Blenko Archive - Blenko Colors, How to Idenfiy

Alongside design, color is one of the most important aspect of Blenko glass. The founder, William J. Blenko was foremost an expert chemist and colorist. With Blenko's auspicious beginning as a manufacturer of specialty stained glass to some of the most prestigious venues and artists in the 1920's it is no wonder that it is the intense and beautiful colors that still draw people to Blenko glass today.

Among seasoned collectors, color often affects value. Though no one color is inherently more valuable than another (that changes with fashion and personal taste), many collectors have preferences for which they will pay a premium. Rarity of color will also drive value. With an average of seven colors in production each year there are twelve colors that were produced for only one or two years.

Correctly identifying a color can assist in more precisely dating a piece. Each design was produced in every color that was in production in the years it was made. Even a design made for only one year would have been made in all the colors available that year (on average seven colors). There are only very few exceptions to this; perhaps a dozen designs are noted in the original catalogs as only being available in limited colors.

For colors that are similar (Emerald & Nile, Sea Green & Surf Green, Jonquil & Gold, Mulberry & Lilac, etc) knowing the years of production of a design can often help determine the design's proper color name.

About Variants of Colors' Appearance
Blenko colors may vary in darkness, intensity and even in coloration due to changes in formulation or accidents (the result of a batch being mixed slightly differently from the formulae; small mis-measurements can result in significant color differences in the final product). For any color known to have significant and regular variants we have provided a comparison photo of the variants below.

About Blenko Color Names
To avoid confusion we only use the official names given to each color by the Blenko Glass Company as printed in their catalogs. For example "Blenko blue" is not the name of a color it is a redundant nickname for the color properly called "Turquoise." Similarly "amberina" (a gradation of yellow, orange & red) is not an official Blenko color name; rather it is a descriptive term. For Blenko, only Tangerine may appear amberina, however, not all Tangerine items appear amberina; Tangerine may also appear as solid red or orange.

Sources
The color lists below are compiled from vintage catalogues. It is likely that in the Early Period tableware items were produced in additional colors to those we list. Because Early Period catalogs were always undated, it is also problematic to definitively say what colors were produced in what specific years prior to 1948. Colors in production in those years are merely indicated by a generic "pre-1948."

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