Prohibition Glassware Etiquette

This beer glass flair seems to represent the only outstanding novelty in the Christmas trade. The fancier stores have devoted their purchasing attention to this department to the exclusion of all others which probably provides a commentary on current modes, manners and thought.
“The Prohibition Era began in 1920 when the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors, went into effect with the passage of the Volstead Act. Despite the new legislation, Prohibition was difficult to enforce. The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and organized crime led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. The 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, ending Prohibition.” -History.com

The Trend In Gifts, Manners and Modes of 1932

IN THE PRE-PROHIBITION days, the old saw about the man with the beer salary and the champagne appetite, had a point that appears to have been lost in the dry years. Certainly, the lowly juice of the malt that was once content to rest in a growler or a thick-bottomed glass mug wouldn't be able to understand what this old world has come to, were it to return to earth by grace of Congress, I took a turn around the stores last week and discovered that most of them had well equipped bars featuring glasses for beer and that the majority of the novelty sales were taking place in these nooks. And what beer glasses! 

Ornate tumblers in many colors and styles, representative of the highest art of the glass blowers, objects of art that made the once swagger steins look tawdry and cheap by contrast. And the prices being asked! Some of us old-timers gathered around one synthetic bar and reminisced on the situation and it was the consensus that time was when a barrel of beer could have been purchased for the price of two of the 1932 serving glasses, Curiously enough, this beer glass flair seems to represent the only outstanding novelty in the Christmas trade. The fancier stores have devoted their purchasing attention to this department to the exclusion of all others which probably provides a commentary on current modes, manners and thought. 

It was something of a contrast to leave these emporiums and go ont to the auction rooms where the Hill Smith treasures were being sold to the elite of San Francisco and the pick of the dealers. Those who had the good fortune to be Smith guests up Rio Vista way before the crash, remember well the fine dining room equipment. The Smith collection of glassware and coffee cups was noted throughout the district. Few were able to set a table more complete in detail. Yet the collection brought virtually nothing on the auction block. 

I saw handsome gold spun coffee cups, masterpieces of the art of china decoration, that cost as much as $40 apiece, go for $2. Oriental rugs that retailed at $6500. having difficulty reaching a $300. mark and imported furnishings selling for a song. I think the chief lesson to be learned from the auction rooms is not that there is a dearth of money in the community but that we have learned to become hard bargainers and our Yankee thrift is finally finding its way to the surface.– Oakland Tribune, December, 1932

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