How to know what you are looking at
Everything here comes out of handling this stuff week in, week out — what the mark on the base means, which reproductions are convincing, and what actually makes one piece worth more than the one next to it. No valuations, no guesswork dressed up as certainty.
Glassware
Identifying vintage Pyrex
Which Pyrex pattern you have, what the backstamp on the bottom is telling you, and how to date a piece without guessing — from a resale seller who handles it weekly.
photo
Glassware
Fire-King jadeite marks
Three companies made jadeite and the reproductions have got good. What the base of the piece tells you, why colour is the worst test, and the marks to look for.
photo
Seasonal
Shiny Brite, real vs repro
How to tell an original mid-century Shiny Brite from a modern reissue, what the cap and the box tell you, and why the wartime ones look so different.
photo
Glassware
Collecting Fenton glass
Fenton made glass for over a century and signed almost none of it until 1970. Here is how to date a piece by its mark, its finish and its shape.
photo
Collecting
Vintage vs. antique
The 100-year rule, the 20-year rule, and why “retro” is doing something different. A short, practical explainer for anyone buying secondhand.
Got something you cannot place?
Send a couple of photos — the base, and the piece from the side. Happy to take a look.