Vaseline Glass

The term “vaseline” is a latter-day term for 19th century glass that the makers called “canary” - after the color of the bird. Around 1900-1910, the dealers started calling it VASELINE, due to its similarity to the color of petroleum jelly of the day.

The term to Europeans means any kind of creamy yellow glass shading to white, a coloring, which resembles Vaseline ointment as it, used to be. In America, the term means specifically any kind of transparent yellow-green glass, which glows brightly under ultra-violet light because it contains uranium.

Some glass which is blue, green depression, custard, Burmese, teal or yellow in natural light might glow under a black light, but in order to fit the definition of VASELINE glass in America, it must be yellow-green in natural light and glow.

From 1840 (when it was first made) to 1863 (when soda-lime was invented), flint glass made with uranium salts has a very, very saturated yellow color- with almost a sheen to it. Viewed in sunlight, the green overtone can be seen. The vaseline glass made in Bohemia during this time was a much brighter yellow-green, referred to as 'Annagleb', named after the inventor of this shade of glass. After 1863, when the soda lime formula was invented, the traditional formula was modified, as lead was no longer used in the mix. This resulted in the color becoming a very pale yellow although in both cases, 1-2% of uranium salts was still being used to color the glass.

By the 1920's and 30's, some vaseline glass was being made, but the color was going out of vogue. Fostoria and Cambridge made some beautiful vaseline glass during the depression years that is true vaseline, but it looks different than what was made during 1885-1895. Today's vaseline glass is a very harsh yellow-green when compared to the glass made in 1885, but it still uses 1-2% of uranium salts to color it. Current manufacturers include: Fenton Glass, Summit Glass, & Mosser Glass.

Vaseline Collectors, Inc. VGCI, provides evidence of the great confusion in defining what is and is not Vaseline glass. The VGCI considers vaseline glass to be yellow or yellow-green (depending on if it is in room light or daylight). A glass dish can look yellow under incandescent lighting, but when it is taken outdoors, the UV of the sun will tickle the atoms, making the same piece look yellow-green. Also, when a flash camera is used on vaseline glass, it will make it appear more green than the eyes do, because the intense flash also 'tickles' the uranium atoms. 

Vaseline glass (in the USA) is defined by the VGCI to be yellow first and glow green under a blacklight second. Other countries have their own definition for vaseline glass. For instance, people in Australia use the words, 'vaseline glass' for any type of glass that has an opalescent rim. What we consider (in the USA) to be vaseline glass, they call citron or uranium glass. The British in the United Kingdom refer to glass that has a whispy opalescent treatment to be vaseline glass. What they call 'Primrose Pearline' (a trade name from Geo. Davidson & Son) is what the US collectors call 'vaseline glass'. 

In Germany, they did not differentiate and call all of it 'uranglas' and it can be yellow or green, as long as it has uranium in it and glows under a blacklight. glass brings more money than green depression glass. True vaseline glass does not have iron oxide added to the formula, which makes green depression glass a separate formula, and thus, is not considered to be vaseline glass.