NetworK ezine Issue 82. March 2022
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
Welcome to our March edition of Carnival Glass NetworK.
Easter beckons, and springtime takes hold in the northern hemisphere. Many years ago it might have been the signal for ladies to turn their attention to a new hat. An Easter bonnet, perhaps? And back in the early 1900s when Carnival was first made, some women’s hats were statement pieces! So, what connection does this have with Carnival Glass? Well, those huge hats needed some anchoring to stay on ladies’ heads, especially if they had large hair-pieces or wigs underneath as well. And that problem was solved with over-sized, long hatpins, that would go all the way through both hat and hair-piece, keeping the entire headgear safely in place. My lady’s dressing table had plenty of jars and bottles for powder, cologne and pomade … but one extra item was needed to hold those long hatpins safely. And that, of course, is where the hatpin holder came in! Carnival Glass Hatpin Holders Hatpin holders were available in various metal or pottery versions, as well as home-made models, decorated with ribbons. But in iridescent glass, they were surely a most desirable adornment. Northwood's Grape and Cable and Fenton's Orange Tree hatpin holders were undoubtedly very popular and they were both made in a wide variety of Carnival Glass colours. |
Quite the hat, 1911 style. Courtesy Birgit Branvall, Wikimedia Commons.
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Northwood
Below is a clip from a 1910 Butler Brothers wholesale catalogue that featured “dressing table specials” in Northwood’s Grape and Cable pattern – the hatpin holder and the covered puff box. Northwood made a full set of shapes for the dressing table in this pattern. |
Above left is a scarce Grape and Cable hatpin holder in Northwood's "signature" aqua opal *. Courtesy of Seeck Auctions.
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Northwood extended their line of Grape and Cable dressing table items to include cologne bottles (blow moulded) and two oval trays - a large "comb and brush tray", and a small "pin tray". Here is a 1912 Butler Brothers clip featuring the full Northwood dresser set.
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* There are actually two versions of the Grape and Cable pattern which are shown clearly in the hatpin holder picture above. The more usual version (on the left of the two shown) has the cable design around the top, whereas the other version on its right - called Banded Grape and Cable - has a plain band instead of the cable. Stippling was also sometimes used to add further variety.
Fenton Not to be outdone (and perhaps seeing the popularity of Northwood's pieces), in 1912 Fenton also used their Orange Tree pattern for these same two dressing table shapes - hatpin holder and covered puff box. They are shown below in this clip from Butler Brothers in 1912. The competition between the two glassmakers is obvious in the similarities between the two ads! Northwood's "Specials" were described as Fenton's "Specialties", and the price for the two companies' hatpin holders was the same - 92 cents a dozen.
The clip on the right, is from the 1912 Lee Manufacturing Catalog (courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics). The item is, of course, Fenton’s “Orange Tree” hatpin holder – which you can see in the photo of ours in green Carnival on the far right. As the 1912 caption noted, it was “not only ornamental but extremely useful”. (Note: Lee Manufacturing was a wholesale / jobber company that used premiums and sales plans, in conjunction with a network of “lady agents” all across the USA.) |
Interestingly, Fenton did not make any other dressing table items in Orange Tree, despite the pattern being used for an extensive range of other shapes.
A Conundrum
Note the top shaping on both the Orange Tree and the Grape and Cable hatpin holders – they were formed with prongs or “claws” to hold the pin shafts upright. But not all hatpin holders had this feature – some were simply open at the top – leading to a misunderstanding around one super little piece - the
However, we can confirm with absolute confidence that not only is this a definite Westmoreland item, it was also made and marketed as a hatpin holder by them. Both this and the stylistically similar Estate “vase” were shown in a Westmoreland Specialty Co. Catalog (from c. 1910-14) as hatpin holders.
Conversely, there’s a piece widely known as a hatpin holder that was, almost certainly, intended to be a vase. It’s generally accepted that Dugan’s Formal pattern was made as a hatpin holder, but was it ever marketed as such, or is it an opportune (wishful) classification for the bud vase? Almost certainly it was intended as a vase. |
Westmoreland's Woodlands hatpin holder on the left,
and Dugan's Formal vase on the right, both in marigold. Courtesy Seeck Auctions. |
Going Out of Fashion? Carnival hatpin holders were popular items from around 1910. They were offered in wholesale and jobber catalogues, and were promoted widely with coupons and other sales incentives.
