NetworK ezine Issue 27. August 2017
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
A very warm welcome to this, the 27th issue of our Carnival Glass NetworK ezine, and to our many, many new readers.
An amazing number of new members also join our Carnival Glass NetworK Facebook Group daily. We are heading towards 4000 Group members now, with a membership from all corners of the world!
Our friendly Group members make sure that everyone is made to feel very welcome, and requests for ID are usually all solved very quickly by members of the Group. All kinds of Carnival from all eras of production are featured and admired, and we all take great pleasure in seeing our members' amazing pictures of fabulous Carnival Glass.
An amazing number of new members also join our Carnival Glass NetworK Facebook Group daily. We are heading towards 4000 Group members now, with a membership from all corners of the world!
Our friendly Group members make sure that everyone is made to feel very welcome, and requests for ID are usually all solved very quickly by members of the Group. All kinds of Carnival from all eras of production are featured and admired, and we all take great pleasure in seeing our members' amazing pictures of fabulous Carnival Glass.
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Here is a taste of the feedback the Group has received recently: - you're going to love this exciting adventure. The collectors share the most beautiful Carnival Glass ever, for all to enjoy. - we learn, have fun, and admire each other's Glass. - the most fascinating Carnival Glass ever … an exciting display of the most beautiful Carnival Glass you will see! - the greatest group of collectors. Click on the image on the right to find us on Facebook, and maybe invite your Carnival Glass friends to join us as well! |
Click to join the Carnival Glass Network on Facebook
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Meet Sherry!
This diminutive, marigold beauty (below, left) was discovered by Dick and Sherry Betker. The little vase is made of heavy glass and stands just under five and a half inches high. It is cylindrical in shape, and has a ground base (with an impressed star) that measures two and a half inches across.
And boy, did this vase puzzle us! At first sight it made us think of some of the Finnish maker, Riihimaki’s, well-known patterns. That spinning star was surely like Riihimaki’s Starburst or Starburst and Crown, while the long cross reminded us of Riihimaki’s Jupiter pattern. And yet, no! Neither was exactly right and despite hours of searching through catalogues and archives, the little vase could not be found.
This diminutive, marigold beauty (below, left) was discovered by Dick and Sherry Betker. The little vase is made of heavy glass and stands just under five and a half inches high. It is cylindrical in shape, and has a ground base (with an impressed star) that measures two and a half inches across.
And boy, did this vase puzzle us! At first sight it made us think of some of the Finnish maker, Riihimaki’s, well-known patterns. That spinning star was surely like Riihimaki’s Starburst or Starburst and Crown, while the long cross reminded us of Riihimaki’s Jupiter pattern. And yet, no! Neither was exactly right and despite hours of searching through catalogues and archives, the little vase could not be found.
Two views of the Sherry vase, courtesy of Dick and Sherry Betker
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Above: Two Riihimaki patterns that have similar motifs
to the puzzling Sherry vase are Starburst and Crown (left) and Jupiter (right) – but yet neither was a match. |
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Fast forward ... several days (and much searching) later, and guess what? Eureka! Yes, we found it in an Iittala catalogue - shown on the right. This is the very first known vase in this pattern. Carnival Glass from Iittala is very scarce indeed, and only a handful of (Carnival) patterns are attributed to that factory, so this is a very significant find indeed. Congratulations to Dick and Sherry for discovering this splendid little vase. Right: extract from Iittala’s catalogue (c. 1934), courtesy of Tiina Aaltonen, Iittala Glass Museum. To see more of Dick and Sherry Betker’s photos and further info on this beautiful vase, visit our Collectors Facts page on Sherry. |
Iittala catalogue c.1934
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Saturday Special
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A ruffled bowl in Northwood’s ever-popular Three Fruits pattern – on offer for just 9 cents as an “Extra Special Saturday Only” deal, back in 1912. That’s equivalent to just over $2 (USD) today.
This ad was in the “Wilkes-Barre Record”, Pennsylvania in 1912. and the wording of the ad is very interesting for several reasons. Firstly, the shape is what today we would call a bowl, yet here it was described as a "Bon Bon Dish". Secondly, it was said to be “opalescent”. Most likely, this was simply a confusion of terms - we’ve seen iridescent glass referred to as “opalescent” before in publications from around that time. The comment that it “can hardly be told from the genuine Tiffany” strongly suggests it was iridised - that is, Carnival Glass. Of course, it's always possible that the items on sale were actually Northwood's aqua opalescent Carnival! No wonder Louis Comfort Tiffany got hot under the collar when he saw things like this in the press. And at just 9 cents too! Thirdly, there is an intriguing aspect to this ad: if you look closely you’ll see that the design appears to be stippled, and it has a ring band that completely encircles the design - just like this aqua opal Three Fruits bowl below ("V1"), courtesy of Seeck Auctions. |
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Now spot the difference when we compare it with another Three Fruits bowl (also courtesy of Seeck Auctions) - "V2", shown above right - which is also aqua opal and stippled.
The arrangement of the fruits on V2 is very different. Position the bowls so the central bunch of cherries is hanging down (as illustrated in the two pictures shown here) - on V1, the other three clusters of fruit are arranged around the central bunch of cherries to form a sort of A shape. On V2, the arrangement of the fruits is different - a Y shape. Another way of telling the difference is to look at the middle leaf in the central bunch of cherries - on V1 the leaf points directly to the two apples (or peaches or whatever they were intended to be!). On V2 the leaf points to the gap between two bunches of fruit.
