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Here you'll find articles
on unique or little-known
antiques and collectibles.
LATEST SPOTLIGHT_________________________________
Step Right Up and Try
Your Luck
by Bob Brooke
 Fairs,
both county and regional, as well as amusement parks were part of the
summer fabric of the 1920s. People of all ages flocked to them to beat
the summer heat and have a good time. And games were an integral part of
every fair and park. And games meant prizes—one of the most common was
“carnival” glass. For a few pennies, players could go home with a cute
little compote or colorful vase.
Carnival Glass was pressed glass—glass that had been formed by being
pressed into a mold while in a hot molten form—and then had an
iridescent coating applied. As it cooled, it took on the shape and
detail of the mold. Once removed from the mold, and while still somewhat
hot, the glassmaker sprayed it with metallic salts in liquid form which
gave it an "oil-on-water" multicolor appearance. He then refired the
piece.
 The
Fenton Glass Company of Williamston, West Virginia, first produced
carnival glass, which it called "iridescent ware," in 1907. The company
called its first line Iridill and labeled it "Venetian Art." They wanted
to mass-produce a product that could compete with the expensive,
iridescent art glass made by Tiffany and Steuben. Though half a dozen
companies, including Northwood, Imperial, Millersburg, Westmoreland,
Dugan, and Cambridge, originally made it, Fenton did so longer than any
of the others.
Competition became so fierce between makers that new patterns appeared
regularly, so each company ended up making a wide range of patterns of
most types adding up to a panoply of choice.
 Its
eye-catching multicolor shimmer seemed to change colors when viewed at
different angles. Over the years, carnival glass has been dubbed
"Taffeta," "Cinderella," and "Poor Man's Tiffany," as it gave the
average housewife the ability to adorn her home with fancy vases and
decorative bowls at prices she could afford.
But this new type of glass didn’t catch on with the public the way
Fenton had hoped, especially since they tried pricing it higher than
their regular pieces without the carnival finish. Unfortunately, most
consumers didn't see carnival glass as quality glass and refused to pay
higher prices for it.
 Other
glass manufacturers soon began making carnival glass using the same
iridization techniques. This overloaded the market and soon prices
plummeted. To get rid of their excess inventory, carnival glass makers
at first began giving it away to carnival and fair owners to use as
prizes, but later sold sample pieces to them in hopes that winners could
then purchase additional items in the same or a similar pattern.
Together all the manufacturers produced over 2,000 different patterns.
This new market for carnival glass was a boon for Fenton, which produced
iridescent ware in 150 patterns up until the late 1920s. Carnival glass
sold for pennies at five-and-dime stores, and businesses could buy it
wholesale at minimal cost. This allowed movie theaters and grocery
stores to give it away as premiums during the Great Depression in the
1930s. For example, Imperial Glass struck lucrative deals with companies
like Woolsworth's and Quaker Oats.
 Fenton's
earliest patterns included Waterlily and Cattails, Vintage, Butterfly
and Berries, Peacock Tail, Ribbon Tie, Wreath of Roses, Thistle, and
Diamond and Rib. Among Northwood's first glass patterns were Waterlily
and Cattails, Cherry and Cable, and Valentine, but Grape and Cable
became their most popular. Millersburg collectors look for Hobstar and
Feather, Blackberry Wreath, and Rays and Ribbons.
Collectors call the most popular color of carnival glass “marigold,”
although the companies, themselves, didn’t call it that. Marigold has a
clear glass base and is the most easily recognizable carnival color. The
final surface colors of marigold are mostly a bright orange-gold turning
perhaps to copper with small areas showing rainbow or 'oil-slick'
highlights. The highlights appear mostly on ridges in the pattern and
vary in strength according to the light.
 Carnival
glass is highly collectible. Prices vary widely, with some pieces worth
very little, while other, rare items command thousands of dollars.
However, identifying carnival glass can be a challenge. It involves
matching patterns, colors, sheen, edges, and thickness from information
contained in old manufacturer's trade catalogs, other known examples, or
other reference material. Many manufacturers didn’t include a maker's
mark on their product, and some did for only part of the time they
produced the glass. Since many manufacturers produced close copies of
their rivals' popular patterns, carnival glass identification can be
difficult even for an expert.
By 1925, carnival glass started to fall out of favor with Americans, and
many U.S. glass companies quit producing it towards the end of the Great
Depression.
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