The Imperial Glass Company operated from ~1906-1984. They made slag glass from 1959-1976 and again in 1982. Many productions of their slag pieces only ran for a couple of years or less. While some companies today continuously churn 'collectable' and endless variations of so-called 'limited edition' glass pieces, the pieces made by Imperial are truly limited by time and lost production methods. The number of pieces are getting fewer every day as pieces are broken. Collecting glass made by Imperial and other extinct companies is more difficult, but also more rewarding, especially when you finally uncover some rare item for a good price in an unexpected place.
As for slag glass, with Imperial and their contemporaries such as Westmoreland, the glass is hand mixed, hand pressed in molds, and then finished by hand. Every piece is unique with different ratios of colored glass, and different motions of swirling. Every piece is unique in its amount of swirls, its definition between colors and blending, and the tones of its colors. Sometimes pieces have a fair level of streaks of blue mixed in, sometimes none at all. This all gives each piece a true unique personality, though all are beautiful.
Slag glass was first commercially made in the Victorian era of the late 1800s and was usually purple (often referred to as Purple Malachite). These pieces very often take on a moody, dark aura. I find it surprising that these pieces are way underappreciated in the market. I've gotten some for the minimum asking bid of $5 at auction - even if the piece only fits your idea of a Halloween decoration, this is a bargain! Imperial 'rediscovered' this glass and set out to make their own slag line in 1959 in purple, and then later in caramel, ruby, and finally jade slag. A few blue slag items exist too. A few contemporaries followed suit and made their own slag glass product lines in the same manner with beautiful results, but Imperial was the biggest (and we think the best). We highly recommend some books below that in more detail explains the history of slag glass, and Imperial Glass in general.
Though we have lived in several states, and have enjoyed antiques (especially glass) for 20+ years, we didn't discover Imperial slag glass until fairly recently. Outside of Ohio and surrounding states, it is amazingly difficult to come across in routine antique malls or in people's homes (in fact, most antique dealers outside that region have no clue what we are talking about when we ask if they have seen any Imperial slag glass recently). On a routine drop by at an antique mall, we saw one piece and had to buy it, and then a year later, another piece at another store. That made us dig in and look into it. We found it very hard to find much information online, but we did figure out the existence of a couple of books that could help (some listed below). We bought, we read, we found the right key word searches for online stores and auctions, and found more pieces. We finally journeyed to Ohio/West Virginia/Pennsylvania and was surprised to find most antique stores there had at least a few pieces, and we made a couple hauls back home. Over the last couple years, we have built a collection of most catalogued pieces as well as several rare test items or whimseys. On this site, we want to provide the public an idea of Imperial slag glass so they may recognize and appreciate it. Perhaps even collect and work to preserve it. The pictures on this site are of pieces in our private collection unless explicitly state otherwise.
(site is under construction - we will be filling in pages and pictures over time showing various examples and pieces of Imperial slag)
The bible of mid-century slag glass! Complete catalogue of slag glass made by Imperial, L.G. Wright, Westmoreland, and Fenton from 1959-1985. Some information on slag made by other companies. Lots of whimsey pieces documented, great pictures, and information on dates made and maker marks. This is a must have for any slag collector.
Many of our pieces were purchased from them and a few are pictured in the book. They operate an ebay store page: https://www.ebay.com/usr/annamabel
https://www.amazon.com/Slag-Marble-Glass-Westmoreland-Collectors/dp/076432652X
This three volume encyclopedia documents, alphabetically, all of Imperial's product lines, designs, and more. This book is an authoritative resource, developed by the National Imperial Glass Collectors' Society in the early-mid 1990s with original primary resources from factory records and former Imperial Glass employees. Descriptive, with lots of pictures. Includes nice sections on Imperial's slag colors. In the pictures, some whimsey items are shown as well.
Though we are recently new members of the society, it is clearly a deep source of expertise. Yearly conventions bring Imperial glass collectors together from all over, as well as former factory workers and experts. The Society also runs the National Imperial Glass Museum and Gift Shop in Bellaire OH, just blocks away from where the factory once stood. The gift shop may only have a few pieces of slag for sale, but the museum has a wonderful collection of slag on display including several very hard to find pieces. The museum also documents glass production methods, and Imperial's extensive variety of glass made throughout their history.
This neat little book has a two page introduction, largely focused on Imperial's slag glass, followed by pictures and short descriptions of Imperial's catalogued slag glass items, as well as Fenton, LE Smith, Kanawha, and several others. The comments regarding item availability are somewhat outdated in the era of online marketplaces but speaks well to the relative scarcity and commonality of items. This book does not recognize the many whimsey or test items that exist. Nonetheless, the descriptions for each piece contain neat tidbits of information, including original prices. The sections on LE Smith, Kanawha, and other makers also are a helpful resource to identify the many common slag items from these makers.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.