NetworK ezine Issue 113. October 2024
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
Welcome to the October issue of NetworK, as Halloween is looming on the horizon. The season of spiders, spooky pumpkins and all forms of scary stuff is upon us – and so what better time for us to take a look at some ghostly Carnival Glass? Ghost Flowers from Dugan, hiding in plain sight; all will be revealed later in this issue. But first, what tricks (or treats) did the “Hagn Salesman” catalogue hold for the unwary purchaser back in the early 1930s? Read on and discover ... that is, if you feel brave enough …
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It is always an absolute charm – a feeling of discovery – to come across a piece of Carnival in an old catalogue. And it’s even more interesting if the item is one that has not previously been spotted in an old catalogue. And then better still if the catalogue itself is not one that has featured known Carnival items before. So here we have checked/ticked all those boxes!
They sold ceramics, glass, clocks, cameras, jewellery, novelties, and more, via mail order, advising the customer to browse leisurely and then make their selections, and heading each page with the logo “Wholesalers to the Trade”. Hagn even offered to substitute items if what the customer wanted was not in stock, explaining that they “carefully select an item very similar nearest in description and price to the one selected and send it in place of the item ordered”. The customer was assured, however, that if they did not want a
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Cover of Joseph Hagn catalogue courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics.
On the façade of their W. Madison St., building in Chicago were the words “Wholesale Jewellers” yet this barely described the wide extent of their varied stock. Their location in Chicago was in common with various other mail order wholesalers: Hagn explained the rationale in their catalogue saying “Chicago is the industrial hub of the country. Railroads extend in every direction and trains are leaving continually. This means faster service and a savings in shipping charges”. |
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But leave aside the novelties, the jewellery and cameras for a moment – let’s look at a page with the header “The Kind of Items People Want to Buy!”
Top and centre, was an item that is familiar to many Carnival collectors. Known as Standard Vase, this was named by Marion Hartung back in the 1960s. It is a fairly plain marigold vase, with six distinct scallops on the rim. Hartung described it as: “a slender vase of the Bud Vase variety. The base is only 1” in diameter, while the top flares out to 3” across the scallops. It stands 5¼” tall in the holder. The only color seen has been a good rich marigold with iridescence both inside and out”. Probably the most distinctive feature of the vase, however, is not the glass, but is the silver plated, metal stand or holder. Clearly, this vase and metal holder were made for each other! These items were surely made in huge quantities to sell in this specific, paired manner – they were not married-up afterwards. The silver-plated metal holder in the photo is identical to the Hagn catalogue illustration. And note the euphemistic description as a “cut glass flower vase”. Obviously, the intention was to talk-up the item and make it sound fancy. This was, of course, mass-produced, pressed glass, almost certainly made by Diamond (previously Dugan) in the late 1920s, early 1930s, just before the destructive 1931 fire that closed the factory. The Hagn catalogue advised its wholesale buyers “Do Not Show This Book To Your Customers” – presumably so that they did not see the (low) wholesale prices of 95 cents (around US $20 today). One might wonder what the price to the final customer would have been and how much profit would be added on! Right: Standard vase in the 1932 Joseph Hagn catalogue, courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics.
Far right: Standard vase, probably a (Dugan) Diamond product, courtesy Seeck Auctions. |
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Are you being Ghosted by your Glass?
If you glance at this beautiful bowl (right) you would probably notice the floral decoration first, then the amazing edge and the lovely peach opal colouring and iridescence. It’s very unlikely that you’d notice the moulded floral design on the exterior – but it’s there. The moulded pattern is known as Single Flower and it can also be found without the eye-catching enamelled decoration. "Ghost Flowers" Single Flower is one of several Dugan exterior designs - moulded floral patterns that many years ago were often grouped together as one common design – Ghost Flowers. That name is seldom used today, as collectors have come to realise that there are various, unique patterns in that group. Triplets, Daisy Dear, Single Flower and Single Flower Framed (plus its stippled variant). Usually found in marigold or peach opal, and rarely, in amethyst or white, these designs are exterior and often lightly moulded, frequently dissolving the pattern into the background and therefore very hard to distinguish. Because of their intrinsic nature, they are also very hard to photograph, so it becomes challenging to show their differences and provide instant recognition. But let’s look at a couple of unusually good examples, so we can see what those exterior floral patterns look like, courtesy of the late Dave Doty. |
Above: Dugan’s Single Flower bowl in peach opal, with a deep
three in one edge and Forget-Me-Not enamelled decoration. |
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Left: Daisy Dear bowl, amethyst. Right: Single Flower bowl, peach opal. Both pictures courtesy of the late Dave doty.
As you can see, the encircling floral patterns of Daisy Dear and Single Flower are very similar – and Triplets as well as Single Flower Framed also have the same style of encircling floral design (albeit with minor differences). But worry not, you can put down your magnifying glass, you can stop counting flowers and leaves – these ghost flowers have a spooky trick up their sleeve that magically enables us to distinguish one from the other.
One very specific characteristic that immediately enables us to spot which is which – the very distinctive and individual design on the underside collar base! Here’s the trick.
Above: this is how to recognise each pattern.
The moulded designs in the centre of the collar bases (maries) of these four patterns (Daisy Dear, Triplets, Single Flower and Single Flower Framed) are shown in the rough sketch above. In our unique Collectors Facts feature, we have further information on the differences between these four patterns, but the trick, the short-cut, the foolproof easy way is to look underneath at the collar base. Here is the Collectors Facts link: Daisy Dear |
Single Flower Framed variant, courtesy Seeck Auctions.
