NetworK ezine Issue 3. August 2015
by Glen and Stephen Thistlewood
Welcome to the third issue of Carnival Glass NetworK. Also, welcome to the very many new readers who signed up recently! If you missed Issue #1 or #2, you can read them on the NetworK Back Issues.
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Saturday Surprise Sale!
Promotions and marketing - sell any which way you can – it’s tempting to think of it all as being fairly recent and yet it’s not. This splendid 1910 ad from an Oregon newspaper, offers a “75c Golden Iridescent Fruit Dish” for just 20 cents as the main promotional draw for a “Saturday Surprise Sale”. The “Golden Iridescent Fruit Dish” was, of course, Fenton’s fabulous Little Flowers ruffled bowl in marigold. Butler Brothers’ ads from the same year show this item on offer in “iridescent green, violet and golden” at a cost of $1.95 a dozen, so the special Saturday Sale price was probably not far off cost-price. Note that this splendid fruit dish was on offer for their 162nd Saturday Surprise Sale. Other offerings had included a teapot, a casserole dish, hand-painted cream pitcher, a majolica milk jug and a sugar shaker. |
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Curiously, the ad describes the bowl as being “eight inches across” when in fact these bowl usually run to over nine inches (often ten). Note too, that the ruffled shape is described as having “bent edges” and the sketch appears to show seven ruffles. Typically the Little Flowers large bowls have six or eight ruffles, so we assume the odd number was simply artistic licence.
Above: Fenton's Little Flowers bowls (left, an ice cream shaped bowl in blue, and right a ruffled bowl in green, both courtesy of Seeck Auctions).
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The store holding the Saturday Sale was John Breuner’s. Breuner began his home furnishing store business in 1856, to provide home necessities to prospectors during the California Gold Rush. The newspaper picture above shows one of Breuner's stores. |
Mary Ann
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The original Classic Mary Ann vase was made by Dugan-Diamond. It is 6.5 inches tall and was made in marigold and purple/amethyst Carnival (shown on the right in amethyst). There were also non-iridised vases made in blue opal, crystal opal and according to Heacock, “Depression era colors”. On the far right is a Butler Brothers' advert from their Spring 1915 edition (at which time the factory was the Diamond Glass-Ware Company), showing a Mary Ann vase as part of a "Golden Iridescent" "NEW ETRUSCAN" assortment. The Classic Mary Ann vase was made using two different moulds. Most, like the one shown above, have 8 scallops around the top and around the base and there are four mould seams. There is a scarcer Classic version with 10 scallops around the top and the base and only 2 mould seams. |
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The modern reproductions
Like a number of Classic Dugan-Diamond Carnival Glass patterns, the Mary Ann vase has been reproduced in contemporary Carnival, and also, like the Classic versions, they are not marked with the maker's name. They are called Mary Dugan vases, made by Mosser Glass. The ones we have seen have 10 scallops around both the top and the foot and they have 2 mould seams.
How to tell the old from the new – look at the base.
Like a number of Classic Dugan-Diamond Carnival Glass patterns, the Mary Ann vase has been reproduced in contemporary Carnival, and also, like the Classic versions, they are not marked with the maker's name. They are called Mary Dugan vases, made by Mosser Glass. The ones we have seen have 10 scallops around both the top and the foot and they have 2 mould seams.
How to tell the old from the new – look at the base.
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Above: Extract from the wholesaler, Rosso Glass catalogue, late 1990s.
They are still available today. |
If the base is iridised underneath (above left), it is a reproduction. The Classic Mary Ann vases are not iridised under the base (above right).
It takes some experience to be certain, but most Carnival collectors will spot the distinctive, rather vivid and brash iridescence on the reproductions, particularly if the two are side-by-side, as below.
It takes some experience to be certain, but most Carnival collectors will spot the distinctive, rather vivid and brash iridescence on the reproductions, particularly if the two are side-by-side, as below.
Reproduction (left) and Classic (right).
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The base glass colour is also a very good indication: as far as we know, the Classic 10 scallop vase (which is very hard to find anyway) was only made in marigold Carnival. The reproductions have been made in a wide variety of colours: iridised (Carnival) vases have been reported in black amethyst, light blue (Spring Blue), and red/amberina. Non-iridised versions have been reported in vaseline, satinized vaseline, white opal, and satinized white opal. Also worth a mention is that there is a Classic version of Mary Ann that has three handles (and is known as a Loving Cup shape). They are rare, so if you see one, don't think "reproduction", think WOW! Read more about Mary Ann vases. |
Encore!
Encore (meaning “more … more!”) was the clever title of three reference books, “Encore by Dorothy Taylor” Books I, II and III, produced between 1984 and 1986. There was also a long-running subscription based “Encore” newsletter, issued from 1975 to 1993.
Dorothy Taylor’s focus was to identify and document the many Carnival Glass reissues and reproductions that were being made at that time by the likes of Fenton, Imperial, L E Smith, Westmoreland, and other makers, and also L. G. Wright which commissioned glass companies to make Carnival for them.
Dorothy Taylor also commissioned many Carnival Glass pieces to be made as souvenirs and collectible exclusives, including her “mini baskets” series.
