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

A frosted Hazel Atlas tumbler where a covered wagon rolls through a cloud of dust beneath a scroll reading "Oklahoma," above a lemon-yellow map bristling with oil derricks.

• Maker: Hazel Atlas Glass Co., with Gay Fad Decorating Co.
• Pattern: State Souvenir Map, Oklahoma
• Materials: Frosted glass with raised fired-on color illustration
• Dimensions: 4.75″ tall, 2.6″ diameter
• Origin: USA
• Era: Vintage 1950s
• Condition: Excellent, with no flaws. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

On the front, a covered wagon rolls across the plains under a scroll banner reading "Oklahoma," with a cowboy on horseback above. The map is printed in lemon yellow, a cooler shade than the canary yellow used on some of the other state glasses in the series. It marks several cities like: Oklahoma City, Woodward, Clinton, Lawton, and Edmond, with the Red River along the bottom. Small illustrations include oil derricks, wheat by Enid, cotton by Ponca City, cowboys, and Indians. The fired-on design is raised. The glass is signed "GF" just below Durant, off the map itself. The base is marked "HA" for Hazel Atlas.

A great find for the collector building a fifty-state set, for an Oklahoman, and for anyone who loves Western Americana.

The covered wagon points to Oklahoma's pioneer story. On April 22, 1889, thousands of settlers raced by wagon, horse and foot to claim land in the Unassigned Lands in the Land Run, and the "Sooners" who slipped in before the official start gave the state its nickname. Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907. The map also marks the oil, wheat, cotton, corn and ranching that built its economy.

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, and 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.