Tumbler: Hazel Atlas, State Map Souvenir Glass, Maryland, Gay Fad, Vintage 1950s

A frosted Hazel Atlas tumbler that seats Francis Scott Key with the anthem's sheet music open on his lap, Maryland's towns and Chesapeake shoreline mapped in sunny yellow. Few road-trip souvenirs come with a story this good.  There's lots of history in this glass.

• Maker: Hazel Atlas Glass Co., with Gay Fad Decorating Co.
• Pattern: State Souvenir Map, Maryland
• Materials: Frosted glass with raised fired-on color illustration
• Dimensions: 4.75″ tall, 2.625″ diameter
• Origin: USA
• Era: Vintage 1950s
• Condition: Very Good vintage condition, no visible flaws. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

The yellow map is lettered in black and marks Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Rockville, Bel Air, Cambridge and Easton, with the Chesapeake Bay and the Mason-Dixon Line along the top. Washington, D.C. is shown by name on the map. Francis Scott Key sits with open sheet music on his lap, and directly beneath the word "Maryland," the opening line of the anthem, "Oh, say can you see," curves in script. The fired-on design is raised. The glass is signed "GF" at the lower right of the map, and the base is unmarked.

A great find for the collector building a fifty-state set, for a Marylander, a Baltimore native or a history teacher, and a lovely Fourth of July gift.

Francis Scott Key was a Maryland lawyer who, in September 1814 during the War of 1812, watched the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor from a vessel where he had gone to negotiate a prisoner's release. When the smoke cleared at dawn and the flag was still flying, he wrote the poem that became "The Star-Spangled Banner." It was set to a popular tune of the day and was made the national anthem by Congress in 1931. For younger generations who may only know the song from the ballpark, this glass shows exactly where it began.

That small "GF" is worth a look. It stands for Gay Fad Studios, founded by Fran Taylor, who started decorating glassware at home in 1939 because she couldn't find anything but heavy, formal, Victorian-style pieces for casual entertaining. She built that idea into an international company based in Lancaster, Ohio, that ran until 1962, she was one of the few women running a glassware company at the time. Gay Fad bought plain blanks from makers like Hazel Atlas and hand painted, or silk screened them, with whimsical designs. Collectors still celebrate the pieces, and the studio has been revived in Lancaster with a museum of original glassware.

The Hazel Atlas Corporation was founded in 1885 in Wellsburg, WV, by Charles N. Brady and C.H. Tallman. It began by making glass inserts for zinc canning-jar lids and grew into the largest glass-container manufacturer in the world. In 1956 it was acquired by the Continental Can Company.

Browse our shop for more Hazel Atlas state souvenir glasses to round out your collection.