I will be plain. There is a great deal of new glass for sale in this country that looks like Depression glass, and some of it is sold as Depression glass, at flea markets and antique malls and, more and more, on the computer auctions. Some sellers honestly don't know. Some do. Either way, the money comes out of your purse.

A reproduction is a new piece made to look like an old one. A "fantasy" piece is a new piece in an old pattern that was never made in that shape or color in the first place, like a pattern that never had a cookie jar suddenly sprouting one. Neither one is a crime to make or to own. Plenty of people like the look and enjoy using them. It is only wrong to sell them as old, and it is only foolish to buy them as old. This page is to keep you from being foolish.

This is the one that catches the most people, because in a sense it's the real thing. Federal Glass made Madrid from 1932 to 1939, mostly in amber. In 1976, for the Bicentennial, Federal took the Madrid molds out again and made a new line in amber, which it called Recollection. Each piece was supposed to be marked with a small "76" worked into the design. It was sold new in stores, honestly labeled, and there was nothing wrong with it.

The trouble came later. Many Recollection pieces have been resold, at sales and in shops, as 1930s Madrid, either by sellers who didn't know or sellers who hoped you wouldn't look. Then the molds changed hands, and Recollection began turning up in crystal, pink, blue and teal. Madrid was never made in teal, so that one is easy. The pink and blue are not as easy. Some Recollection shapes don't exist in old Madrid at all.

What to do: Look for the "76." It is small and sits within the pattern, so take your time and use a good light. Know the color: the Recollection amber is often a little different in tone from the old. Know the shapes that were made in the 1930s, and be suspicious of anything else. George Talton, who collects amber Madrid, carries a magnifying glass on his key ring for exactly this purpose, and he will gladly show you at the show.

1. Learn from books. Buy a good, current identification guide and read it, not just the pictures but the text about each pattern, where the authors list the reproductions and how to tell them. The books by Gene Florence are the ones most of our members use, and he revises them every couple of years as new reproductions appear. An old edition will not warn you about this year's fakes. Our club library has copies for members to borrow.

2. Learn from people. Go to shows. Talk to experienced dealers, the ones who have been handling this glass for twenty and thirty years. The good ones are happy to show you a reproduction next to the real thing, because they don't want you burned either. Come to our meetings and handle our members' pieces. Your hands will learn faster than your eyes.

3. Buy from people who stand behind what they sell. A reputable dealer will tell you if a piece is new, and will take it back if it turns out to be. Ask. If a seller won't say, walk away.

4. When in doubt, bring it to the ID table. At our show on October 16 and 17, Carolyn Eastman and Patrick Burgin will look at up to three pieces for free. They have been doing it for years, and they have seen it all.

5. Don't buy rare pieces in a hurry. A piece that has waited sixty-five years for you can wait another twenty minutes while you think it over. If it's gone when you come back, it wasn't meant to be yours. Or it was a reproduction and somebody else has learned a lesson.