As an aside, it’s of interest to note that there is a variant of the Single Flower Framed pattern that has stippling around the exterior floral design. If you study the photo below of this item, you will also spot the characteristic three-lobed design on the collar base that shows it is Single Flower Framed. |
Trick or Treat?
This gorgeous blue Fenton vase below, made in 1976, is a treat. Fenton called this Revival colour Independence Blue, and it was used by them as their celebratory Bicentennial colour. If the pattern on the vase looks familiar, well … that’s the trick. Although Fenton did not give it a pattern name, only a number (#9155) it is generally known as Scroll Embossed, as it surely was inspired by the Imperial pattern of that name.
This gorgeous blue Fenton vase below, made in 1976, is a treat. Fenton called this Revival colour Independence Blue, and it was used by them as their celebratory Bicentennial colour. If the pattern on the vase looks familiar, well … that’s the trick. Although Fenton did not give it a pattern name, only a number (#9155) it is generally known as Scroll Embossed, as it surely was inspired by the Imperial pattern of that name.
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Of course, it also has a “look” of the stylised peacock tail designs, in the same way that Imperial’s Classic Scroll Embossed does, as is clearly shown by the purple Scroll Embossed plate here on the right.
Fenton’s #9155 vase in Independence Blue, made in 1976.
Courtesy Burns Auctions. |
Imperial’s Classic Carnival Scroll Embossed pattern:
a purple plate with wonderful iridescence. |
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The vase does have a story to tell. It was featured in a two-page spread of Fenton’s Bicentennial Carnival in the January 1976 Catalog Supplement from A. L. Randall and Co., Chicago - offered under the proud heading: "Proclaim Liberty Throughout all the Land" The Bicentennial offering included some designs that were specifically for the celebration (Lafayette and Washington plate, Bicentennial Stein, Eagle Paperweight, and Patriot Planter), but perhaps fitting the occasion, Fenton also reissued several designs from their Classic Carnival era (Persian Medallion, Orange Tree / Fenton Flowers, Butterfly and Berry, and Open Edge Basket.
Randall sold to florists and similar outlets and had enjoyed a long and mutually supportive relationship with Fenton from the late 1940s through to c. late 1980s. Both these catalogue pages are featured in large format for ease of viewing – you can see the Scroll Embossed #9155 vase in the second illustration - click on the image, right, or go here to see them in full detail: Independence Blue 1976 Right: the first of two spreads showing Fenton’s Independence Blue Revival Carnival made for the 1976 Bicentennial. Courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics. |
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Fenton also made this astonishingly beautiful Jefferson Comport in Independence Blue. It is a two-piece lidded comport that was produced as Fenton’s “star of the show” to celebrate the 1976 US Bicentenary. The mouldwork is exceptional! The moulds were actually made in Fenton’s own mould shop and were said to be the most complex to design and make. They included text (some of US President Jefferson’s quotations), images of his home, Monticello, and Jefferson’s likeness ….. plus an eagle on the lid. It had a limited production run. It is heavy, and impressive - 11 inches high and 7.5 inches wide. 
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Below, left: one of Jefferson's sayings on the comport lid, and right, two incredibly detailed views of Jefferson's home, Monticello, on the side of the comport.
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More for the Halloween theme
Pumpkins and Halloween are closely associated: the tradition of carving pumpkins into "jack-o'-lanterns" is a popular Halloween activity, and indeed, as youngsters, the two of us both remember carving out turnips to make them into lanterns with a candle inside. The tradition originated way back, in Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celtic communities in Europe with the carving of various root vegetables into “jack-o’-lanterns”, the belief being that the flickering candlelight inside would ward off evil spirits.* The tradition moved across to the USA with immigrants from Europe, and pumpkins became the popular choice. * There is also the Irish legend of “Stingy Jack”, a drunkard who tricked the Devil and was doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way! There are two connections with Carnival – no, not Stingy Jack! Firstly, there is the Classic Carnival Glass colour called pumpkin marigold, described as marigold with rich, vibrant, deep purple, red, orange and more colour tones in the iridescence. Here on the right is a wonderful example from Northwood. Let’s not forget that there are actual blow-moulded, iridescent glass pumpkins, which have appeared in more recent years in different shapes. China and India seem to be a main source, but art glass studios around the world also make these novelty items. 
Here's our iridised marigold pumpkin. As you can see, Fenton's Alley Cat
wanted to be in on the act too - pretending to be a black cat for Halloween, but in reality, it is purple, made in the 1970s. |
Above: our Northwood Poppy Show plate in pumpkin marigold.
Above: finally, there is a blow-moulded Carnival pattern called Halloween with the distinctive black decoration. It is known in a variety of shapes, and again, the maker is not known.
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The Alley Cat was one of Fenton's earliest Revival pieces (and was then produced over a long period of time in a range of Carnival and other colours, including decorated pieces). On our website, we feature a beautiful Fenton ad from August 1970, issued just over six months after Fenton re-introduced their Revival Carnival, and proudly showing Alley Cat. We also feature the Alley Cat mould - originally called "Sassie Susie" - and explain how it arrived at Fenton, and now at Mosser Glass. Here's the link: Fenton Revival ad. 1970.
Smile!
You can of course take the Halloween and pumpkin theme to the extreme! Here are some ideas, as presented in the October 1919 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. Maybe it will give you some ideas?
You can of course take the Halloween and pumpkin theme to the extreme! Here are some ideas, as presented in the October 1919 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. Maybe it will give you some ideas?
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We invite you and your friends to join us all on NetworK's fast growing and very active Facebook Group (link is below), and if you have missed any of the previous issues of NetworK and NetworK Specials, they are all here: Back Issues.
