Westmoreland Glass Co. Cocktail Shaker

Q: I would like to sell a cocktail shaker that was a gift from my uncle many years ago, maybe in the 1960s. It’s amber glass, paneled, with a sterling silver rooster and silver bands around the top and the rim of the foot. The shaker top is, I believe, silver over copper and the piece is in good condition. With the shaker top on, the piece is 11 inches high. Do you have any information about it, especially its value?

A: Your cocktail shaker was made by Westmoreland Glass Co. The company started in 1889, when a group from the Specialty Glass Co. of East Liverpool, Ohio, relocated to Grapeville, Pa. The company’s name changed to Westmoreland Specialty Co. and then to Westmoreland Glass Co. in 1921. Your glass shaker is part of the 1707 Line, shown in the 1924 and 1926 catalogs, and made into the 1930s. The pattern is informally called “Huxford” by some collectors, but Westmoreland never used a name when referring the pattern; they always used the line number. It was sold with and without additional decoration. The shaker is unusual because it is footed; most 1920s shakers were flat. The 1926 catalog doesn’t specify what metal was used for the top, but it was usually aluminum or chromed or silver-plated metal. And isn’t it odd that a glass maker would produce a container for “illegal substances” in the middle of Prohibition (1920 through 1933)? Value of your shaker: $75 to $100.