I can't deny loving 'Honey Glazed', so thanks for posting for that, Monty.
'Dusky Challenger' doesn't feel that old to me, but it was introduced in 1986, so is above the 30 year limit. While most of mine rotted last year (not Dusky's fault, it was in a wet spot) I really loved it in bloom.
However 'Paillasse', a French iris from 1936, is my favorite historic:
She is not the fastest grower for me, rather she grows slowly, from small rhizomes. So far the increases take two years to bloom in my climate, but she also has a certain elegance in the garden that I find mesmerizing, so she is still very much worth growing.
Her standards are ivory, complex in tone and never boring. The falls are beautifully veined, which I'm a big fan of in iris, and the lighter edge adds an extra dimension. No ruffles, but instead a beautiful classic form.
She is late blooming, so is valuable for that too. She also has very sturdy stems. Blooms are of good size, especially for a shorter growing iris. Hardiness is also excellent. So for all those reasons she is my favorite historic iris, and certainly one of my favorites overall.
