NetworK ezine Issue 91. December 2022
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
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Welcome to the final 2022 issue of NetworK. Goodness, doesn’t time fly? It's almost Christmas! We have covered such a lot of topics in our NetworK ezine this past year, including many revelations and fresh research information – we hope you have enjoyed it all. This issue includes yet more amazing old ads, spanning from over a century ago to around forty years ago. They are fascinating to study. So, let’s get started: we’ll begin and end with some wonderful Imperial Carnival Glass. |
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Imperial Christmas Ornament, 3.25 inches across. Marked LIG. Second Day of Christmas - Two Turtle Doves. Revival Carnival, 1970s
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Firstly, let's look at two ads from over 100 years ago. The ads were placed by Cox & Lafferty, the Representatives for Imperial in New York.
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The ad below is from 1910 and its focus was on the upcoming January sales. The glass on offer was Imperial’s “Azur” (purple iridescent) that they also described as being “the darkest” of their iridescent colours and “of very striking appearance”.
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This second ad is from 1911, and it also features the Imperial Grape pattern, but with the addition of a Four Seventy Four punch set. This time the colour is Helios, described as having “beautiful green and silver tints”, that was "equal to the gloriously radiant hue of our well-known "AZUR" glass."
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Note the comment in the 1910 ad that “The goods themselves talk more forcefully than we can”. How true this is. A black and white image of these beauties would not be able to convey the magnificence of Imperial’s Carnival, especially their "Azur" (purple). The images below demonstrate this to perfection.
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Above left is the interior view of a large size, purple Scroll Embossed comport and on the right is the side view of the same footed comport, showing the Eastern Star exterior pattern. It was described in the ad as a Footed Comport, Crimped (meaning ruffled). Both pictures are courtesy Seeck Auctions.
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Above left is an Imperial Grape water set in purple (courtesy Seeck Auctions), which was described in the Cox & Lafferty ad as a Lemonade Set.
On the right are two Imperial Grape carafes, described in the 1911 ad as "blown vases", in Helios, (courtesy Burns Auctions) and purple.
On the right are two Imperial Grape carafes, described in the 1911 ad as "blown vases", in Helios, (courtesy Burns Auctions) and purple.
In both of the Cox & Lafferty ads there is what Imperial called a “blown" vase, and this description was not unusual. Other Imperial vases were also blow-moulded (“blown”) as shown in this extract from Imperial’s 1912 catalogue below (courtesy Jon D Bartell).
Imperial’s 1912 catalogue extract (courtesy Jon D Bartell). The three items that are blow-moulded are: "grape design" (Imperial Grape),
"black berry design" (Loganberry) and "poppy design" (Poppy Show). One vase is pressed "shell design" (Scroll and Flower Panels).
Click on the image to see more information about it and the pieces it showed.
"black berry design" (Loganberry) and "poppy design" (Poppy Show). One vase is pressed "shell design" (Scroll and Flower Panels).
Click on the image to see more information about it and the pieces it showed.
There is also further reading on our website, here:
Imperial’s wonderful Four Seventy Four pattern: La Rochelle
Imperial’s blown vases: Imperial Vases
God and Home
This is such a wonderful piece of recent history that we’d like to share it with you. We have previously written a very comprehensive feature on the God and Home pattern, but now we can add this splendid 1975 catalogue extract, courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics. We will also add it to our "Story Behind the Glass" page on the pattern. Note that the text below the title states: “A Rare and Treasured Pattern in Carnival Glass Once Again Produced From the Recently Discovered Original Old Moulds”. (In fact, the moulds were “discovered” in the late 1930s).
This is such a wonderful piece of recent history that we’d like to share it with you. We have previously written a very comprehensive feature on the God and Home pattern, but now we can add this splendid 1975 catalogue extract, courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics. We will also add it to our "Story Behind the Glass" page on the pattern. Note that the text below the title states: “A Rare and Treasured Pattern in Carnival Glass Once Again Produced From the Recently Discovered Original Old Moulds”. (In fact, the moulds were “discovered” in the late 1930s).
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Here is the link to our full article on the God and Home pattern, from Classic Carnival through to Revival reproductions and replica miniature sets. There was even a 1960s "controversy" between rival collectors: God and Home: The Story Behind the Glass STOP PRESS We have just discovered this wonderful ad for a Limited Edition of the miniature God and Home water sets - made by Fenton for Dorothy Taylor / Encore in a red Carnival colour that was wonderfully called "Red Bermuda Sunset (ruby iridised)"! 
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1975 L.G. Wright catalogue extract.
Courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics. |
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Pony
It’s a fairly familiar pattern – a single horse head encircled by an elegant Greek Key border. The Classic Carnival pieces are credited to the Dugan-Diamond glassworks (most likely produced during the later Diamond years). To date, no catalogue or wholesalers’ ads have come to light from those early years, which is surprising, considering the apparent popularity of the marigold bowl. The Classic version is known in marigold, amethyst and there are scarcer examples in aqua and ice green. The Pony mould appears to have been yet another one of those acquired by Si Wright in the late 1930s, that was subsequently used for Revival Carnival production in the 1970s, with items being made for Wright by Westmoreland. The catalogue extract on the right shows that plates and bowls in marigold and purple (amethyst) Carnival were reproduced for Wright. They are good reproductions and note that the characteristic flat notched edge was faithfully reproduced too. To the best of our knowledge these L. G. Wright items were not marked in any way. |
Extract from L.G. Wright’s “1976 Supplement to Master Catalog”. Courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics.
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Subsequently, the Pony mould was then used at Mosser to make a variety of Carnival examples for Gary Levi (Levay Glass). *
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Left: Purple Pony plate. Westmoreland for L.G. Wright. Courtesy Seeck Auctions.
Right: Red Pony plate. Mosser for Levay, made in 2004, trademarked, limited and numbered.
Right: Red Pony plate. Mosser for Levay, made in 2004, trademarked, limited and numbered.
* Following this issue of NetworK, we were contacted by both Tony DeMichael and Dodie Levi who gave us the correct information regarding the extensive range of Pony plates and bowls that were made by Mosser. Our thanks to them for making sure this information available to all Carnival collectors!
As a direct result - and with grateful thanks to Tony and Mary Jo DeMichael, we have been able to publish "The Pony Revival Gallery" which we announced in the following issue of NetworK (#92). The Gallery features the superb collection of Levay Pony bowls and plates that he and Mary Jo have built up.
Horizon Blue from Imperial
This 1980 Imperial (Lennox) catalogue extract is most interesting on many levels. The first – and most obvious interest is that it marks an “offering” in Horizon Blue, a version of ice blue in Revival Carnival. It offered a free, limited edition of their Starfire bowl in Horizon Blue, as an inducement to buy more. Customers ordering a minimum $400 of Horizon Blue items, would receive a free Starfire bowl (the number to be issued was 2500 in total). These items should all be marked LIG for Lennox Imperial Glass.
This 1980 Imperial (Lennox) catalogue extract is most interesting on many levels. The first – and most obvious interest is that it marks an “offering” in Horizon Blue, a version of ice blue in Revival Carnival. It offered a free, limited edition of their Starfire bowl in Horizon Blue, as an inducement to buy more. Customers ordering a minimum $400 of Horizon Blue items, would receive a free Starfire bowl (the number to be issued was 2500 in total). These items should all be marked LIG for Lennox Imperial Glass.
Imperial Glass by Lennox 1980 catalogue extract, courtesy of Glass Paper Fanatics.
Another interesting point is that in the first paragraph it states: “Imperial … first began handcrafting fine Carnival items in 1910.” Now that’s an interesting claim, as our own research (in 2018) established that Imperial’s Carnival was in production from at least as early as July 1908 and this fact was actually reported in the glass trade press in 1909.
We can only assume that the writer of this 1980s ad was focussing on when Imperial began advertising heavily in 1910 (using Cox & Lafferty) and maybe was unaware of the actual commencement of Carnival production at the factory in 1908, some two years earlier.
Some of the wide range of pieces available in Horizon Blue (colour code HB) can be seen in this catalogue extract below, courtesy Glass Paper Fanatics.
The items shown on this page were (left to right, back row, middle row, front row):
42320 - Storybook Mug
42774 - Loganberry Vase
42792 - Dolphin Candleholder
42699 - Imperial Rose crimped bowl
42784 - Rose Candleholder
42162 & 42062 - Robin Pitcher and Tumbler.
42752 - Block & Daisy Vase
42472 - Four Seventy Four / 474 Salt & Pepper Set
42696 - Antique Grape Bowl (Heavy Grape)
42624 - Octagon Toothpick Holder
42686 - Scroll Embossed Crimped Bowl
42844 - Colonial Belle (Suzanne)
42724 - Star Medallion Footed Compote.
42610 - Four Seventy Four / 474 Butter & Cover
42885 - Mayflower Covered Box
42563 - Pinwheel Nappy
42930 - Swan.
You can see all our detailed research and information on Imperial, Classic and Revival, here on our Imperial Glass Home Page: Imperial Carnival Glass
42320 - Storybook Mug
42774 - Loganberry Vase
42792 - Dolphin Candleholder
42699 - Imperial Rose crimped bowl
42784 - Rose Candleholder
42162 & 42062 - Robin Pitcher and Tumbler.
42752 - Block & Daisy Vase
42472 - Four Seventy Four / 474 Salt & Pepper Set
42696 - Antique Grape Bowl (Heavy Grape)
42624 - Octagon Toothpick Holder
42686 - Scroll Embossed Crimped Bowl
42844 - Colonial Belle (Suzanne)
42724 - Star Medallion Footed Compote.
42610 - Four Seventy Four / 474 Butter & Cover
42885 - Mayflower Covered Box
42563 - Pinwheel Nappy
42930 - Swan.
You can see all our detailed research and information on Imperial, Classic and Revival, here on our Imperial Glass Home Page: Imperial Carnival Glass
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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.