Encore (meaning “more … more!”) was the clever title of three reference books, “Encore by Dorothy Taylor” Books I, II and III, produced between 1984 and 1986. There was also a long-running subscription based “Encore” newsletter, issued from 1975 to 1993.
Dorothy Taylor’s focus was to identify and document the many Carnival Glass reissues and reproductions that were being made at that time by the likes of Fenton, Imperial, L E Smith, Westmoreland, and other makers, and also L. G. Wright which commissioned glass companies to make Carnival for them.
Dorothy Taylor also commissioned many Carnival Glass pieces to be made as souvenirs and collectible exclusives, including her “mini baskets” series.
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Encore Mini Baskets
Dorothy Taylor's mini baskets were miniature representations of old Classic Carnival Glass patterns. Three of the designs are shown on the right - Kittens, Panther and Elk. The other designs are Pony, Farmyard, Stag and Holly, Dragon and Lotus, and Lion. All the designs are on our website (the link is at the end of this article). She intended to have nine designs, but the ninth, a representation of Fenton’s Classic Horse Head Medallion, was not put into production. The eight plungers for the mini baskets were made by Al Botson of Botson’s Machine and Mould Company, Cambridge, Ohio and the glass was pressed by Fenton. They are marked with a moulded “Taylor” and later “Encore” (with the year made), and the Fenton logo in the base. |
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The handles were applied by hand (not part of the mould), in various styles and shapes. As was the practice at Fenton, the glassmaker who applied the handle impressed his own “mark” on the handle at the point where it was attached to the body of the glass. The mark on the Elk mini basket is Fred Bruce.
Elk mini basket (#4 in the series)
The mini basket plungers were also used to make other items, for example miniature bowls and an umbrella shape (with a single crook-shaped handle attached to the centre of the bowl). Dorothy Taylor also had several other items made for her and Encore, generally with the same theme - her interpretation of Classic Carnival designs. They include miniature water sets – God and Home, Inverted Peacocks and Inverted Trout – and miniature punch sets.
The Inspiration
B.P.O.E. (the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) is a US fraternal order and social club dating back to 1868. The elk design was the inspiration for several Classic Carnival Glass items made by Fenton, Dugan and Millersburg - they are very collectible and some are very rare. The same design also inspired Dorothy Taylor's mini basket and other contemporary Carnival Glass pieces.
We have a major 4-page feature on BPOE Elks Carnival Glass - The Story Behind The Glass.
The Inspiration
B.P.O.E. (the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) is a US fraternal order and social club dating back to 1868. The elk design was the inspiration for several Classic Carnival Glass items made by Fenton, Dugan and Millersburg - they are very collectible and some are very rare. The same design also inspired Dorothy Taylor's mini basket and other contemporary Carnival Glass pieces.
We have a major 4-page feature on BPOE Elks Carnival Glass - The Story Behind The Glass.
Above left, a Classic BPOE Elks Atlantic City 1911 bowl in blue, made by Fenton. Courtesy of Seeck Auctions.
On the right is a contemporary red Elks paperweight made for Mi Mi Inc. It is a reproduction
of an original, rare item made by Millersburg (which was only made in purple and green Carnival).
On the right is a contemporary red Elks paperweight made for Mi Mi Inc. It is a reproduction
of an original, rare item made by Millersburg (which was only made in purple and green Carnival).
Read more about Dorothy Taylor’s mini baskets, including all of the designs, and a list of the numbers and colours of the designs that were made. Here is the link: Encore Mini Baskets.
Too Much Beer (the drunken glassworkers story)
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Have you ever seen a piece of Carnival that looks a bit “off”? Maybe it’s got a wonky or twisted stem (Fruits & Flowers bonbons sometimes have this feature) or the edge crimping isn’t quite right, or it has a bit of a lean. The “conventional” explanations include poor quality control, or the piece was too hot / too cold when it was worked on or put into the lehr.
But … could there be another reason … alcohol in the workplace? The news clip below from The Omaha Bee in 1904, provides some support for that possibility. It seems that the workers at Tiffany’s Glass Co. objected to the quality of the drinking water and so turned to beer instead. When Tiffany’s cut their beer supply the glass workers went on strike. The comment from Tiffany’s (in the clipping below) was a jewel of understatement: it says “the firm did not object to the men having beer at lunch, but it was not thought that a man who drank beer during working hours could do his best work.” |
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The Imperial Tiger Lily tumbler on the right has a distinct lean to it. The explanation usually given is that the glass was too hot when the tumbler was set down in the lehr to cool, and it slumped slightly. That's the most likely reason ... but maybe, just maybe, alcoholic fermentation might have played a part!
Interesting fact - brewing of ale in the USA was first recorded in Virginia in 1587.
Interesting fact - brewing of ale in the USA was first recorded in Virginia in 1587.
Feedback
We hope you have enjoyed this issue of our NetworK ezine. We aim to bring the next one out very soon. If you missed earlier issues, they are on our NetworK back issues page. Meanwhile, we would love to hear from you, and maybe you would like to "chat" with us on our Carnival Glass facebook pages.
