Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette A 1920s Colonial Revival vase in canary yellow, left, from Tiffin Glass Co. and a 1900s enameled glass Mont Joye vase from France, above, will be among offerings at the antiques show. Click photo for larger image. The 30th Antiques Show & Sale When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 19; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 20. Where: Castle Shannon Memorial Hall, Route 88 (Library Road) and Grove Road. Admission: $4; free parking. Information: 412-323-1195.

Victorians never knew the meaning of the phrase "gilding the lily."

"Victorian glass got really, really fussy for awhile. Every piece of glass was completely covered with designs," said Dorothy Fels, president of the Historical Glass Club of Pittsburgh.

The Victorians' devotion to decoration also included a love of fresh flowers, which they plucked regularly from their gardens and displayed in beautiful vases.

Next weekend, during its 30th Antiques Show & Sale, the Historical Glass Club of Pittsburgh will showcase a collection of elegant vases from the Victorian era, between 1870 to 1900, as well as more modern work from the 20th century. The exhibit is just one part of the show and sale, which includes not only antique glass but also china, antique jewelry, linens, silver, furniture and pottery.

The earliest vase is an old single-handled bottle, called an ewer, that was excavated near Syria. Buried in a tomb before the birth of Christ, the blue glass is faintly iridescent and was purchased by Douglas M. Lucas, a glass collector and antique dealer, from Dargate Galleries in the East End.

During his travels to Egypt, glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany admired similar pieces, said Lucas, a dealer for 35 years. When he returned to the United States, an inspired Tiffany experimented with mineral salts to create a similar iridescent look with his signature Favrile glass. Fenton Glass Works in Williamstown, W.Va., still produces a kind of iridescent glass.

An example of cameo glass can be seen in a small, hand-blown vase that was dipped in a cloud of amber, then frosted. Strictly decorative, it was known as a cabinet piece and made by Emil Galle, a French designer, scientist and poet whose name was synonymous with Art Nouveau.

An aqua green vase rimmed in gold and decorated with enameled glass irises is a type of French glass called Mont Joye.

A canary yellow vase, made by the Ohio-based company Tiffin in the town of the same name, typifies what collectors call vaseline glass because it resembles the color of petroleum jelly. Made during the 1920s, it comes from America's Colonial Revival era.

Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette A cabinet piece of French cameo glass by Emil Galle from the late 1890s will be among the pieces at the show. Click photo for larger image.

In addition to vases, the tables of affluent Victorian families groaned with lead cut crystal glass.

"Victorians had so much glass on their tables I don't know where they had room for their food," Fels said.

Typically, Victorian tables held celery vases. So rare and costly were the tall stalks that they were carried to the table in water-filled vases with great ceremony. Serving celery was one way the showy Victorians let their friends know they had arrived.

Then, there were silver-plated pickle casters, and sterling silver or silver-plated condiment sets made up of six glass bottles filled with dressings that rested atop a carousel. Plus enough silverware to befuddle the most sophisticated diner.

When the glass press was invented in America in 1825, mass production of pressed glass became faster and cheaper and the average consumer began buying entire sets of glassware for their dining room tables.

"The average person, who wasn't a Frick, tried to emulate this. They couldn't afford sterling silver, so they would buy very inexpensive glass. It was not cut, it was pressed in the patterns of the cut glass," Fels said.

Next weekend's show also offers attendees a chance to learn more about what they already own in a homegrown version of PBS's "The Antiques Roadshow."

"You can come with your vase. Somebody always seems to have the answer," Fels said, adding that Lucas and Miles Bausch, owners of Miles Douglas Galleries at Mahla Antiques, can usually identify the maker of a glass piece.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette Douglas M. Lucas of Miles Douglas Galleries will be displaying some of its glass vases at the 30th Antiques Show & Sale next weekend at Castle Shannon Memorial Hall. Click photo for larger image.

One of Bausch's novelty glass pieces dates to his boyhood. During the Depression, makers of the breakfast cereal Wheaties packed their boxes with blue milk pitchers bearing a silk-screened image of child star Shirley Temple. To this day, Bausch still eats his Wheaties. But the milk pitcher resides in a display case.

Depression-era glass was given away at movie houses or arrived in American homes through promotional offers. Swan's Down Cake Flour promoted cake plates.

"It's a pleasant glass in these pretty pastel colors -- pale pink, pale green, pale blue. It was cheap. You could buy Depression glass for practically nothing," Fels said.

Now, Depression glass is popular with collectors and prices are so high that the name no longer fits.

"It's very pricey. It's also reproduced. You have to be really careful," Fels said.

The club hopes to attract about 600 people to its annual show.

"We've had a very good response this year from outside dealers because a couple of shows didn't happen this year," Fels said.