a gypsy caravan

at the beach

 

 

 

 

Collecting Beach Glass

I thought you might enjoy seeing our family's collection as well as learning about the different colors of glass.

Collecting beach glass has been a hobby of mine since I was a little girl.  My mother, father and I owned a sailboat for the better part of my life and we took each summer to sail around the Great Lakes, sometimes on weekend trips but often for a couple weeks or more.  We stopped many places and swam, walked the beaches and visited the neighboring towns.  It was during these trips that my parents and I often combed the beaches for interesting finds, a bucket of shells, a smooth rock, a handful of beach glass.

Until my oldest child was a preschooler, we lived about 1/4 mile from Edgewater Park.  I took him for a walk every single day to the beach, summer or winter, to get some exercise.  He has been collecting glass since he learned to stand.   Now, all the children like to search for it while we walk the beach.  I would estimate that we have about 10,000-15,000 pieces of glass.  They do not take up much room because many of them are so very tiny.  Most of ours is found at Mentor Headlands State Park.

Beach glass can be found on just about any shore, fresh or salt water. It is easiest to find glass on the shore with a prevailing wind.  Our Northern Ohio coastline provides an ample bounty of beach glass for this reason.  If there is a break wall parallel to your shore you may find far fewer pieces of glass.  Our beaches are plentiful during the Spring after the winter ice has thawed or after heavy summer storms. 

The weathering of beach glass occurs from water rushing about containing sand and stone.  This softens the edges of glass from sharp to soft and rounded.  It also causes the shininess of the glass to become more frosted in appearance.  The best place to find glass is within three feet of the shoreline, in either direction.  My children like to wade into the water ankle deep and watch, between waves, for glimpses of color on the sandy bottom.  Of course, one can only do that in the summer months.  I like to walk along the shoreline and search the rocky and pebbly edge right where the waves meet the sand.  Wet glass is easier to spot than dry glass, in my opinion.

Can you find any white beach glass in the above photo? 

A person could spend months investigating the history of glass and the science of coloring glass.  Here is a brief synopsis of some of the colors.

Common colors:

Kelly green, dark brown and clear (frosted)

The three most common colors of beach glass are kelly green, brown and clear (frosted).  Kelly green has been mass produced for the past fifty years.  It is mainly used for beer and soda bottles.  Out of every 10 pieces of glass found, two or three will be kelly green.  Dark brown bottles were made popular in the late 1800s and are currently used for domestic beer and liquor.  Clorox also used to package its product in dark brown bottles to keep the sunlight from weakening the bleach.  Three or four out of every ten pieces found will be dark brown.  Clear glass has been in use mainly following World War I.   Four out of ten pieces found will be clear.

Some uncommon colors:

Soft green and soft blue

Soft green mainly comes from Coca Cola bottles made from 1915-1970.   Baking soda, ink and fruit jars were also sometimes bottled in soft green.  Soft blue was used for fruit jars, medicine and ink.  Al so windows and windshields were made from soft blue glass.   One in 50-100 pieces of beach glass found will be soft green or blue.

Lime green

Lime green was used for Depression tableware in the mid 1900s as well as Vaseline bottles.  It was also used for soda bottles in the 1960s and 1970s.  Likelihood of finding a lime green piece of glass is 1 in 50.

Golden amber

Golden amber colored glass was used for medicine bottles, bitter bottles and spirits.  It has a more mustard-y tone that the more common dark brown glass.  The chances of finding this color is 1/25.

Some rare colors:

Cobalt blue and cornflower blue

Dark blue glass was used in the 1800s for medicine bottles.   Cobalt glass was more expensive to produce so very few beverage bottles were made in this color.  Cobalt glass has been used in the past fifty years for various product such as Vicks Vaporub and Milk of Magnesia.  Cornflower blue glass is harder to find than cobalt.  Cornflower is found approximately 1/500 times whereas cobalt is found in every 1/200 pieces of glass.

Opaque white (milk glass) and jadite

Milk glass was produced in the USA from about 1800 to 1950.  Used mainly for Ball jar lids, milk glass can be found in about 1 out of every 500 pieces.  Jadite was produced by the Anchor Hocking company in last mid century.  It was a popular every day dish and is still being collected today.  Its green hue is more rare than opaque white milk glass.

Extremely rare colors:
Orange, red, turquoise, teal, yellow

Transparent orange glass is found in 1 out of every 10,000 pieces of beach glass.  We have yet to find one.  It is found only in discarded orange tableware produced in the early 1900s.    Red glass is found from Schlitz bottles, cranberry glass, Victorian lamps and lanterns or automobile brake lights.  Chances of finding red glass are 1 in 5,000 pieces. Yellow glass was used for Depression era tableware.  It is found once every 3,000 pieces.  Teal glass was used for baking soda bottles, mineral water bottles and ink bottles.  Finding a piece may happen once in 2,500 pieces.

I have taken much information for this post from a lovely book that Mike bought for me a few years back.  It is titled Pure Sea Glass-Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems and is authored by Richard LaMotte with gorgeous photographs by Celia Pearson.  If you are interested in beach glass, are a beach glass collector or are simply interested in the history of glassmaking in the United States, you would find this book to be a wonderful addition to your family's library.  I have linked the book in my lefthand sidebar.  Also of interest, there is a wonderful beach glass jewelry store called Relish. It is the artistic brainchild of two sisters who pour their hearts into each piece of jewelry they make.  I much prefer beach glass to diamonds. :)  When you take a look at their beautiful work, you will see why!

Do any of you collect beach glass?  I'd love to see your photos!

Seaglass and Birthday Cakes

Our family spends a good portion of the Summer (Spring and Autumn, too) combing the beaches of Lake Erie for sea glass. A couple of years ago, we stumbled upon a lovely jewelry store called Relish. It is owned by two sisters who also share a love of beach glass and who make handcrafted jewelry from these treasures.

Because he is out of town on business this week, my husband emailed me some hints as to where he had hidden my birthday presents. After my hour long search, I found two small boxes containing a pair of earrings and a necklace from this delightful store. Thanks so much, Mike!

The children woke while it was still dark this morning and decorated our dining room with crepe paper and balloons. They gave me a package containing a garden tote with all new garden tools, gloves, and slogger clogs. I just cannot wait to get out in the yard and give them a try this season!

To further my birthday festivities, my mother took the day off from work and brought over my favorite cake--angel food with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Yum! I certainly am spoiled this birthday!