"Ain't nobody here but us chickens."
I sometimes look askance when people call my recipes or my style "kitschy," but there's no denying that Glass Nesting Hens set the bar as high as it can go in the kitsch department. They range from gloriously vintage to relatively recent and make no mistake they are a THING.
A search on eBay for "Glass Hens" returns 7,800 results! And I'll bet you didn't have to grow up in Texas like I did to have seen one or more of these in somebody's house or kitchen, which meant whomever owned it was flying their great big kitschy flag with pride. There really is something super charming about them I think. Plus practical. A festive and decorative place to store so many things, jewelry, candy, even one's secret stash (whatever that might be).
So many shapes and sizes and colors! The pink Depression Glass-type one in this shot is one I'd really treasure. It reminds me of my mom's pink and green Depression Glass collection.
This green vintage Rosso one is HUGE and sells for forty bucks at the moment on Etsy.
The amber/rust color is so appealing. From Indiana Glass Company, 1960's.
Another amber from Indiana Glass - the Carnival series - but with gorgeous purple accents. This one sells for $110!
Indiana Glass Carnival again - also very pricey - I'm a pushover for this green and aqua.
Another magnificent amber. An underrated color that works with any decor in my opinion.
These are classic colors from Mosser Glass. More recent, post 1970's. That mint green one looks so familiar doesn't it?
Vintage Indiana Glass. Wouldn't this one look beautiful next to the tiny pink-colored Depression-type hen from the first photo?
Here's a bright red Mosser Glass hen - Mosser is known for reproductions of the earlier Indiana Glass hens - no one can quite match Mosser's quality and expertise at it.
This is the oldest Indiana Glass hen of the bunch, 1930's-1940's. I love it's color simplicity, and detail complexity. A real stand out!
"There are at least 100 glass companies that have produced at least 250 forms or sizes of glass hen covered dishes over the past 150 years. These dishes are referred to as an animal dish, trinket box, hen in a basket and hen on a nest. The official name originated from Westmoreland glass company in the 1930s. They coined the name “hen on a nest” which has been shortened to simply “hen on nest” by latter companies and collectors. Between 1890-1910 the glass hen dishes gained advertising and publicity when they were used to package condiments, mainly mustard.
Glass hen on nest covered dishes have been made in sizes ranging from less than 2 inches to 8 inches in length. In addition to the variation in size, the type and color of the glass ranges from depression glass, milk glass, carnival glass, open salts, pressed glass, Victorian glass and lead crystal. Even though to the untrained eye the dishes all look similar, there are various differences in glass companies that to the serious collector make each hen unique. There are some of these dishes worth hundreds of dollars!"
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Meanwhile, how about a little music to celebrate these vintage finds. Louis J. makes sure we know he's the chicken song man!