Goofus Glass---So ugly, it's cute

I think Goofus Glass is so ugly, it's cute! I've got a cute little bright yellow Goofus Glass vase sitting on my computer desk, as shown in my Saturday, 8/23/08 post titled "Where Bloggers Create" Tour. There was a comment asking what a goofus vase was and requesting a close-up, so here goes......


Goofus Glass can be pretty gaudy! It comes in really bright colors like red, gold, green, bronze, etc, and the paint starts flaking after a while because it was cold-painted (painted but not fired). In fact, someone currently has a listing on eBay of my little vase, only in the original colors (read on for more about my yellow paint probably not being original) and they said it looked like something from the Adams Family (ha! ha!).



The vases which I've seen that are like mine----only 5-1/4" tall, with a raised rosebud design--were usually painted a bright, funky shade of pink, with gold. I'm thinking that my bright yellow paint is not original because it's all on the inside of the vase and also because of the color (the red that is showing in the photos is actually something in the background showing through the vase where the color has flaked off). I bet the original paint was flaking off and someone scrubbed it all off and somehow painted the inside. What do you think? I'm not an expert or anything, so this is just a guess. I would love to get your opinion.



I started liking Goofus Glass years ago when I bought a large red & gold vase; later, I bought one of those antiques guides about Goofus Glass to read up on it, as I had never heard of it. I bought this cutie for a mere pittance at an antiques mall in Waxahachie a few years ago and it's been on my desk ever since.



A little history of Goofus Glass:

From what I've read, most Goofus Glass dates from the period of about ten to fifteen years around the turn of the last century, (1897 to around 1912) although it continued to be produced into the 1920s. It was made by several prominent American factories, especially Indiana Glass. It was made in large quantities and was cheap and affordable.

It was also given as premiums for buying things and was awarded as prizes at fairs and thus, was actually the first "carnival glass" prior to the iridescent glass referred to as Carnival Glass today!