Ever heard of Swanky Swigs? Apparently, we may own a set! These are vintage beverage glasses that once were produced as a way to get Depression-era housewives to purchase more of Kraft's cheese products. The processed cheese products came in glass containers that could be washed and then reused as drinking glasses. Double the value! You can read more about the history of Swanky Swigs here: Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
When we cleaned out the old homestead, we had found a dusty old set of 6 Christmas glasses featuring a black stagecoach drawn by black horses, green fir boughs around the top edge, and thin red ribbons around the lower part. I didn't really want to keep them; I didn't think they were all that attractive, and they were an impractical size -- midway between a juice glass and a tumbler. But Mr. T wanted to keep them, so we cleaned them up and have been using them this Christmas season.
The other day, I got the notion to do a little online search and see what I could learn about these unusual glasses. And that's when I learned about Swanky Swigs. Now, our glasses may or may not be the actual Swanky Swigs -- apparently those were only made for Kraft by the Hazel Atlas Glass company. But other food manufacturers made similar promotional glassware. Products like cottage cheese, sour cream, jelly, and peanut butter also came packed in reusable glasses with a hand-painted look.
I will need to do more research to determine what was originally packaged in our Christmas glasses. But I am so glad I didn't just send them to the thrift store.
