Instructions
Inspect the milk glass to see if the texture is a knobby design like lace or ruffles; this is a main characteristic of the hobnail.
Check under the lid or bottom of the structure to see if there's a manufacturer's logo. If you see a logo, check the manufacturer's website's history page. Listed here is often a year-by-year recap on what they produced.This will help you determined whether you've found a real milk glass hobnail or a replica.
Inspect the color of the milk glass hobnail. Milk glass is usually white, blue, pink, yellow, green or brown with a opalescent shine to it. If it's a unusual color like orange, it is more likely that it is some other type of glass with the hobnail detail. Colors are also helpful, in determining who produced a certain type pf milk glass. Chocolate milk glass, for instance, is synonymous with Greentown Glass, that was produced by the Indiana Tumbler and Goblet Co. between 1894 and 1903.
Contact the National Milk Glass Society and ask if they have any local appraisers in your area. If you've already purchased your hobnail, get it inspected, find out if it is indeed milk glass and get it appraised,
Purchase a copy of Regis F. and Mary F. Ferson's "Yesterday's Milk Glass Today." This book was published in 1981, and if you're really set on purchasing and identifying a milk glass hobnail, collectors considered this an essential reference item.