NetworK ezine Issue 19. December 2016
by Glen and Stephen Thistlewood
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
Welcome! A very warm welcome to the many new people from all around the world who have joined us recently. We hope that you will enjoy this issue of Carnival Glass NetworK.
The previous issues are on our website ... and NetworK's Facebook Group is proving to be an extremely popular, friendly and "fun" place, where Carnival is discussed, identified, puzzled over or simply shared and appreciated! The links are at the bottom of this issue.
Harry Northwood and the Town Pump - An Inspirational Transition
The Town Pump is an iconic piece of Carnival that encapsulates the genius that was Harry Northwood. Born in 1860 as the eldest son of renowned British glassmaker John Northwood I, Harry was surrounded by creative flair and glass artistry from the get-go. Apprenticed at the age of fourteen in Stevens & Williams famous Stourbridge glassworks, Harry also attended Art School whilst honing his skills first-hand from his father.
It was an exciting time in the world of glass - new ideas and techniques facilitated breathtaking brilliance and creativity – and Harry drank it all in as he developed his own talents and skills. But he surely also felt the need to express himself as an individual – a desire which necessitated a move away from his father’s shadow. In 1881, aged twenty-one, Harry Northwood sailed for the USA to make his own name in the glass industry.
The previous issues are on our website ... and NetworK's Facebook Group is proving to be an extremely popular, friendly and "fun" place, where Carnival is discussed, identified, puzzled over or simply shared and appreciated! The links are at the bottom of this issue.
Harry Northwood and the Town Pump - An Inspirational Transition
The Town Pump is an iconic piece of Carnival that encapsulates the genius that was Harry Northwood. Born in 1860 as the eldest son of renowned British glassmaker John Northwood I, Harry was surrounded by creative flair and glass artistry from the get-go. Apprenticed at the age of fourteen in Stevens & Williams famous Stourbridge glassworks, Harry also attended Art School whilst honing his skills first-hand from his father.
It was an exciting time in the world of glass - new ideas and techniques facilitated breathtaking brilliance and creativity – and Harry drank it all in as he developed his own talents and skills. But he surely also felt the need to express himself as an individual – a desire which necessitated a move away from his father’s shadow. In 1881, aged twenty-one, Harry Northwood sailed for the USA to make his own name in the glass industry.
Was Harry Northwood’s Leaf and Beads rose bowl (below right in aqua opal)
inspired by the iconic “Mat-Su-No-Ke” art glass creations such as the pink/crystal one (below, left) that his father made at Stevens and Williams in Stourbridge? |
Harry brought this porcelain Nautilus (above left) back from England to the USA, vowing to make it in glass. We were privileged to photograph it in Harry’s grand-daughter’s house in West Virginia when we visited her – this was the actual piece Harry owned. He subsequently made the Nautilus in several shapes in glass that looked just like porcelain. Later, the moulds went to his cousin, Tom Dugan, who re-created it in Carnival, shown here.
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Harry, like his father before him, was also a pioneer of new techniques. One very effective skill was his ability to re-create beautiful art glass forms in press-moulded glass, making them available to the many instead of just the few. The Nautilus, Tornado Vase, and Leaf & Beads rose bowl are all Northwood press-moulded and mass-produced pieces that were inspired by other original shapes - distinctive forms in which the shape itself is the pattern.
But the most iconic of all of Harry’s “inspired” pieces is the fabulous Town Pump. Read on …
The Tantalising Tale of the Town Pump
Standing just 6 inches high, Northwood’s iconic Carnival Town Pump, shown below, left in purple, actually represents three decades of creativity!
When Harry was 20 years old and working in the English glass industry, a show-stopping glass Town Pump was produced by Richardson’s, one of the renowned Stourbridge glass firms in the area where Harry worked. The date was 1880 - just one year before Harry was to leave England to start up in the USA.
Roll the clock on 12 years, to 1894, and look what Harry Northwood made! Inspired by Richardson's original, Harry made his own version in blown “art glass”.
On the left, above, is the 1880 Richardson original that began it all (shown here courtesy of and copyright of Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford, Benjamin Richardson III Bequest) – while on the right is Harry Northwood’s 1894 version, as shown in the Crockery and Glass Journal of that same year.
