Jade-ite: Westmoreland 's Mint Green

by Uni and Keith Marbutt
Glass Review - December 1985

Glass doesn't always have to be `old' to be collectible or sought after. Such is the case with Westmoreland's "Mint Green" milk glass, circa 1979.

Westmoreland items Now closed, the Westmoreland Glass Company, founded in 1889, produced beautiful handmade glassware for nearly 100 years. Famous for their milk glass, this pastel green shade of milk glass was produced and sold for only two years, 1979 and 1980.

Unique in color, "Mint Green" was not Westmoreland's first attempt to create a green milk glass. In 1970, Master Chemist Dwight V. Johnson blended his chemicals to produce a slightly darker, more olive color called "Antique Green". He adjusted his formula for mint green in 1979.

Due to glass trends and public taste, mint green just wasn't appealing enough to survive the market - thus it's very short run.

Their Mint Green line was extensive! From animals to the traditional 1881 Grape, Westmoreland's quality shows in each piece. Items include:

The following list of items we've obtained but ARE NOT in the Westmoreland catalogs as the previous items are. We think most are experimental pieces although some could be catalog supplement or dealer incentive items:

Yes, Westmoreland also made "Soft Mist" but we'll tell you about that later.

Needless to say, Westmoreland glass in any color is becoming increasingly harder to find at their once reasonable prices. To date, we've been notified twice to "Get it NOW before it's GONE" and, thanks to Trudy Sparks, a past Gift Shop Manager at Westmoreland, we GOT IT! ... but not one of each, so we are still searching.