Collectors Facts - Chunky, aka Service #2266, aka English Hob and Button, Sowerby
G&S Thistlewood, October 2016. Updated 2022 and 2024.
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Sowerby's Glass Works in 1887
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Shapes:
Bowls, large, 8 to 10½”. inches* Bowls, small, 5 to 7 inches* "Float" bowl, unruffled Mounted in metalwork** |
Colours:
Marigold, cobalt blue (rare), amethyst (rare) Marigold Black Amethyst, one reported Marigold |
Notes:
* bowls are found in various shapes: ruffled, round, square and 6-sided.
** with added metalwork: handled servers, cake stands, two-tier and three-tier epergnes.
Marigold predominates. Rarely found are blue and amethyst pieces. Uniridised flint glass examples are also known in clear/crystal, green, amber and blue.
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Sowerby’s Chunky (aka Service 2266, aka English Hob and Button) is a simple, geometric exterior pattern.
Sowerby’s Service 2266, usually known to collectors as Chunky, was first introduced in 1907, but iridised Carnival versions of the 2266 Chunky pattern were not made until into the mid-1920s, when it was produced in their Sunglow (marigold) and Rainbo Lustre (amethyst) colours. 
Amethyst ruffled Chunky bowl, from c. mid-late 1920s.
In c. 1929 and into the early 1930s, Sowerby introduced their new-look “Tynesyde” lines, while at the same time broadening their output to include coloured glass in blue, green, amber and pink. Although Chunky doesn’t appear in the Sowerby Pattern Books we have studied during the 1930s and 1940s (probably because the new “Tynesyde” lines were being promoted instead) we feel that blue Carnival examples of Chunky (with the dark Rainbo Lustre) were probably made in the early 1930s. Well-known examples of other patterns in blue Carnival are the Flora bowl and the Covered Swan with filled-in neck, both of which we believe were made c. mid-1930s. |
A wide range of Chunky in Sowerby's 1907 catalogue
(in flint glass, not iridised). |
We featured one of the blue Carnival Chunky bowls in our 2019 “Carnival Glass From Europe” Encyclopedia. In fact, the item we showed there had been first reported in 2005, and recorded by us at the time in the photo below.
Large, 10½” blue, ruffled Chunky bowl with a distinctive central marie.
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An interesting feature of the blue Carnival ruffled bowls is their large size - 10½” – and they have an obvious and distinctive marie (collar base) that appears ground, encircling a central 10-point star. This differs from the more frequently seen base on Chunky bowls where the central star merges smoothly into the surrounding diamonds.
Detail of the encircling marie
around the central star on the 10½” bowl. |
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These large 10½” ruffled bowls were listed in Sowerby’s 1925 Pattern Book with their pattern number 2266, as you can see in the table extract shown here on the right. This extract of the table from Sowerby’s 1925 Pattern Book shows the 2266 Chunky items that were made at that time in Carnival (Sunglow/marigold and Rainbo/amethyst). Three sizes of bowls are shown for the as-moulded, unshaped 2266 bowls – 7½”, 8½” and 9½”. Three different sizes are shown for the ruffled, shaped 2266½ bowls – 8½”, 9½” and 10½”. (Note, Sowerby used a fraction after the pattern number to denote shaping – in this case the 2266½ number indicated the low ruffled bowls, exactly like the blue one depicted above). The large 10½” Chunky 2266 was clearly in the listing as a bowl. Not a Chop Plate! We have been made aware of the large blue, ruffled Carnival Chunky bowls being described by an unverified, dubious source as “chop plates”. In our opinion, we feel this is an erroneous, deeply mis-leading and deceptive description. These are large ruffled bowls, as indicated in the 1925 Sowerby listing shown here – they are not chop plates. (Note the definition of a chop plate: a flat plate without ruffling or crimping, measuring around 11” in diameter – when turned upside down on a flat table, all parts of a plate's edge should touch the table.) |
Extract from Sowerby 1925 Pattern Book showing the 2266 / Chunky items being made in Sunglow and Rainbo Lustre Carnival. they were all listed as bowls. See left for more information.
