A staple of any Mid-Century themed bar collection, Culver glass was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1939. The original vintage 22 karat gold patterns of Culver are extensive – from gilded mushrooms, owls, cats, Egyptian and Asian inspired design themes, scrolling leaf patterns, holiday designs, sports motifs and many others. The gilded Moroccan-style trellis and raised emerald green diamonds of the Valencia pattern (shown above) became their most popular pattern in cocktail ware. These vintage Culver designs are highly collectible and remain popular today. I came across my set of Valencia pattern lowballs at an estate sale, and couldn’t pass them up!
The Culver brand continued to flourish during the 1980s & 1990s, and during that period Culver was the largest importer of ice buckets and bar accessories in the United States. In 1996 Culver was purchased by Moderne Glass Company, Inc., based out of Aliquippa, PA. Culver became the exclusive glassware decorator of Fiesta in 1997, and they still have products available to purchase on their website.
(Source: Culver)
This was fun! We had those glasses growing up, and I still have a few (the green and gold whiskey glasses. I had no idea the company was still around!