Black Vintage Friday on a Spring Day

A Vintage Black Friday in the first days of Spring.....doesn't sound quite right. We should be showing yellows, pinks, reds, and purples. You know, the colors of all the flowers just waiting to pop up in my yard. So I thought why not display a little something from France, of course to be fashionable, but also what better place to be than Springtime in Paris? Okay, that is a stretch for a tie-in, but please let me show you what I have.

A few years ago, I received some black glass dishes from my cousin Phil. He is actually my father's cousin and is in his 80's. These dishes had belonged to their aunt. It wasn't a full set, in fact there were two distinct sets being represented but all tied together by the solid color of the glass.


I have a stack of dinner and salad plates with an ornate edge, but no markings on the underside of the plates except what looks like a consistent 2 inch scratch in the center.

Then I have these 8 sided plates (both salad and dinner size - the photo shows the smaller size), 3 originally from my cousin, 8 more from Goodwill with yellow tag of $.59 and 7 with red tag at $.99 cents but 50% off that price. The dishes were found at two different GW's. These are all marked with FRANCE; however, some list a number right next to the letters while the rest have a number listed on the direct opposite side. Even though the plates are identical the numbers range from 4, 12, 15, 13, 17, 37, 47, 57, 55 and even 07 and 014.


These two creamers best represent the characteristics of each set of dishes, one is 8 sided and the other has the ornate edge. Again, both are solid black glass. The octagon creamer is also marked FRANCE with the number 13 but also a N5. It is my only FRANCE piece that includes a letter/number combo in addition to the marked number.

This photo shows 5 candy dishes/bowls all with similar shaped handles. The top row of three have identical handles with each handle displaying a three circle design. The bowl on the bottom right is marked with the letter C inside a small triangle.

Along with the assortment of plates, cups, saucers, and candy dishes, my cousin gave me an Elephant Ashtray, the larger of the 2 shown below. Again it has a center 2 inch scratch on the bottom as its only mark. Last summer, while looking through the craft section at Goodwill, I found a smaller but identical ashtray for $1.99, also with the scratch mark. As soon as I turned the corner of the aisle, I immediately spied it on the shelf next to some lime green balls of yarn. I was very careful not to knock down the lady standing there as I reached over to grab the piece. Luckily I do have long arms, even more lucky, she had only wanted the lime green yarn. To each their own tastes.

So these are my Vintage Black Treasures for today. Other than having either a specific looking center scratch or the word FRANCE with various numbers, I have no other information about these plates. Obviously, the ones from my cousin are old; however, I am not sure if the pieces I have found are also old or reproduction pieces. Any help would be appreciated. Even if I remain clueless as to their origin, it will be as the French say "C'est la vie". They are family pieces and will always be special to me.

*****UPDATE Linda of A La Carte has come to my rescue with information as to my dishes origin. The scalloped design is black-amethyst Depression Glass produced in the 1920's by L.E. Smith Co. Apparently, the company was founded in 1907 by Lewis E. Smith, a sometimes employed chef with a special mustard sauce recipe. The original purpose of the company was to manufacture glass containers for the sauce. To read more about the history of L.E. Smith company and to see better photos of the dishes, please click here. Thank you Linda for your assistance. It really is more fun when you know about a piece. To visit the ever knowledgeable Linda and her lovely Blog, please click here.

Please be sure to visit our lovely hostess Jill of Gypsy Brocante at the French Cupboard and all the other participants for today's Black Vintage Friday party. Please click here to see the list.

Also a quick reminder that my giveaway ends on April 10th. Please click here for details.

Wishing you all a lovely Easter. Have a good day.
Sherrie