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Five years later, Harry Northwood translated his blown glass form into a pressed glass version that could be mass produced, so as to be available for the many instead of the privileged few who could afford the more expensive art glass. Accompanied by a matching trough, these items were made in opalescent glass not Carnival, and were the precursors to his ivy covered Pump.
It was thirteen years later, in 1912, the quintessential Town Pump was born in Carnival Glass. Covered in ivy leaves and with a handle and spout that clearly reflect the Richardson original, this iconic piece is known in amethyst, green and marigold.
To add to the story of the Town Pump, a miniature (4 inch) version was created as a club souvenir for the International Carnival Glass Association, and made in various Carnival colours.
* Note that the opalescent (not Carnival) Pump and Trough have been subsequently reproduced by (for example) L G Wright.
From art glass to pressed glass. From the grand homes of the privileged few to the humble homes of many - an inspired transition. You can read and see more about Northwood's iconic Town Pump in our series, “The Story Behind The Glass".
A Potted Mystery
Some years ago we bought an unusual little “pot” on eBay Australia, shown on the right. It’s just under 3 inches tall and the colour is a deep, black amethyst. Since then we’ve discovered that there are a few more known in Australia, including a marigold version, one with a pattern variation and also one with a matching lid. But try as we might, we could not find any attribution in a catalogue or any confirmation to underline our belief that the item was surely Australian made (and possibly by Crown Crystal). And then, we spotted a 1928 newspaper ad (far right), for a shop in Brisbane, Australia! It was a covered sugar, in “Sunglow” (marigold) in the same pattern as our mystery pot. It’s not proof absolute of course, but it certainly adds significant weight to this pretty piece being Australian made, and thus most likely from Crown Crystal. |
Diamond Pinwheel
In 1907 Sowerby introduced a new pattern to their range. Known as suite number 2295, it was dubbed Diamond Pinwheel (for obvious reasons) by Carnival collectors when marigold versions appeared. So far, only marigold examples have surfaced in the butter dish shape (cake stands are also reported). But there’s a twist to this tale: a vase made by Jeannette in the USA in the late 1950s often gets mistakenly identified as Sowerby’s Diamond Pinwheel. If you “Google” Sowerby Diamond Pinwheel virtually every “hit” you’ll get is actually Jeannette’s 1950s vase or dish.
Here’s the definitive quick and easy guide for you to spot the difference and correctly identify these items.
Below: Sowerby’s Diamond Pinwheel butter (the pattern is on the inside of the butter lid). Note the golden paper label which features the Sowerby peacock trademark. |
Above: On the left is an extract from Sowerby’s 1907 catalogue. It shows a dish and a celery vase in Diamond Pinwheel (but note that so far, neither shape has been reported in Carnival Glass).
On the right is Jeannette’s #3621 vase, standing 7” high as shown in their catalogue from the late 1950s. |
Just for Fun … This splendid rustic-looking pipe was shown in a Sears mail order catalogue in the 1890s. The similarity of the pipe's intricate rustic design to the Millersburg Pipe Humidor made us smile – wouldn’t they go well together? Picture courtesy of Seeck Auctions. Sears was the mail order specialist and by the early 1900s it offered pretty much anything a customer could want, from small domestic items through to "build-it-yourself" homes in kit form ... even automobiles. Sears even advertised Carnival Glass (but we can't find the Pipe Humidor in their offerings)! |
A Regal Trio The regally named King James vase shown in this trio on the right is the latest addition to our unique "Collectors Facts" feature on our website. Patterns are shown, in alphabetical order, with a "thumbnail" picture - click on any thumbnail to see full details, pictures, catalogue images ... and much more. Collectors Facts is the ideal place to find information on those "hard to identify" Carnival Glass patterns - including patterns that you won't find identified anywhere else! Click on the image or go here: Collectors Facts. |
In Issue #18, we announced that Carnival Glass NetworK has its very own Public Group on Facebook and the response has been truly wonderful! Collectors all around the world have shared some amazing pictures of their treasured Carnival Glass. Stories, comments, and friendly repartee make it a fun place to "meet and greet" all your Carnival Glass friends.
We invite you and your friends to join NetworK's Facebook Group: Carnival Glass NetworK