NetworK ezine Issue 92. January 2023
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
It's 2023 already! My how time flies. We hope that you and yours have a wonderful New Year.
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A Journey by Tube Browsing a 1921 edition of the American “Crockery and Glass Journal” we came across this fascinating comment. 
Leaving aside the “Austrailia” typo, and the tone, which would probably be considered somewhat discourteous by today’s standards, we were intrigued to read that the United States Glass Co. representative had observed that Australians called flower vases “tubes”. We had heard the term “flower tube” before, but we hadn’t realised it was popular in Australia in those early years.
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So, we set about hunting through newspaper archives in Australia and came across some fascinating ads that showed the use of the term “tube”. And what a surprise it turned out to be! First of all, we spotted this Bebarfald’s ad (left) in a 1913 Australian newspaper – there it was, a “Flower Tube”. But better than that, it was Carnival Glass. Billed as “Xmas Novelties” the two vases shown are both from Imperial glass.
1913 ad for Christmas gifts at Bebarfald’s Furniture Store
in central Sydney, Australia. |
We have enlarged the section of the ad showing the two vases, below. 
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The vase on the left in the ad is described as an “Oriental shaded Flower Vase” – and it is clearly a little Morning Glory vase. Note that this item is called a vase, not a flower tube. The term “oriental shaded” indicates that this would have been Carnival. The item on the right, however, is where we see the term “Flower Tube” used. It's an Imperial Ripple vase, described as a “Unique Flower Tube”. Was it called a tube because it was taller and thinner? Who knows?
Above: a 1913 ad at Bebarfald’s Furniture Store.
The sales slogan at the top of this ad is especially delightful – “Charming Glassware that will be particularly pleasing to your Lady Friends”. And look - the Ripple vase is described as a “Flower Tube” yet the other vase in the ad, with a similar shape, is simply called a vase. All the items in this Bebarfald ad were made by Imperial and they are, (left to right, top row): Shell and Sand dish, Freefold vase, Imperial Grape dish and the Ripple “Flower Tube” / vase. On the bottom row there is a Pansy oval dish and a footed Imperial Rose (OMN American Beauty Rose, aka Lustre Rose) dish.
It's fascinating to study these items in the ad. Note that they were all shown with postage rates quoted – so although customers could go into the Bebarfald’s store in Sydney, these items could also be shipped to those who lived further afield. And the prices of the items are most interesting, with the footed Imperial Rose dish at more than double the price of the other bowls. The vase prices are interesting too, as the Ripple is cheaper (even in the larger size - see right) than the Freefold. Perhaps these differences reflect the availability of the items (and what was imported from the USA). We thought you would also enjoy this Bebarfald’s ad that we came across that featured Carnival. Did you spot that they called the glass “Sunrise Ware”! 
Above: another Bebarfald’s ad. - this one is 1912.
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Above: a stunning trio of Ripple vases. It is truly remarkable to note that Ripple is probably found in the widest range of heights, bases sizes and colours in any Carnival vase pattern.
“Sunrise Ware” isn’t a term we have heard used for Carnival before, but it’s delightfully descriptive. We have previously recorded the use of the term “Sunset Glass” for Carnival in Australian ads – and now we also have “Sunrise”. But why “in Green, Pink etc”? Green surely refers to Imperial’s Helios, but pink? We can only surmise they are referring to a pinkish marigold, or maybe a lighter amethyst. This ad is a year earlier than the others we showed above, and it’s interesting to note that the Morning Glory vase, which was called an “Oriental shaded Flower Vase” in 1913, was simply referred to as a “Specimen Vase” in the 1912 ad. And curiouser still, the Ripple vase, which was described as a “Unique Flower Tube” in 1913, was simply called “Another Design” in 1912. Such a wealth of fascinating archive information and illustration – all hidden away and now on show for you all. And all because we came across that little snippet about “flower tubes”. Note: the Bebarfald ads are all priced in Australian currency (pounds, shillings and pence) which at that time was aligned with the British currency. |
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Although this article is all about the use of the term "flower tubes" in Australia, it took us into the area of Imperial's (extensive) export of their Carnival Glass around the world. We thought it would be interesting to look at the Imperial products which were arriving in the UK from the USA at around the same time. Lo and behold, Ripple and Imperial Grape pieces also featured just as they did in the Bebarfald ad of 1912. Here on the right is an ad in the UK from 1911 for Markt & Co (an Agent in the UK for Imperial), and it would seem that UK prices were somewhat lower, perhaps reflecting lower shipping costs from the east coast USA to the UK. |
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Pony Revival
Before we tell you about this exciting new Gallery on our website, we first want to make a correction to a piece of information we wrote in the last issue of our NetworK ezine. We stated that the Revival era Pony items were made for Levay by L.E. Smith. In fact they were made by Mosser, not Smith – and we owe thanks to both Tony DeMichael and Dodie Levi for giving us the correct information. The Pony Revival Gallery Now to the new Gallery. Tony DeMichael wrote to us with wonderful information about the superb collection of Levay Pony bowls and plates that he and Mary Jo have built up. And the icing on the cake is that they have sent us photos of these amazing items to show you all. We have created a splendid new Pony Revival Gallery on our website, courtesy of the DeMichaels. The screenshot above gives you just a taster of the complete Gallery; it features pictures and full details of each of the 27 different Pony Revival plates and bowls that are shown. Each image can be further enlarged for even better viewing. Thanks to Tony and Mary Jo for all the pictures and for the detailed information on each individual piece. You can see it now by clicking on the screenshot, right, or here: Pony Revival Gallery. |
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A Fenton "first" Shown courtesy of the Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Company. This is probably the first Fenton catalogue ad for their Carnival production when it was revived in 1970. It offered an assortment of Revival / Contemporary Carnival in amethyst (colour code CN), which was the first colour to be used when they re-commenced Carnival production. They described it as "the closest thing to the antique iridescent formula ever produced". Click on the image, or follow this link to the full sized version of this page: Fenton Revival 1970 |
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Review of NetworK, 2022
It’s been quite a year for Carnival Glass NetworK, both with this, our regular ezine, and online with our NetworK Group on Facebook. Both have seen record numbers of collectors and supporters each month throughout 2022 as the year progressed!
