A Cambridge Glossary, Circa 1934

By Mark A. Nye
January 2003 - Issue #357

At some time in the 1930's the Cambridge Glass Company sent out the following, probably included in a circular letter to retail buyers. It is not too clear what kind of document this was meant to be, nor whether it is even complete. Based on the list of colors and lines and the names used, we can assume it originated in 1933 or 1934.

"Cambridge is a hand-made plant. Everything produced in our factory is entirely hand made. We do not have any automatic or semi-automatic machines. All of the glass is pot glass.
"DIANE: this is a crystal pattern in deep plate etching. The stemware is a fine lead blown quality, very rich in lead and potash with a high resonance, and of course by this we are referring to the blank we are making now. The stemware you have in stock does not have quite as much 'ring' as the present output.
"ACHILLES: this is a Rock Crystal Engraving. The hollow ware pieces are all engraved in a design of deep cut Russian Diamond effect. This makes a very brilliant cutting. The quality of metal used in this stemware is the best we can produce. This pattern is a full acid polished cutting and is labeled 'Rock Crystal' at the factory.
"CROWN TUSCAN: this is a new, pinkish, ivory, translucent glass; somewhat resembling a very high grade china. This glass takes a very high fire polish, and the colorings in each piece vary slightly in an interesting manner.
"CROWN TUSCAN, D/1001: this pattern is the result of inlaying Crown Tuscan with 22-karat gold, burnt and polished. The first process in this work is to put on a deep plate etching; the etching is then filled with gold, and after the surface is carefully cleaned off so that only the gold down in the etching is left on the glass, then it is burnt. All of this gold work is of the very best quality and if properly used there is no danger of the gold wearing off.
"#3011 CARMEN: this stemware line has a nude figure stem in crystal, bowl of a very nice ruby red. This ruby is made in such a way that it does not give the appearance of being amberish nor does it have light red spots in it.
"#3011 VICHY: this stemware line is crystal with a modernistic deep plate etching. All crystal.
"FOREST GREEN: articles made in this color have a cool, green shade, reminding one of springtime forests, for which the color was named.
"ROYAL BLUE: this is a deep, cobalt blue.
"AMBER: Cambridge Amber is of the lustrous, sparkling type of Amber. There are not many others having this same quality in the same degree.
"AMETHYST: this is a medium purple. We also make Dianthus (Pink), Heatherbloom (Lavender), Topaz (Canary), Gold Krystol (Light Yellow), Ebony (Black), Emerald (Light Green), Eleanor (Light Blue).
"HEAT RESISTANCE: our salad plates, cups & saucers, vegetable dishes and other pieces supposed to stand heat, are annealed very carefully and thoroughly so that they will stand the ordinary usage they are intended for."

Note: D/1001 is Gold-Encrusted Portia, regardless of the color of the blank, hence the term "Crown Tuscan, D/1001" as used here is misleading.

Note: for a time during the 1930's, Cambridge renamed the color known as Willow Blue "Eleanor" or "Eleanor Blue," perhaps in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady at the time.