Anchor Hocking Depression Glass

Most Anchor Hocking Depression Glass was made by the Hocking Company prior to their merger with Anchor in 1937.

Anchor Hocking Glass Company still sits on the site of their original plant in Lancaster Ohio. The fire that destroyed the “black cat” plant in 1924 did not deter this firm’s determination to have an impact on glass making while continually trying to “grow” upward and outward. Today the company has a 1.3 million square foot distribution center as testament to this truth.

The Beginnings of Anchor Hocking Company

Isaac Collins and six friends founded Hocking Glass by managing to raise the $8,000 necessary to buy the Lancaster Carbon facility, also called Black Cat (1905). That amount wasn’t quite enough to get the company up and running so another investor, Mr. Good (whose name seems doubly apt) provided $17,000 and a goodly number of employees.

They named the company after a nearby river (the Hocking River) and went on to produce about $20,000 worth of glass by the end of the first year. At this juncture Anchor found another investor who would also become their Treasurer – Mr. Thomas Fulton.

Ashes to Ashes

The company seemed to be rolling extraordinarily well, that is until the plant burned down. True to the Anchor mooring, they were not to be moved by fire or anything else. They moved ahead and build another facility – this one designed just for glassware.

It was in this building that a pressed glass machine would be born. The invention was considered cutting-edge in the industry, giving the company a huge edge on its production rates. Even during the depression, they were able to stay afloat because the pressed glass machine kept costs to a minimum.

Anchor Hocking Depression Glass Patterns

These Depression Glass Patterns were made by Hocking Glass before their 1937 merger with Anchor:
Block Optic
Bubble
Cameo (Ballerina)
Circle
Colonial Knife and Fork
Coronation
Fire-King Philbe
Fortune
Hobnail
Lake Como
Mayfair Open Rose
Miss America
Old Cafe
Old Colony
Princess
Ring
Roulette
Royal Ruby
Spiral
Vitrock Flower Rim
Waterford Waffle

These Patterns were made by after 1937 merger with the Anchor Hocking name:
Manhattan
Oyster and Pearl
Queen Mary

1930s – 1960s

In the 1930s it was time to expand into different types of glassworks. The company merged with Anchor Cap and Closure Corporation to Become Anchor Hocking and began producing containers and beer bottles, which then led them to ingeniously making their own caps and closures! Other additions to the line during this period include cosmetic bottles and a variety of tableware.

In 1942 the company started making the Fire King line, which it made until the late 1970s. It is stil extremely popular with collectors today.

By the 1960s they Anchor had more than one plant in various states. The Anchor Hocking Glass Company became known as just Anchor Hocking Company since they’d now moved on to also producing plastics.

Up to Present:

Anchor Hocking continued to acquire all manner of companies both glass and otherwise. They continued making glassware, but also produced hardware, household furnishings, and even supplied office products.

Unfortunately even this creativity couldn’t completely protect Anchor Hocking from global financial difficulties. In 2006 they entered bankruptcy proceedings and it is uncertain whether the company will recover.

Here are the current Anchor Hocking Depression Glass listings on eBay:


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