Akro Agate - Fun Glass!
Confession - the first time I saw
the Akro Agate mark (on the bottom of
the pieces of a child's tea set), my first thought
was, "Huh. When did Anheuser-Busch make glass toys?
In my defense, the mark is tiny.
(See? And this picture is larger than lifesize.)
Turns out that's not an eagle flying through that capital A, but a crow. (A crow. Get it? Akro.) What's more, way, waaaaay too small to see, the crow is carrying marbles in his claws and beak.
Which makes sense when you know how Akro Agate started out, as a company making marbles in Akron Ohio.
History
Beginning in a workshop over the founders' shoe store, the Akro Agate name was trademarked in 1911, and soon moved to larger quarters, before relocating to Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1914.
Up to the 1930s, Akro Agate was primarily a manufacturer of marbles. Early Akro marbles are extremely collectible, but marble collecting is a very specialized field - do plenty of research before investing a lot of money!
In the mid-1930s the company began branching out into other product lines, including ash trays and children's toy dishes. The dishes were a slow seller when they were introduced.
Then in 1936, the Westite plant in West Virginia burned down, and Akro Agate bought up the company's molds and usable equipment. This is where they began making the products they are best known for today, the flower pots, planters and jardinieres. These proved to be very popular. Akro Agate made their pots and planters in bright opaques and swirly slag glass.
Because of the mold purchase, distinguishing early period Akro Agate planters from Westite planters can be difficult, since the Akro mark was not added till later. Collectors usually make the determination based on whether the planter is in bright colors characteristic of Akro Agate, or in Westite's more muted earth tones.
Akro Agate also made jars and pots for cosmetics, and tiny urns used as toothpick holders. I'm sure anyone who's been into an antique store has seen the slag glass cornucopia toothpick.
World War II brought another change to Akro Agate's fortunes, as the cutoff of imports from Japan meant an end to inexpensive toy china sets, and demand for Akro Agate's glass sets skyrocketed. These sets were in Akro's trademark bright opaque glass or slag glass (with some in clear colored glass), and sets in their original box are quite valuable today. Even unmatched pieces in the popular colors can be worth quite respectable sums.
Following the end of WWII, Akro Agate's fortunes declined, unable to compete with cheap imported china and the advent of plastic, and the company closed its doors in 1951.
Collecting Akro Agate - continued on next page
In my defense, the mark is tiny.
(See? And this picture is larger than lifesize.)
Turns out that's not an eagle flying through that capital A, but a crow. (A crow. Get it? Akro.) What's more, way, waaaaay too small to see, the crow is carrying marbles in his claws and beak.
Which makes sense when you know how Akro Agate started out, as a company making marbles in Akron Ohio.
History
Beginning in a workshop over the founders' shoe store, the Akro Agate name was trademarked in 1911, and soon moved to larger quarters, before relocating to Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1914.
Up to the 1930s, Akro Agate was primarily a manufacturer of marbles. Early Akro marbles are extremely collectible, but marble collecting is a very specialized field - do plenty of research before investing a lot of money!
In the mid-1930s the company began branching out into other product lines, including ash trays and children's toy dishes. The dishes were a slow seller when they were introduced.
Then in 1936, the Westite plant in West Virginia burned down, and Akro Agate bought up the company's molds and usable equipment. This is where they began making the products they are best known for today, the flower pots, planters and jardinieres. These proved to be very popular. Akro Agate made their pots and planters in bright opaques and swirly slag glass.
Because of the mold purchase, distinguishing early period Akro Agate planters from Westite planters can be difficult, since the Akro mark was not added till later. Collectors usually make the determination based on whether the planter is in bright colors characteristic of Akro Agate, or in Westite's more muted earth tones.
Akro Agate also made jars and pots for cosmetics, and tiny urns used as toothpick holders. I'm sure anyone who's been into an antique store has seen the slag glass cornucopia toothpick.
World War II brought another change to Akro Agate's fortunes, as the cutoff of imports from Japan meant an end to inexpensive toy china sets, and demand for Akro Agate's glass sets skyrocketed. These sets were in Akro's trademark bright opaque glass or slag glass (with some in clear colored glass), and sets in their original box are quite valuable today. Even unmatched pieces in the popular colors can be worth quite respectable sums.
Following the end of WWII, Akro Agate's fortunes declined, unable to compete with cheap imported china and the advent of plastic, and the company closed its doors in 1951.
Collecting Akro Agate - continued on next page
Copyright 2005
by Joyce Lee Harmon