The two designs - V1 and V2 - were made from entirely different moulds. (To be completely accurate, they were from different plungers, because the plunger is the part of the mould where the interior design of the bowl would be.) The V2 design would seem to be the version that is more usually found.
All this information arising from one simple 1912 ad!
The arrangement of the fruits on V2 is very different. Position the bowls so the central bunch of cherries is hanging down (as illustrated in the two pictures shown here) - on V1, the other three clusters of fruit are arranged around the central bunch of cherries to form a sort of A shape. On V2, the arrangement of the fruits is different - a Y shape. Another way of telling the difference is to look at the middle leaf in the central bunch of cherries - on V1 the leaf points directly to the two apples (or peaches or whatever they were intended to be!). On V2 the leaf points to the gap between two bunches of fruit.
The two designs - V1 and V2 - were made from entirely different moulds. (To be completely accurate, they were from different plungers, because the plunger is the part of the mould where the interior design of the bowl would be.) The V2 design would seem to be the version that is more usually found.
All this information arising from one simple 1912 ad!
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The “Bon Bon Dish”
Earlier, in a 1912 "Saturday Special" ad, we pointed out that the large Three Fruits bowl was described as a “Bon Bon Dish”. Today when we use the term bon bon dish (or bonbon dish) with reference to Carnival Glass, we generally mean a two-handled small dish (either on a flat base or a short stem) like Northwood's Butterfly bonbon shown below in purple. 
Northwood's Butterfly bonbon in purple
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Butler Brothers ad for Fenton Carnival Glass, 1910
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In NetworK #26, we examined use of the term "nappy" (which collectors today generally use for a one handled small dish), but we also found that Imperial used "bon bon" for some of their one handled pieces, and Butler Brothers used "bon bon" for small dishes without any handles. Confusion abounds!
The ad above, right is from a 1910 Butler Brothers wholesale catalogue was for a selection of Fenton Carnival. There are four two handled ("dbl. hdl.") pieces, but only three are listed in the ad - described as an oval bonbon, a square jelly dish, and a sweetmeat dish.
The ad says it all: ultimately, it really was a case of multi-use and multiple names for the same shape. If it helped it to sell, did it really matter what the shape was called?
The ad above, right is from a 1910 Butler Brothers wholesale catalogue was for a selection of Fenton Carnival. There are four two handled ("dbl. hdl.") pieces, but only three are listed in the ad - described as an oval bonbon, a square jelly dish, and a sweetmeat dish.
The ad says it all: ultimately, it really was a case of multi-use and multiple names for the same shape. If it helped it to sell, did it really matter what the shape was called?
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An Exquisite Souvenir
Discovered recently by Mike Carwile, this adorable, little Miniature Souvenir Spittoon in marigold measures just 4 inches across and 1.5 inches high. ike sent us these two pictures, and he describes it as having fourteen scallops around the top and twenty-one rays on the base, and most importantly, the lettering on the little spittoon reads “Souvenir of Cleveland, Ohio”. 
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Mike describes it in more detail:
“I’ve never seen a wire handle on a piece this small before. I’ve seen lots of this type on 8 inch and 9 inch bowls, but not this size. It really gives an interesting twist to the piece. The finish on the exterior is a “Grecian Gold” light marigold.”
The twisted wire handle is delightful – it’s a most interesting find in a delightful shape, with an added special touch. Thanks to Mike Carwile for sharing it with us all, and sending us pictures.
“I’ve never seen a wire handle on a piece this small before. I’ve seen lots of this type on 8 inch and 9 inch bowls, but not this size. It really gives an interesting twist to the piece. The finish on the exterior is a “Grecian Gold” light marigold.”
The twisted wire handle is delightful – it’s a most interesting find in a delightful shape, with an added special touch. Thanks to Mike Carwile for sharing it with us all, and sending us pictures.
My Little Secret!
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On the immediate right is a Classic (old) tumbler – a marigold Four Seventy Four (aka #474). It was made by Imperial and its name is its original Imperial catalogue number.
On the far right is another Four Seventy Four tumbler in ultra blue Carnival. It was also made by Imperial – as a Contemporary, reissued pattern. Fortunately for collectors, when Imperial started making their Contemporary Carnival (from the 1960s onwards), they marked their new pieces, and under the base of the ultra blue tumbler is Imperial's well known “ IG “ logo. But … the Contemporary tumbler, made in 1977, hides a Little Secret. It has an unusual design on the base, with the words “A NEW SPIRIT ‘77”. The design is actually a peanut to commemorate USA President Jimmy Carter, and his peanut-farming family business. The words “A New Spirit” are a quote from his inaugural address. The ultra blue Four Seventy Four / New Spirit water sets, as shown in this contemporary ad, were made by Imperial in a limited edition of 250 sets. 
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Imperial Four Seventy Four tumblers
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As well as being an interesting piece of Contemporary Carnival Glass, this tumbler shows why Carnival collectors are quick to look at the underside of the base of a piece of glass - it can be very revealing!
Join us on Facebook
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.
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.