Our aim here with the ezine is to publish as much new and/or interesting information about Carnival Glass from collectors and contributors all around the world. The last year has seen so many "wow" and "who knew that" moments, as well as first-reported discoveries, revelations and research. Over the year we have delved into a wealth of old catalogues and other archive material, producing a host of fascinating finds and deeper insights into Carnival.
Here is just a small selection.
It’s been quite a year for Carnival Glass NetworK, both with this, our regular ezine, and online with our NetworK Group on Facebook. Both have seen record numbers of collectors and supporters each month throughout 2022 as the year progressed!
Our aim here with the ezine is to publish as much new and/or interesting information about Carnival Glass from collectors and contributors all around the world. The last year has seen so many "wow" and "who knew that" moments, as well as first-reported discoveries, revelations and research. Over the year we have delved into a wealth of old catalogues and other archive material, producing a host of fascinating finds and deeper insights into Carnival.
Here is just a small selection.
Photo courtesy of Claudio Deveikis.
The year 2022 began with some Carnival treasures found in Brazil. These included some previously un-seen Carnival tumblers – and amazingly, later in the year some exquisite toothpick holders from the same country were also found. |
Image courtesy of Glass Paper Fanatics.
We reported on the finding of a fascinating 18-page Fenton catalogue supplement which was devoted entirely to Carnival Glass. We were able to date it to 1913, and to show its significance to the export of Classic Carnival Glass from the USA. |
The British Carnival Glass maker, Matthew Turnbull was not familiar to many Carnival collectors – but we have corrected that now, by showing the many super items produced by this company, such as the cleverly designed handled May Baskets. Above is the Maple Leaf May Basket. Also, we have been able to identify "unattributed" patterns to the Turnbull factory.
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Picture courtesy of Seeck Auctions.
Little Bo-Peep made an appearance in May! Our research uncovered proof that the United States Glass Co. had made the Bo-Peep mug and plate (and not Westmoreland, as previous “received wisdom” had incorrectly claimed). |
The Jeannette revelations during the year were remarkable. Thanks to Tom Felt (The Museum of American Glass in WV) our enquiries led to the unearthing of a little-known booklet published by Jeannette Glass Co. in 1928, and called "Popular Glass Assortments", with which we were able to attribute several important items that had been wrongly identified for ages.
Here are just 2 of the Jeannette items we identified: on the right is Blossom and Band (OMN Wild Rose) auto vase, and on the far right is a Prism and Daisy Band (OMN Floral Ribbed) vase.
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Four sizes of Jeannette's Late Sunflower juice and tumblers (OMN White Cosmos). Courtesy the late Bob Smith's Tumbler Museum, curated by Glen & Stephen Thistlewood.
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Other long-standing mysteries have been solved, such as the enigmatic vase known as Wide Panel and Diamonds – and yes, it was made by Sowerby! And we were able to confirm our early “gut-feel” from two decades ago, that the Josef’s Plumes vase was actually made by Inwald (and we even know now that it was called “Canterbury”).
Our aim is to represent Carnival Glass from all makers around the world, and all eras of production, so it is not surprising that we regularly featured new information on Classic European Carnival. Revival Carnival also generated much interest, including Indiana, Fenton, L.G. Wright, Wheatoncraft and and Levay.
We also provided detailed information and illustration to assist collectors in recognising re-issues and reproductions, as well as the inevitable fakes. We spend countless hours researching, so as to further the knowledge and appreciation of Carnival and its history.
We don't (and really can't) do this on our own! We are deeply grateful grateful to everyone who has helped us in our endeavours to publicise and promote Carnival Glass to an ever-increasing number of enthusiasts worldwide. Our thanks to The Glass Paper Fanatics, Mike Tomlin, Tom Felt, Craig Schenning and as always, Marty and the late Howard Seufer. Many thanks also to Tony and Mary Jo, Joan, Claudio, Lynne, Emma, Hugo and Maria, Pat, Sarian and Esa, Sam, Lesley, Thiago, Clovis, Maria, Hélcio, Scott, Marsha, Tami, Kamil, Sarah and as always, Seeck Auctions and Burns Auctions for the use of their wonderful photos, and not forgetting the late Bob Smith and the late Frank Fenton, the Fenton Family and the Fenton Art Glass Company.
Our apologies if we have - unintentionally - missed anyone from this list. Importantly, We also want to thank everyone who receives and reads our ezine!
We always acknowledge our sources (unless asked not to) and we share our findings freely, but sadly, we often see our findings and our information being used without recognising the source. The solution is very simple – if someone wants to copy from us, they just have to ask (we like to help) and they should always attribute and acknowledge us as the source. And if you use our info, please just acknowledge us. Thank you.
Privacy and the use of your information: we only use your name and email address to send you your Carnival Glass NetworK ezine. We will not share your name or email address with anyone else, or use it for any other purpose. You can change your mind about receiving your NetworK ezine at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the foot of every issue, or by emailing us at [email protected]
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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.
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.