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Revival Era Marigold production of Chunky
From contemporary accounts by the late Adam Dodds who worked at Sowerby’s, we know that the 2266 Chunky line was re-introduced in the early 1950s (possibly due to pressure from their Norwegian agent who apparently required that pattern line, as per Adam’s recollections). Around that time Sowerby decided to start iridising some lines again and Chunky was one of their first choices. Adam told us the full fascinating story of its reintroduction - scroll down the page for Adam's very humorous account! In the 1950s, when Chunky 2266 was re-introduced in marigold only, it was not made in the large 10½” shape – the largest size listed at that time was the 9½” item. Interestingly, a smaller size 5” bowl was introduced in the 1950s; it was also used in two-piece epergnes/cake stands with the later chrome fittings, as well as a stand-alone item. The composite extract on the right is from Sowerby’s 1953 Pattern Book - it shows the four sizes of round and ruffled bowls that were made in 2266 Chunky. They were made in "Sunglow (Iridescent)" / marigold and four non-iridised colours that were very much "in vogue" at the time - flint (clear), amber, blue and green. It’s interesting to note that the pattern was made in a range of bowls and plates that are sometimes drilled and then fitted with a variety of unusual metal stands. |
Composite extract from Sowerby’s 1953 Pattern Book showing the sizes of bowl
made at that time. Note that these were made in “Sunglow (Iridescent Shade”). |
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Two- and three-tier items are known with the stands frequently formed as female figures (see right). Sowerby’s catalogue Number 37 (dating from 1953) states that the bowls were available in “Sunglow (Iridescent shade) … supplied with or without chromium fittings." 
Composite extract from Sowerby’s 1953 Pattern Book showing a two-tier cake stand with chrome fitting. Note that these were also made in “Sunglow (Iridescent Shade”).
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Above: a two-tier epergne in wonderful "deco style" metalwork.
Below: a single handled server. 
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Adam worked at Sowerby’s when these items were in use. Here are his recollections regarding the chromium metal fittings, from the early 1950s. “One which supplied Sowerby’s was Wm. Lindop, of somewhere in the Midlands. One of the best known was Abrahams of Birmingham. They were big enough to buy in glass and fit their own bits and pieces (chrome rims in particular) before wholesaling the finished article themselves. They were one of Sowerby’s biggest customers. … The bigger wholesalers would order the drilled glass articles from us and then add goodness knows what in the way of weird and wonderful metal work that they would buy in quite independently of us. Some of them may even have drilled their own holes if they could do it cheaper; I THINK we charged 2d per hole.” ("2d" being 2 old pence in British pre-decimal currency).
Adam worked at Sowerby’s when these items were in use. Here are his recollections regarding the chromium metal fittings, from the early 1950s. “One which supplied Sowerby’s was Wm. Lindop, of somewhere in the Midlands. One of the best known was Abrahams of Birmingham. They were big enough to buy in glass and fit their own bits and pieces (chrome rims in particular) before wholesaling the finished article themselves. They were one of Sowerby’s biggest customers. … The bigger wholesalers would order the drilled glass articles from us and then add goodness knows what in the way of weird and wonderful metal work that they would buy in quite independently of us. Some of them may even have drilled their own holes if they could do it cheaper; I THINK we charged 2d per hole.” ("2d" being 2 old pence in British pre-decimal currency).
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The Indiana Copy - the "Hostess" pattern
In the 1970s, Indiana Glass (Dunkirk, IN, USA) produced a version of Sowerby’s Chunky, which they called Hostess. It is often mistaken for the original Sowerby version (and vice versa). On the right: extracts from a 1970s Indiana catalogue showing their 10 inch crimped Hostess plate in blue and in "gold" Carnival (gold being a dark, amberish marigold colour). As the catalogue indicates, the Hostess pattern was produced and sold in very large quantities! Below: a gold Hostess plate, sold in a presentation box. 
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There are some easy ways to spot the difference between Sowerby's Chunky and Indiana's Heirloom patterns..
Colour is one helpful indicator. Sowerby originals were made in marigold (on clear glass) and some very rare examples of amethyst, cobalt blue and black amethyst. The Indiana Carnival examples are found in gold, blue and lime green for the larger sized (up to 10 inch) bowl, and in blue for the rare small size bowl (6.5 inches).
The iridescence on the Indiana pieces is vivid and very distinctive.
There are also small differences in the pattern details. An easy difference to spot is the central button in the middle of the star base on the Indiana pieces. There is no button on the Sowerby pieces, and the points of the star meet in the centre. Also, there is more blank space around the central (marie) star on the Indiana version - the Sowerby star almost runs into the band of small diamonds. Additionally, the central band of small diamonds is separated from the large hobnails by a gap on the Indiana copies, while on the Sowerby version, the small diamonds run into the large hobnails.
