharmacist was the first to discover uranium. (1789). He would dissolve the mineral pitchblende in nitric acid and then added potash. He obtained a yellow precipitate (a solid mass). He called his newfound mineral Uranium after the discovery of Uranus in 1781. This mineral was later experimented with as a glass colorant. By the 1830s uranium was first used in Europe and quickly spread out through Europe during the 1840s. A company named Baccarat introduced its first piece of uranium glass in 1843. By the mid-1800 uranium glass was being widely manufactured. It peaked in production around the 1880s to the 1920s. During this period Vaseline glass was being made into complete table settings, banquet pieces, lamps, door knobs, medical bottles, vanity sets, decanters, drapery ties, and candle sticks. This brings us to the controversial question. Is it Vaseline glass or uranium glass? Are they the same thing? Things were going well for the glass companies producing Vaseline glass until WWW II. In 1943 all production of Vaseline glass stopped because the US government confiscated all supplies of uranium. During the depression, glass manufacturers would add iron oxide (rust) to the uranium dioxide. This mixture would give the glass a green color. It too will fluoresce under a black light but serious collectors will say that it is not true Vaseline glass.  They believe only the yellow or yellow/green glass that glows bright green under a black light is the true uranium glass. 

They say it must have the same hue as Vaseline. In Nov 1958 the ban on uranium was lifted and production began again. This production was limited though, due to the expense of obtaining the uranium dioxide. Burmese glass and custard glass should not be confused with Vaseline glass, even though they too may glow under a black light. Vaseline glass is transparent or translucent, whereas Burmese is opalescent. Most Vaseline glass was made up using trace amounts of uranium, up to 2%, Some companies have added as much as 25%. This uranium does contain minuscule amounts of radioactivity.  There is no risk though. The US Regulation Commission in a 2001 report “Systematic Radiological Assessment of Exemptions for Source and Byproducts Materials” stated that radiation from glass was equally to or in some cases even less harmful than the background radiation we are exposed to daily. There were, and still are several companies that produce Vaseline glass. While the list of manufacturers is extensive, some of the better know companies are Fenton Glass, Mosser Glass, Cambridge Glass, Adams & Co, Steuben Glass, Baccarat, American Glass, George Duncan & Son, Dugan, Fostoria, Heisey, Millersburg Glass, Imperial, Northwood, Pairpoint, US Glass, Westmoreland, National Glass, and L.G. Wright, just to mention a few.  

 They all had different names for their color of Vaseline glass. Names like: citron, jasmine, golden green, mustard, florentine, and canary. They also had different finishes like satin, opalescent, iridescent, yellow-green, and rubia Verde (blond green). Some of their styles were Victorian and Art Deco. The patterns are also numerous, with catchy, fun names like Peacock, Daisy and Buttons, Medallion, Zippered, Quilted Diamond, Diamond Spearhead, Ribbed Spiral, Wreath and Shells, Question Marks, and Spanish Lace. This is just a small sample of all the different patterns manufacturers used. There was even a carnival Vaseline glass. Varieties were generally marigold iridescent. Vaseline glass has quite a history. It is easy to see why it is such a popular form of glass. A popularity that has continued to grow as time goes on.  As with all good things Vaseline glass is being reproduced again today. The adage “buyer beware” does apply. Some of the best advice I can give is to study the different patterns and ask lots of questions. Truly devoted uranium glass collectors are more than willing to share their knowledge. Books like “The Picture Book of Vaseline Glass” by Sue C Davis or “Yellow–Green Vaseline” by Jay L Glickman are invaluable assets. Keep in mind that some of the early glassware will have maker flaws. It can be things like air bubbles, prominent seams, or straw marks.  The beauty of Vaseline glass makes it a collection worth having. 

                                                  Happy Collecting   

It’s ok to dance to a different drummer, for we don’t all hear the same song