One of the biggest challenges for the glass collector is to identify pieces, since glass is difficult to “trademark”. Altaglass collectors are quite lucky. Many of the pieces still bear the original factory sticker. Because these items were decorative – vases, birds, animals and candy dishes – their owners never washed off the stickers.
 
The earliest stickers, in the 1950s, were black and gold round stickers.

The company soon began using a black and gold diamond-shaped sticker, printed for them in England. These stickers look silver on many of the pieces you find today.

 
Centennial year, 1967,  was an important year for Canada. To celebrate, Altaglass began using a maple leaf sticker on all products. There were two sizes of stickers. Usually, the larger stickers were put on the larger pieces. These stickers were also used on pieces produced in the years following 1967.

 
Some pieces also have a pattern of raised dots on the bottom, with the initials “AG” inside a diamond shape. This could be done only when the piece was mounted on a glass pad.

 
There are a few examples of a stamp on the bottom that was solid, but not very clear.



Many pieces have been inscribed on the bottom using an engraving tool, noting the date and, sometimes, the artist. Margarete Stagg did this often in later years. 
 


But there are still many pieces that you pick up at a garage sale and say “I wonder if…?”