Federal Glass Petal Pattern #2829

You have probably seen one of these pieces at a yard or garage sale, or in an antique store on or off line, but unless you are a collector, you probably can't identify this distinctive pattern as "Petal" pattern # 2829 from the now defunct Federal Glass Company. At least, I couldn't for a very long time.

I was given a very large collection of this odd pattern by my "Other-Mother" Bobbi in the early 1990's. She had been picking them up at yard sales and thrift shops for over 20 years, and prided herself on never having paid more than a dollar for any given dish. While I appreciated very much the thought that prompted her gift to me of these 300 or so pieces of glass, I wasn't really thrilled about how much room they were going to take up, especially since they are so impractical to actually make use of. Truth is, I very nearly handed the entire collection off to a thrift store. I had no idea they were collectible. My first clue was seeing one plate marked $17.95 in a small antique shop in Brookings, Oregon. At first, I thought they had to be joking - surely nobody would pay that for a single dish. I was wrong - it sold quickly at full price. That's when I got serious about learning about this pattern and why collectors would pay so much for it.

It took me several visits to the library and to the book store to locate any information about this pattern. Given that it was produced up into the 1970's, it wasn't listed in any of the collectible glass books published at the time I received the collection. Now, some 15 years later, there are a couple of books that include this pattern, which is becoming more valuable as time goes by.

If you've ever wanted to collect glass, "Petal" pattern #2829 by Federal Glass Co. is an easily identifiable and still relatively inexpensive glass to begin collecting.