Vaseline glass is a yellow-green glass color obtained by adding 2% uranium dioxide to ingredients. Its definition varies worldwide, but it is mildly radioactive and safe. It was popular in the Victorian era but production stopped during WWII. Today, it is collected and used for decorative items.
Vaseline glass has a long history of controversy; even its definition has been the source of endless bickering among fans around the world. American Vaseline Glass Collectors, Inc. defines it as “a particular yellow-green glass color that is obtained by adding two percent uranium dioxide to ingredients when glass is made” and insists that it will always glow fluorescent green under a black light. Collectors in the UK refer to any translucent glass with a greasy sheen as Vaseline Glass, and Australians define it as glass with an opalescent rim. The Germans keep things simple and refer to any glass that glows under a black light as uranium glass.
Although there are cases of uranium being used to color glass as far back as the Roman Empire, the first major uranium glass maker was Josef Riedel, who mixed uranium salts into molten glass to turn it a brilliant yellow-green. He named his creation “Annagelb” (Anna Yellow) in honor of his wife, but it was commonly referred to as glass canary. It wasn’t until the early 20th century, when people noticed the similarity of color and appearance of glass to the recently invented petroleum jelly, that the term “Vaseline glass” started to catch on.
Vaseline glass is mildly radioactive, but doesn’t contain enough uranium to be harmful. Many glassblowers who worked with uranium glass, especially during its heyday in the Victorian era, are said to have died young of lung cancer, but medical experts dismiss the notion that the cancer was caused from uranium. However, the controversy remains. The production of uranium glass came to a sudden halt during World War II when governments seized all stockpiles of uranium out of fear that it would fall into the hands of their enemies. The ban was lifted fifteen years later in 1958, but Vaseline Glass’s brilliant reputation had been tarnished and it had fallen out of everyday use. The idea of sipping coffee from a radioactive cup had become understandably distasteful.
Today, Vaseline Glass is the domain of collectors. Vaseline glass has been used extensively for tableware, candlesticks, vases and decorative items, so collectors have a variety of items to choose from. Savvy collectors suggest centering collections around a theme, like perfume atomizers, to avoid ending up with a random yellow-green glass jumble. While pieces made before 1920 tend to command a higher value, prices are well within the range of what average consumers can afford, so there’s no reason anyone couldn’t own a piece of this bizarre , controversial, luminous glass, if you dare.
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