The anti-social aspects of the long hatpin, coupled with changing fashions, brought about the gradual demise of the hatpin holder. By the time the European Carnival makers began to make dressing table sets in the early 1920s, the hatpin holder was not considered an integral item. Women exchanged their hair pieces and “big hair” styles for the sleek bob cut. The stylized “moderne” Deco style took over. Revival Carnival Hatpin holders in an entirely new design were made in Revival Carnival as club souvenirs. Here on the right is a HOACGA club piece, made for them in 1977 in red by L. E. Smith. It was subsequently made for them by Fenton in ice green (1980), Vaseline opal (2001), and emerald green (2002). The design of this club souvenir was clearly inspired by Northwood’s original Good Luck and Greek Key patterns. |
Be aware of Fakes!
Unfortunately, fake Grape and Cable hatpin holders have been made in recent times (and we believe are still being produced) faking the Classic Northwood pieces. Until now, it has been fairly easy to spot these fakes as the “claws” (or flutes) at the top are high and pronounced.
Unfortunately, fake Grape and Cable hatpin holders have been made in recent times (and we believe are still being produced) faking the Classic Northwood pieces. Until now, it has been fairly easy to spot these fakes as the “claws” (or flutes) at the top are high and pronounced.
Worryingly however, we have seen “improvements” in the fakes and the tops on some are now more incurved, and more like the original Northwood version. The difference is all in the detail. The grapes are smaller, meaner, thinner-looking on the fakes, and the mould-work is not as detailed or as fine. The iridescence is usually weak and pale. Carnival Jewellery Clearly, glassmakers would not miss an opportunity to add to their range of items for sale, so naturally, iridescent hatpins were available to accompany your recently purchased hatpin holder. But it didn't stop there - iridescent beads, buttons, handbags (purses), and jewellery of all descriptions became available for purchase. We have an extensive feature article on fashionable items made in Carnival Glass, from the 1910s through to modern times.
Click on the thumbnail image above, or here: The Height of Fashion |
The fake Grape and Cable version is on the left, and the original, Classic Northwood version
is on the right. |
Sowerby Revelations
What an absolute joy it is to (at last!) have definitive attributions for these three items! The first that we show on the right is a 6” high vase known as Wide Panel and Diamonds. We acquired this deep purple vase in the late 1980s and for some time we puzzled over its likely origins. The black amethyst colouring made us wonder if it might possibly be Australian, from Crown Crystal, but ultimately, we felt that Sowerby was the most likely maker, based on certain pattern characteristics (swag shapes near the top, the pedestal base and the colours in which it is known). Although no catalogue illustration had been found at that time, our “gut feel” was Sowerby of England. Thankfully, it turns out that we were right! Here, we show a picture of the vase, and on its right, thanks to and courtesy of Mike Tomlin, is a 1927 Sowerby Pattern Book illustration of it, Sowerby’s No. 2429. Now, we can verify this vase in black amethyst, with Sowerby’s Rainbo iridescence (as shown above), and also in marigold, with their Sunglow iridescence. |
Another revelation was this unusual bowl that was shown to us by Lesley Smith, some fifteen years ago.
We were baffled by it ... attribution was elusive. Now we know! It is also a Sowerby piece: Sowerby’s No. 2442 Heavy Pillar.
And yet another, very satisfying, revelation. This vase (right) has been puzzling the owner, Lynn McAuley in Australia, for many years. Eureka, it is Sowerby’s No. 2406 and was shown in their 1922 Pattern Book. Vase image courtesy Lynn McAuley, and Pattern Book image of Sowerby’s 2406 courtesy Mike Tomlin. Lynn has named this lovely Sowerby vase “Botilda” in honour of her parents, using their entwined names. She shared a little of their history with us, which makes it all more special. As Lynn says, this Sowerby vase is “a sturdy, unpretentious and honest little vase and that is really how my parents were. Hard working, 'salt of the earth' country people who never in their wildest dreams would ever have imagined anything being named after them.” A perfect honour, and a beautiful memory. |
Don’t put Gravy in it just yet!
