Imperial "Imperial Grape" Purple Decanter, Carafe & Wines
Description
I have a passion for decanters and carafes, whether they are American or European, I like them all. This started in June of 1997 when I made my first big purchase, a purple Imperial Grape decanter and carafe that are made by Imperial Glass. Later in the auction I purchased an Imperial purple Fashion rosebowl too. These were the start of our collection.
The decanter did not match the carafe and the rose bowl was one sided. Man, to have that day back. I was a total rookie with money burning a hole in my pocket.
Things certainly have changed. I have probably upgraded six times to get the decanter and carafe that we have today and no more upgrades are needed. We have all six wines that would come with the decanter but I want to show you just these two. Check them out side by side. I have checked them over with a 5X magnifier and the patterns are identical. The difference is that one is ribbed on the inside, the other not. One has a plain base, the other a starred base.
The one that is ribbed and has a plain base is rare. I have had another of these wines in purple that a friend talked me out of years ago. It seems that Imperial had a problem with their decanters and carafe's where when full of a liquid and set down too briskly, the plain bottom would bust out. You can, once in a great while, find these first decanters and carafes that were made with a plain base, just like the wine.
Later on, all the bases on Imperial's "Imperial Grape" decanters and carafes are starred to give the bottom plenty more strength so they can't bust out. At the same time, they changed the base of the wines also, now they all have a starred base. So when looking at decanters, carafes or wines, you now know what to look for.
The Dick & Sherry Betker Collection
