Husband Says No to My Vaseline Glass Wish List
January 13, 2008 by Michelle Gartner
Basically, I am so thoroughly addicted to eBay now that I either believe I was ripped off if I buy something elsewhere or I think I must have it because it’s crap a highly collectible thing of beauty I cannot get elsewhere besides eBay.
My new want is a curio case full of vaseline glass. If you are not up on your vintage and antique glasses, vaseline is glass that is made by adding uranium dioxide to the mix. The other interesting feature about vaseline glass is that it glows under black light.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ewooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
That’s an eerie space age noise in case you are wondering. Before actually purchasing a piece of vaseline glass for my own collecting purposes, I researched it on the internet. After all it’s not every day I introduce uranium based products into our house. You are probably like me in wondering if it is safe. One article later found at Vaseline Glass Collectors Inc and I am entirely confident in the safety and beauty of vaseline glass.
The next step before the actual purchasing of said glass, was to inform my husband of my new hobby. Of course the first natural question from him was, “why is it called vaseline glass?”
At this point I was really stumped, but I thought he would be sold when I showed him the beautiful pictures of glowing vaseline glass glowing under black lights. Needless, to
say the uranium part did not sit well with him.
“Are you getting a lead lined curio cabinet?”
“Of course not,” I replied, “no one will see it glowing, I am going to get a regular curio and install a black light in it.”
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” he says as he rolls a homemade cigarette (to save money).
“I’ll let you sleep on it,” I said being diplomatic.
I am still waiting to hear whether or not I can purchase a new curio, black light light bulbs, and start making bids on Vaseline glass. In the meantime all the best glassware is getting snapped up!
Photos of vaseline hen courtesy of eBay Seller Uncle Bobs Bargain Outlet.
I was interested in why it was called vaseline glass too, having never heard of it before. So I looked it up on Wikepedia - apparently it’s simply because of its similarity in colour to Vaseline. I haven’t cross referenced that though, so it could be wrong.
It’s sounds quite stunning though. Hope you manage to persuade your husband!
Michelle and J. Adamthwaite: I am the webmaster for vaselineglass.org I have been involved with the club since it was started 10 years ago and I have edited the newsletter for that entire time. I have also written three books on the subject.
I have also had parts of my collection tested by the Nuclear safety officer for the state of Oklahoma (located at the Univ. of Oklahoma campus).
The radiation is very low level beta waves, which comprise about 98.5% of the radiation that is emitted from vaseline glass. Beta waves can be blocked by a pane of glass (like a curio cabinet. You don’t have to have a lead-lined cabinet. My collection (over 60 pieces) sits on open shelves. Beta waves dissipate after about 18 inches distance. Michelle, your husband is exposed to radiation every day he goes out into the sunshine. It comes from the sun. The level of radiation emitted from the glass is so small it hardly registers. There are studies that have been done by Oak Ridge (U.S. govt nuclear testing facility). If there was the least bit harm in it, the government would jump on the bandwagon and ban the stuff. Also, it is still being made today, and they have not shut down the glass houses that make it. You might want to tell your husband that those cigarettes (hand-rolled or store-bought) will kill him a lot dang quicker than any radiation exposure from vaseline glass.
The neon-green effect that is seen when the blacklight is on the glass is due to the depleted uranium salts being tickled by the UV light. A lesser effect can also be seen if you take a piece out into the sunshine. It will appear with more of a green tint than indoors.
This glass was first made in about 1840s in Bohemia. The original name was ANNAGELB. The maker, Joseph Riedel, named it after his wife, Anna. ‘gelb’ means yellow in German. He also made a green version called ANNAGRUN. US makers were quick to jump on a true yellow color, and they called it CANARY in the USA. At that time, glass also had lead in it, and it made a very nice yellow. When the soda lime formula was invented in 1863, the yellow still used depleted uranium salts to color the glass, but it was a more pale, light colored yellow. It was also during this time that petroleum jelly was first made. During that time, the formula for petroleum jelly gave the goo a pale yellow color. the formula has since changed. Dealers started generically referring to yellow uranium glass (made from soda/lime formula) as ‘vaseline glass’ to differentiate it from leaded ‘canary’ glass. The name has evolved (no language is static) and it is now the most widely word used to describe yellow uranium glass. In German, they now call it URANGLAS. Their language has also changed, and seldom do they still call it annagelb or annagrun. In other countries, it is called other things. In France, they call it OURALINE.
Each manufacturer also uses trade names for their yellow uranium glass. Fenton calls it YELLOW TOPAZ, for instance.
You can find inexpensive modern glass that is plentiful. Older glass in excellent condition will cost you more. There is a lot more information at http://www.vaselineglass.org
The best advice I can give you is read, read, and then, read some more. The educated collector will make less financial mistakes by learning about this amazing glass rather than buying just anything that glows.
There are a lot of glassware that will glow, but it has to be yellow-green to be called vaseline glass. That is because the ONLY colorant in vaseline glass is depleted uranium salts. If you add additional colorants, the color changes. It is like taking a recipe that requires sugar in the recipe, but you decide to add equal amounts of salt.
Other glass that glows (and is considered uranium glass): green depression glass, burmese glass, custard glass, bristol glass, apple green glass (from 1880s) and others. All vaseline glass is uranium glass, but not all uranium glass is vaseline. It is like saying: all Chevys are cars, but not all cars are chevys.
Regards
David A. Peterson
author: VASELINE GLASS: CANARY TO CONTEMPORARY
editor: GLOWING REPORT
webmaster: vaselineglass.org