Libbey Glass, Inc., Toledo, Ohio
(1888-to date)
The “cursive L” trademark is frequently seen embossed on the bases of various tableware items, especially tumblers and other drinking glasses, barware, wine glasses and stemware for home use as well as commercial and institutional use.
Julian Toulouse, in Bottle Makers and their Marks (1971), page 327, illustrates the cursive L inside a “double circle” or “double-ring” as introduced circa 1924. A cursive capital L inside a three-segmented circle (i.e. a broken circle, or circle with 3 gaps) is shown with a 1937 introductory date; that same mark is also mentioned on page 49 of 400 Trademarks on Glass (Arthur G. Peterson, 1968) as introduced in 1937 but discontinued sometime previous to publication of his book. This 1937 date is presumably based on a check into the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records.
The “cursive L” within an ordinary circle or ring is shown as being introduced in 1955 by both Toulouse and Peterson. In actual practice, this mark often appears backwards if viewed from outside the glass, looking at the base, which means of course it appears correctly when looking down through the inside.
ADVERTISEMENT
In more recent years the cursive L is typically plain, not inside a circle. Although on many items the mark is clear and easy to see, on some pieces this mark is lightly embossed and appears rather faint, occasionally almost invisible or “smeared”. Sometimes the mark may be likened to the appearance of a short curly hair embedded on the surface of the glass. In a few cases it might have an appearance vaguely resembling the cursive letter “Q“, or perhaps a gracefully designed looped numeral “2“. The “cursive L” mark is currently still in use (as of 2024).
Libbey has made many millions (or more likely, billions) of glasses including bar tumblers, water glasses, tea glasses, goblets and other drinkware over many years, and it is likely that the majority of households in the United States have at least one Libbey-made glass item in their kitchen cupboard! All Libbey glassware is not marked, although much of it is.
Libbey purchased Crisa, based in Mexico, in 2006 and much of that glassware is now sold under the “Crisa” brand name.
Libbey used several other trademarks in their early years of glass production which are not commonly seen, such as on cut glass tableware items.
Check this site (cutglass.org) for an informative article on Libbey with some details on their earlier history and marks: Article about Libbey Glass by Frank O Swanson.
For a brief summary of their corporate history, check out Libbey’s history webpage here:
https://www.libbey.com/our-story
For an extensive list of glass manufacturers’ marks seen on bottles, fruit jars, insulators, tableware and other items, please check out the GLASS BOTTLE MARKS pages, here starting on Page One.
Please click here to go to my Home Page.
ADVERTISEMENT
I have a small shot glass with the cursive L on it and the number 3 to the left of the L. I am assuming this was made by Libbey, but what does the 3 stand for?
Hi Gordon,
The “3” is a mold number – identifying the particular mold the shot glass was made in.
Hope this helps,
David
Hi David! Wonderful site on Libbey glass! I have a set of tumblers with the Cursive L on the bottom in 2 halves of a circle, but there is a number 3 and 5 on either side of the L. My tumblers are pink, white and black and I saw a set in an older advertising and it was called Turquoise Ripple. The ad says “Thriftee” glasses to match your every mood!
Any help would be appreciated as I have never seen this mark before. Mold number perhaps?
Thank you,
Rose
Hi Rosemary,
To be honest with you I’m not personally familiar with the tumblers you describe. I found a number of Libbey tumblers for sale on ebay and they were described as “Aqua Ripple” and a magazine ad showed they were introduced circa 1955. Other colors were also available such as “Honey Ripple” (amber). (By the way, pink, white and black were very popular decor colors during the 1950s). The two numbers that are part of the mark (Cursive L inside a “broken” circle) have a meaning of which I am unsure. I also saw a listing of “Thriftee” tumblers on ebay and a base photo shows this mark with a “1” and a “4” as part of the logo.
Although my first thought was that they would be mold numbers, in this case, since there are two, not one, I’m just not sure about that. They might have some other meaning. Perhaps a reader might have better information for us. Thanks and take care!
David
I have a very small clear bud vase with a huge raised cursive L on the bottom. No circle, but there is a tiny “1” to its left.
Is this an older mark? I’ve never seen the cursive L so big, particularly on such a small piece.
I found some pedestal wetlands (cattails, a duck, a frog, and dragon fly) tumblers and cannot find who made them. On the bottom it has what looks like a half sun. I found selling them on eBay and it says possible Libbey. But nothing I found shows it being Libbey. Any help on what they could be? They’re green and yellow.
Hi I have a set of 12 paneled libby beer mugs. All of them hav the cursive L but below the L there are numbers some are 22 and 30 what does that mean? Thank you
Tony, they are mold numbers. Mold numbers are found on the base of many kinds of glass items, especially bottles, jars, shakers, mugs, bowls, jugs, canisters, candleholders, vases, etc. Please see my webpage on “Numbers on the bottoms of glass bottles”.
Hope this helps,
David
Thank you so much for your time and explanation. I’ve just become aware that drinking glassware even had marks on the bottom when I noticed that there was a script L on the bottom of a few of my glasses! My mystery is now solved!
I have a set of Libbey glasses. It has the L but it also has a star with ht inside it, and a 3 on each side of the star. What does that mean?
It is Libbey’s heat treated glassware. The process strengthens the upper portion of the glass, the area most vulnerable to breakage and makes it more durable. The 3 is likely a mold number.
i have an antique french art deco perfume rectangular bottle hand numbered 877 on the bottom on the bottle and cut ground glass stopper it also has the initial {handsigned} L or V can you tell me what company or who the maker of this bottle is?
Renee,
I’m not familiar with the mark you describe. If it is a French perfume bottle, it may be somewhat “out of my league”, as I don’t have a lot of knowledge or info on French glass companies. I sent you an email directly, asking for a photo of the bottle, but the email was returned via a “Mailer Daemon” as undeliverable. I think you may have typed in your email address incorrectly.
