1940s Hollywood Regency “What Will You Have?” Gold Cocktail Highball Glasses — Set of 4

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What a TREASURE for the cocktail enthusiast! A fabulous and rarely seen set of four vintage “What Will You Have?” … Read more What a TREASURE for the cocktail enthusiast! A fabulous and rarely seen set of four vintage “What Will You Have?” highball glasses, dating to approximately the 1930s–1940s, with elaborate gold and white graphics designed to identify both the guest and their drink.

Each tall, substantial glass (feels great in the hand!) is wrapped in a series of glamorous vertical panels identifying five classic spirits—VODKA, GIN, SCOTCH, BOURBON and RYE—along with mixer choices including SODA, WATER, COKE, GINGER, TONIC and JUICE. Metallic gold and white lettering, jewel-like diamond-and-ray motifs and fanciful typography give the design a distinctly late Art Deco cocktail-lounge feel.

The cleverest detail may be the large white panel marked “WHO.” Designed to be written on, it allowed each guest to identify their glass, while the surrounding panels could be used to indicate their liquor and mixer of choice. It's a fantastic little piece of cocktail-party ingenuity—and a glimpse into an era when mixing drinks at home was an event in itself.

And perhaps the sweetest surprise: two of the glasses still retain faint cursive initials—an “L” and a “B”—in their “WHO” panels, a wonderfully personal trace of cocktail parties past.

Full disclosure: this is one of those finds Ms. H. is having a particularly hard time parting with! See less