Montgomery Ward - Part Two
Butterflies or Grapes? Berries or Daisies? More Carnival Glass on offer in 1920.
In Part One we saw some of the Carnival items on offer from Montgomery Ward – dominated by the magnificent 14-piece Orange Tree Punch Set. But there was more, as this second segment of the 1920 Montgomery Ward ad shows.
Here we have a variety of Fenton items: the splendid Mikado comport (note the spelling in the ad itself), a tightly crimped edge Nine Sixteen vase (aka Fenton's #916), and a range of shapes in Butterfly and Berry.
Butterfly and Berry
The seven piece berry set, comprising large (master) 8.5 inch bowl and six 4.5 inch berries (called nappies in the ad) were on offer, as was the seven piece water set and the four piece table set. All were being sold in “golden iridescent glassware”, which was, of course, marigold Carnival Glass. It’s intriguing to note the three different descriptions of this same pattern: “Butterfly and floral decorations”, “Grape design”, and “Butterflies and daisies”. All three are the Montgomery Ward’s ad writer’s descriptions of the same design, what we call the Butterfly and Berry pattern. Note also that the shapes are described as “Colonial” and “Panel”. The Butterfly and Berry pattern was clearly a very popular line for Fenton. It appeared in one shape or another in Butler Brothers catalogues from 1911 right through to at least 1924. It was also popular in mail order catalogues: Lee Manufacturing had Butterfly and Berry tumblers on offer as a "Free" premium in 1911, and in a 1925 catalogue, Perry G Mason featured a master footed berry, and a sugar and creamer (below, right). |
Mikado
Comport or compote? It’s clear here what the shape was being called by Montgomery Ward in 1920 ... it was a comport.
Comport or compote? It’s clear here what the shape was being called by Montgomery Ward in 1920 ... it was a comport.
It’s fascinating to note that the pattern was described as “Grape decorations outside” – of course, we all know that the fruits are in fact cherries. Almost certainly the ad writer was basing his or her description on the drawing supplied, and hadn’t seen the actual piece of glass.
The interior design shows stylised chrysanthemum flowers, which being a Japanese motif, lead to the name "Mikado". A Mikado comport also featured in the 1925 Perry G Mason catalogue. |
Nine Sixteen (aka Fenton's #916)
Ads and contemporary illustrations for this delightful Fenton vase are seldom seen. In the Montgomery Ward ad, attention is drawn specifically to the unusual height of the “tall” vase, which is given as “about 15 inches”. It is quite amazing how the master glassmakers achieved such a height: after the vase was removed from the mould, and whilst still hot and malleable, it was held by the marie with a snap tool, and swung. The height of the vase was extended from around 7 or 8 inches to more than 15 inches. An amethyst Nine Sixteen vase - only slightly swung, it is 8 inches tall.
The pattern is very clear on these smaller vases, but it can be much harder to see on the taller, swung vases. |
A display of three Nine Sixteen vases (left to right, marigold, amethyst and blue) showing the height difference that could be achieved. The tallest one is just over 15 inches. The different top edge treatments shows the variations that could be achieved from just the one vase mould.
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There's much more to see in Montgomery Ward Part Three which features some fascinating insights from the 1907-08 "house" magazine for their employees. Read about "Little Max", a very unusual method of payment, and even fish to Norway (sic).
Back to Montgomery Ward Part One.