~David
I have a clear glass bottle that’s very small. It has a cursive L and above it the # 497. What does
the 497 stand for?
Hi David,
It’s a catalog, style or design number assigned to that mold type by the glass manufacturer.
David
Comment about the circle 1955 doesn’t seem correct. I have Carnival pattern 1946. Libbey has no catalog from this time per their historical website. I have June 1946 life magazine advertising this collection. I have full collection as well as caddy. I have images of set, the cursive l with circle and the magazine ad.
Hi Kellie,
From information published by Julian Toulouse (Bottle Makers and their Marks, 1971) and Arthur G. Peterson (400 Trademarks on Glass, 1968), the circled cursive L trademark was introduced in 1955 on drinking glasses.
Looking at this webpage that provides links to several Libbey catalogs, I viewed several of the catalogs and found the first one that shows the circled L trademark (on nearly every page) is their FALL-WINTER 1955 catalog.
[Edited 4/16/2024 – URL below is from the Wayback Machine internet archives, as this page is no longer active on the web].
https://web.archive.org/web/20200117111304/http://www.libbeyhistory.com/1946_1959.html
Are you telling me that your CARNIVAL pattern glasses actually have the circled L on the bottom of the glasses? If so, I am wondering if this is an instance of the glasses being later production – perhaps made several years after 1946. I know that some glassware pattern lines (from various glass firms) were issued and re-issued years and years after their introduction. I don’t know if this is the case with the pattern named “CARNIVAL” which shows colorful circus-related scenes. But I think that is a possibility. If any readers have better information on this, please post your thoughts.
Thank you,
David
Yes circle L in cursive is on bottom. I have looked at many of the catalogs no luck finding any produced in them. When I purchased them they came with the Life magazine add June 10, 1946 addition.
I have contacted Libbey historical via email in hopes to find out more information. Thank you for your input.
have a wine glass with a frosted capital ‘S’ on the base. Any ideas about this mark?
Thanks so much for publishing the hallmarks & history of Libbey glass!! Finally my mystery on of few items are no more! 🙂
Thank you Rachel!
~David
David, I have a set of juice size tumblers that came from a restaurant that originated in 1910. I t had many owners through the years with my husband and I being the last owners before the building was sold.After reading on your site I was able to identify these as Libby glassware. There is an “L” in the center with almost like hairlike projections coming away from the L. There is also an additional faint Cursive L on the bottom. They all have the extra L. Do you have any idea how old these may be? Thank you in advance for your help!
Mark, the “L in cursive” mark has been used for many years (and probably marked on billions of glasses), sorry I cannot give you a definite age range other than what I have already written in this article.
David
How to remove water stains from the water goblet
Hi Joseph, A dull haze on glassware can be caused by more than one process. Any glassware stored for very long periods of time in a high-humidity environment, such as a damp basement, can develop a dull whitish stain (“Sick glass”) which is permanent. That is actually caused by the deterioration of a very, very thin layer of the surface of the glass. The only way to remove that type of haze is by professional “tumbling” which is sometimes done for higher-value glass objects such as antique bottles and collectible electrical insulators.
In your case, the deposit could be just a calcium film from hard water, OR it could be from heavy repeated washing in an automatic dishwasher. If a good cleaning/soaking with a vinegar solution or “lime-away” product is ineffective, the film is more or less permanent.
High quality glassware such as “lead crystal” goblets and similar tableware should not be washed in a dishwasher because of the harsh alkali detergents which can gradually etch the surface of the glass. They should be hand-washed only, with mild dish soap and rinsed with clear water and dried with a soft cloth, but not with harsh abrasive cleaning pads.
There are many webpages online that delve into these subjects with more detail. You might try searching google with terms such as “sick glass” “leaching”, “cleaning crystal glassware”, “haze on glass”, “hand-washing crystal” and others. Here is a page with some basic information:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/remove-haze-crystal-glass-82525.html
I hope this will be of help.
David
Hi. I have a mini bud vase. I know they sell these new on Amazon, but this has a script L with a tiny number 8 on the left side. Is this older? Thanks for your info.
Cheryl,
I can’t say for sure. I can only assume it is a product of Libbey, but do not have any specific information on age.
Best regards, David
What would the value of a tumbler 8 oz size with a silver ring around rim? There is a cursive L on the bottom of each tumbler.
Hi Terry,
Libbey has made hundreds (if not thousands) of different patterns and styles of tumblers over the years and I do not have information on current values.
Best regards,
David
I have a coke bottle pat D-105529 6 oz with ” 15L46 ” on the side and the city ANNISTON ALA on the bottom. What I am trying to get info about this bottle is that in the words MIN and CONTENTS the letter ( N ) is reversed. This bottle look Iike it was filled only once. I would appreciate any help/info on this bottle.
Hi Don, A lot of older bottles are found with backward letters or numbers (appearing that way simply because the mold engraver accidentally engraved the lettering “correctly” on the mold —the lettering has to be backward on the mold to appear correctly on the bottle). However, not being a specialist in Coke bottles, I don’t know how commonly this is seen on Cokes. Also, I’m not sure about the maker on your bottle but I think it might have been manufactured by Laurens Glass Works, Laurens, South Carolina. On many of their bottles, the Laurens initials (LGW) are placed in between two groups of numbers, with the date code usually on the right. (I am assuming your bottle was made in 1946). Because the bottle was made for a city in Alabama, this would point to a glassmaker in the southeast as a more likely candidate for the glass manufacturer. (Also, another possibility might be Liberty Glass Co. of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, but I think less likely). Perhaps a Coke bottle specialist can chime in with more info on the backward numbers on your bottle.
Best regards, David