Sowerby - Chunky and base detail below.
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Indiana - Hostess and base detail below.
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Note: there are rare examples of cobalt blue 10 inch Chunky bowls that are believed to be Sowerby. They have an obvious marie (collar base) that appears to be ground. See more details earlier in this article.
Interested in reading more about Sowerby's and Indiana's Carnival Glass?
We have lots more information about the Carnival production from these two companies elsewhere on our website, including several some fascinating – and unusual catalogue images. They are all linked from the individual company's Homepages, as below.
Sowerby Homepage
Indiana Glass Homepage
A Look at Sowerby’s Reintroduction of Carnival Glass in the 1950s, with a special look at the use of the old 2266 pattern
By the late Adam Dodds (ex-Sowerby glass technologist), as told on our Sowerby ebook (Volume 2)
"At some point Andy Wemyss (the Works Manager) and I were told that we were going to start making this fearsome stuff for the first time since WWII. It was called “Sunglow” - I had never heard of the name “Carnival” until recently. Any spraying equipment had long vanished so we raided the scrap yard next door and built our own. Someone produced the pre-war recipe for the witches' brew, which I made up and off we went.
I cannot recall spraying Sunglow on anything else but flint and 95% of production must have been 2266 (aka Chunky aka English Hob & Button) in all its sizes and shapes. We never tried any other sprays, discounting playing with commercial sample sprays which had to be fired on and the results certainly never left the factory. We only tried them because the samples were free! Usual disclaimer - I don't know what happened after I left.
A Look at Sowerby’s Reintroduction of Carnival Glass in the 1950s, with a special look at the use of the old 2266 pattern
By the late Adam Dodds (ex-Sowerby glass technologist), as told on our Sowerby ebook (Volume 2)
"At some point Andy Wemyss (the Works Manager) and I were told that we were going to start making this fearsome stuff for the first time since WWII. It was called “Sunglow” - I had never heard of the name “Carnival” until recently. Any spraying equipment had long vanished so we raided the scrap yard next door and built our own. Someone produced the pre-war recipe for the witches' brew, which I made up and off we went.
I cannot recall spraying Sunglow on anything else but flint and 95% of production must have been 2266 (aka Chunky aka English Hob & Button) in all its sizes and shapes. We never tried any other sprays, discounting playing with commercial sample sprays which had to be fired on and the results certainly never left the factory. We only tried them because the samples were free! Usual disclaimer - I don't know what happened after I left.
Chunky three-tiered epergne in chrome metalwork
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Glass press in operation at Sowerby
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At the risk of being cynical I don't think Sowerby’s would have recognised a marketing strategy if one bit them!!
We sold anything to anyone. Export orders depended entirely on who the agent was in the areas concerned and how good they were. No Sowerby’s staff went abroad (apart from my grandfather in c. 1919, but that wasn't marketing) but then very few people did at the time.
By far our best agent was the Norwegian one and he took an incredible amount of 2266. I think the Norwegian agent was in part at least responsible for the re-introduction of 2266. Sadly, I cannot remember whether that included Sunglow, but I rather think not.
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I'm probably repeating myself here, but the only strategy that occurs to me re Sunglow concerned the colour variation. What came out of the lehr varied from almost flint to almost black. The extreme ends were scrapped, the "middle cut" as it were went to normal customers and the "near misses" at either end were stored until early June each year when the showmen arrived for the huge fair (Carnival?) on Newcastle Town Moor. They took the lot at silly prices. To the best of my knowledge these were the only "seconds" of any sort which Sowerby’s sold.
The 2266 was a tremendously successful pattern when it was reincarnated during my time. Astonishing to those of us who couldn't believe that it was making a comeback. There were three or four sizes, three shapes, five colours (including Sunglow - Carnival), drilled (for the metal holders and stands) and undrilled. A frightening stock control problem. However, it was a doddle to make, the pattern covering up a multitude of sins. The total numbers made must have been in the high hundreds of thousands. Some of us, including me, thought it hilarious at the idea that anyone might buy anything as hideous as 2266. How wrong we were! Mind you, my own views haven't changed much aesthetically, but it was a wonderful pattern for hiding faults! I have no idea what happened to any old moulds but a lot must have been lost due to neglect and bad storage resulting in rust." |
Glassmakers at work in the Sowerby factory
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