Shown on the right is a clip from a King Manufacturing Co. Catalog of Premiums. There was no date given, but the Carnival items shown in it date from 1909 onwards. Dugan Fan in peach opal, courtesy Burns Auctions.
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Catalog image above courtesy of Jon D Bartell and the Glass Paper Fanatics.
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The item shown in King's Catalog is known to Carnival collectors as Fan, but Dugan’s Original Maker’s Name for this beautiful item was “Diamond D”. The flared-out form illustrated was actually depicted on a page of a Dugan catalogue entitled "Opalescent Novelty Assortment". This handled shape is often called a gravy boat by collectors, but putting hot gravy into a glass dish would not be advisable. The King Catalog illustration shows us exactly what it was intended to be used as – it’s a candy or bon-bon dish. But what about that pouring lip? Of course, we know that the aim of the Carnival makers (and wholesalers) was to sell the glass. So, suggesting a wide range of uses was clearly a useful marketing ploy. Here on the right is the same Fan item in a 1912 Smyth Catalog, being offered as a cream pitcher. So, it’s a bon-bon, a candy dish or a cream pitcher … but it’s best not to call it a gravy boat. |
Readers of our NetworK ezine may remember that in Issue #75 we explored the fascinating story of the Dugan Fan pattern, its transition into their Dahlia pattern, and the subsequent Dahlia reissues in the Revival era. Here for ease of reference is the link: NetworK #75
The Canterbury
When we saw this illustration of "The Canterbury" vase in the Clayton Mayers Catalogue (c. late 1920s, early 1930s – shown courtesy Mike Tomlin) we were amazed. The vase pictured is one we named as Josef’s Plumes in our “A Century of Carnival Glass”.
Extract from “A Catalogue of Superfine British and Continental
Table Glassware for the Home” Clayton Mayers & Co. Ltd. Courtesy Mike Tomlin. |
We chose the name Josef as we believed at that time (2001) that it was undoubtedly a vase from the Josef Inwald glassworks – basing our theory on the magnificent iridescence despite there being no catalogue attribution at that time. As the years went by, and various further catalogues emerged, we considered that August Walther might be the maker – and then in our most recent “Encyclopedia of European Carnival Glass” eBook, we went with “possibly Walther” but we stated that the jury was still out.
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And now we have the answer. We were correct with our original “gut-feel” in 2001: Josef Inwald made the vase.
Why are we sure?
Firstly, the illustration is identical in every detail to the Josef’s Plumes vase.
Secondly, the number for the vase in the illustration is No. 8848, which is consistent with Inwald’s pattern numbering.
Thirdly, the catalogue it appeared in was from Clayton Mayers. This company was the main British agent for bringing Inwald’s glass into Britain (and they also led the marketing campaign for introducing Inwald’s extensive Jacobean range into British shops).
Clayton Mayers gave the vase a name – “The Canterbury”, no doubt inspired both by the shape of the Canterbury Bell flowers and the desire to make it sound appealing to the British buying public. And of course, they explained that the vase itself is actually “an oval bell shape” – perfect for displaying flowers.
And now we have the answer. We were correct with our original “gut-feel” in 2001: Josef Inwald made the vase.
Why are we sure?
Firstly, the illustration is identical in every detail to the Josef’s Plumes vase.
Secondly, the number for the vase in the illustration is No. 8848, which is consistent with Inwald’s pattern numbering.
Thirdly, the catalogue it appeared in was from Clayton Mayers. This company was the main British agent for bringing Inwald’s glass into Britain (and they also led the marketing campaign for introducing Inwald’s extensive Jacobean range into British shops).
Clayton Mayers gave the vase a name – “The Canterbury”, no doubt inspired both by the shape of the Canterbury Bell flowers and the desire to make it sound appealing to the British buying public. And of course, they explained that the vase itself is actually “an oval bell shape” – perfect for displaying flowers.
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