That Vaseline Glass, a/k/a Uranium Glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix prior to melting? The proportion usually varies from trace levels to about 2% by weight uranium, although some 19th-century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium.
Uranium glass was once made into tableware and household items, but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium to most industries was sharply curtailed during the Cold War. Most such objects are now considered antiques or retro-era collectibles, although there has been a minor revival in art glassware. Otherwise, modern uranium glass is now mainly limited to small objects like beads or marbles as scientific or decorative novelties.
The normal color of uranium glass ranges from yellow to green depending on the oxidation state and concentration of the metal ions, although this may be altered by the addition of other elements as glass colorants. Uranium glass also fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light and can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive.
The most typical color of uranium glass is pale yellowish-green, which in the 1920s led to the nickname vaseline glass based on a perceived resemblance to the appearance of petroleum jelly as formulated and commercially sold at that time. Specialized collectors still define vaseline glass as transparent or semitransparent uranium glass in this specific color.
Vaseline glass is now frequently used as a synonym for any uranium glass, especially in the United States, but this usage is not universal. The term is sometimes carelessly applied to other types of glass based on certain aspects of their superficial appearance in normal light, regardless of actual uranium content which requires a blacklight test to verify the characteristic green fluorescence. (Wikipedia)
R. Duck has a nice collection of vaseline glass, and of course Paul has a geiger counter and an ultraviolet light to register the uranium content of each piece.
E.J. Lefavour
Good Morning Gloucester 
Ten years ago, I had never heard of vaseline glass until my husband & I starting selling items at a flea market after we retired. One day a woman came by our table and asked me ” Do you have any vaseline? I replied, “No, but I have some hand lotion if you would like to borrow some” She said, “No dear, I mean VASELINE glass” I was so embarrased that as soon as we got home I looked up vaseline glass on the computer. Have learned a lot since then.
Donna Beaman
formerly of Gloucester now living in Portland Oregon
LikeLike
Thanks EJ,
I can always count on you to learn something new – but not just something new – always amazingly interesting and intriguing!
LikeLike
My sister-in-law, Jane Gibbs, is an avid sea glass hunter and has a found a number of Vaseline glass pieces. She showed them to me this past summer while I was visiting out your way. They’re quite unique and I’m glad to have a little more information about them. Thanks EJ.
LikeLike
I’ve got to drive to Cornell tonight but when I get back I will try posting a photo of some Vaseline glass glowing under the UV light. I started collecting it this spring when I ran into a piece at the Annisquam Exchange. A know-it-all collector from New York explained to me which one was Vaseline and which one wasn’t. I bought both pieces and they were the opposite of what she said. The one she said was “fake” vaseline glass is the most radioactive piece I have. Glows intensely under the UV light too.
LikeLike
Thanks Meg and Linda – Donna, I’d never heard of vaseline or uranium glass until this past weekend. I’m going to need to get a backup drive for my brain’s hard drive to store all these tidbits of information in.
LikeLike
Cool Paul. Maybe you could take a video of it registering its radioactivity with the geiger counter, so everyone could hear it; that was really cool.
LikeLike
oh no! were we using my pirate duckies to check the radiation exposure??? first mate doesn’t look well! lol!
LikeLike