Beautiful Depression Glass! American Sweetheart

MacBeth Evans manufactured American Sweetheart from 1930 to 1936, one of the longer durations during the depression when so many companies went under. This is a delicate mold-etched depression glass pattern with a graceful design and pretty colors.

Look at this wonderful dinner plate with its delicate white glass and scalloped shape. The shape and color are perfect with the tracery and swagged design.

You will find a lot of pink clear American Sweetheart pieces and it looks like MacBeth Evans made every piece in pink. Their pink is a lovely soft pink with no orange tones, really a true baby pink.

Pink depression glass remains among the most popular color . No surprise with with the beauty of the design, pink American Sweetheart is probably the most pursued color and one of the most enduring favorites among collectors.

The picture is the pink dinner plate, a very nice piece.

Personally I'm not a big fan of milk glass, but the white glass used here is different. It is so thin it almost looks ethereal, especially with this gorgeous design. We're showing the soup bowl, which is one of the harder to find pieces.

One thing you will notice right away with American Sweetheart that is true for most glass from MacBeth Evans, is that it is fairly thin and looks delicate. This pattern only looks delicate - it seems to be more robust than others as we've not had much problem with chipping or rough spots.

MacBeth Evans is probably best known for American Sweetheart, Petalware and Dogwood depression patterns. All three came in the same pretty shade of pink plus other colors. Dogwood came in green also while American Sweetheart and Petalware were made in white and cream colors.

MacBeth Evans made a lot of white glass with colored designs or pressed motifs like American Sweetheart and later Chinex or Cremax. Eventually Corning Glass bought the company, and of course Corning eventually produced Corelle dinnerware.

MacBeth Evans made a beautiful thin, translucent white glass they called Monax and used it for American Sweetheart to great effect. Initially this Monax glass was almost opalescent, so pieces will look blue in places and have a shimmering effect on the edges. This is a white white, not cream or an off white.

You can find a full set in Monax. My books show Monax with various trims around the edges and we have had pieces in stock that had traces of gold on the rims.

This picture shows a cup with traces of gold on the rim.

You can find every piece of American Sweetheart in pink. The picture shows the cereal bowl here, which is a little small if you like cereal but perfect for a small salad.

Besides the Monax white and pink, MacBeth Evans made a few other colors and trims, but there are fewer pieces of each of these.

Peg bottom sherbets that fit into small metal cups were made in crystal and there were a few pieces made in cobalt blue and red, but these are far less common. If you like the pattern and want a set that you can use then collecting pink or Monax would be a wise choice. There are fewer pieces in the trimmed Monax but sufficient for table use.

American Sweetheart is a moderately expensive depression pattern. As usual, tumblers, pitchers and soup bowls are among the pricey pieces. Tumblers only came in pink and range from 60 to $150 today and soups range from $60 to $160.

Pricing between Monax and pink is fairly close, with the pink being slightly more expensive on some pieces and Monax higher on others. Particularly desirable pieces are the Monax sugar lid and lamp shade, pink pitcher, and both colors of salt and pepper shakers.

This picture is the pink oval platter.

Chips, rough spots, wear and cracks are the bane of every glass lover! I sometimes think I buy my glass, wrap it and box it where it sulks. The plates whine to the cups and the cups complain to the bowls. And they develop spontaneous chips. Ummm, no, not really. But it's a nice story!

We've had very few damage problems with American Sweetheart. The plates and bowls do not have sharply defined ridges where the rims meet the center, which is such a problem spot in other glass. Do be careful of the protruding points between the larger scallops on most pieces and of course check for rough spots on the edge of the rim and along the top and bottom of the rim. If you like the trimmed Monax glass then check the trim condition and also its color.

Sorry for the bad pun.

American Sweetheart doesn't seem to scratch as badly as some patterns; at least we have not come across pieces with a lot of wear. Maybe the original owners used this for their good dishes since it looks so delicate and pretty or we have just been lucky.

It is always worth asking about rough spots and wear when you buy without seeing and holding the glass. One time we went to an outdoor Michigan January auction and bought a beautiful pink soup bowl. We inspected it many times and found no damage, but I detected a tiny rough spot when listing it. That's a good lesson, that if someone else touches your glass after you, that you want to reconfirm condition. The other lesson is not to try and feel rough spots when your hands are frozen!

This dinner plate shows some wear which we have a close up of. It looks terrible but in fact the wear is pretty trivial!.