NetworK Special: Pioneers #2, June 2016
by Glen and Stephen Thistlewood
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Phil Garrison There can’t be many Carnival Glass articles that begin with a photo of young coal workers in 1910, but this is no ordinary narrative. This is the story of one of the earliest Carnival collectors, Phil Garrison, as reported almost fifty years ago by another of the Carnival Pioneers, O. Joe Olson. Phil Garrison was born in Pennsylvania in 1897 to a family described as being “poor in worldly goods”. At the age of twelve, Garrison went to work as a “breaker boy”, separating impurities from coal by hand. Aged just fourteen, he was working as a miner in the Wyoming Valley (Pennsylvania) coal mines. His life wasn’t easy: two years were spent fighting in France and Belgium in WWI, he worked as a miner for many more years, and later at a foundry. He admitted that his “education was limited”, but he was an avid reader, and also an avid Carnival Glass collector, having started in the late 1940s. |
Just up from the coal shaft in 1910 - a group of young coal workers
in Pennsylvania, USA. Courtesy Library of Congress. |
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In his early days of collecting, from the late 1940s into the mid 1950s, Phil Garrison noted that he was picking up Rose Show pieces for 25 cents apiece. Our three beauties (left) cost us a bit more than that, although we found the beautiful purple Rose Show bowl, left, on a house clearance stall on London’s Portobello Road market in the 1990s for just a few pounds. The other two pieces are blue Rose Show plate in the middle and an aqua opal bowl. |
“Dedicated to All Carnival Glass Lovers”
Garrison’s narrative, as reported in the Fall, 1968 issue of O. Joe Olson’s Historical Issue of “Carnival Glass News & Views”, was dedicated “to all carnival glass lovers” and he noted that he was writing especially for the younger generation of collectors. He added “My hope is that they will enjoy an accurate description of carnival as it was in the beginning of our era of collecting.”
Here are some of Phil Garrison’s wonderful memories beginning in the late 1940s.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
Garrison’s narrative, as reported in the Fall, 1968 issue of O. Joe Olson’s Historical Issue of “Carnival Glass News & Views”, was dedicated “to all carnival glass lovers” and he noted that he was writing especially for the younger generation of collectors. He added “My hope is that they will enjoy an accurate description of carnival as it was in the beginning of our era of collecting.”
Here are some of Phil Garrison’s wonderful memories beginning in the late 1940s.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company had strong advertising, as this tea store front shows.
They introduced premiums, including glassware, in 1871. The sign on the left reads: "Dr. Allen's Dental Parlors 'It Don't Hurt a Bit' to have Teeth extracted or filled here. Gas administered." Courtesy Cynthia Closkey, Creative Commons. |
We know that Carnival Glass was often given as premiums with coupons, but we weren't previously aware of this major company that gave away Carnival.
Garrison explained how Carnival was distributed in the early days … “in $2 barrel lots to the small stores in the villages” adding “it was distributed widely by the A. & P. Tea Co. (Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co). He described one of the pieces that was actually acquired as a premium from that company… it was a blue Fenton Waterlily & Cattails / Thistle banana boat, like the one shown below. The original owner of the piece had secured it as a premium with coupons from A. & P. Tea Co. 
Waterlily and Cattails / Thistle banana boat. Seeck Auctions
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Barrel Distribution Explains Colour Variance in Sets
This explanation by Garrison provides a fascinating insight:
“When we started collecting, I would often inquire from the older storekeepers hereabouts as to the source of their Carnival. They reported it was common practice to put out barrels of Carnival nested in straw and as customers paid their bills they were invited to select a tumbler or a piece toward a table setting as a gift. In my opinion this sheds light on why water sets and table settings often show a variance in color. It means the pieces probably came from different barrel lots and from different pours of glass. That is why a perfectly matched set is hard to find.”
Insults!
Garrison reported wryly on being “insulted by ‘Experts”.
Here’s what he wrote in 1968: “let me say that in the last twenty years or so I have lost count of the number of times that I have been insulted in antique shops from New York to Florida when I would ask for Carnival Glass. Occasionally I would find and buy some, but often they would sneak it from a box under the counter or from the back room. It has only been in the last seven or eight years that it has been a pleasure to display our beautiful pieces of Carnival Glass. I remember that among the first twenty five pitchers I had, there were three Northwood Grape & Cable tankard pitchers in purple.”
A friend of the Garrisons was a dealer named George Heller, who had always been ready to help. Garrison reported that:
Garrison reported wryly on being “insulted by ‘Experts”.
Here’s what he wrote in 1968: “let me say that in the last twenty years or so I have lost count of the number of times that I have been insulted in antique shops from New York to Florida when I would ask for Carnival Glass. Occasionally I would find and buy some, but often they would sneak it from a box under the counter or from the back room. It has only been in the last seven or eight years that it has been a pleasure to display our beautiful pieces of Carnival Glass. I remember that among the first twenty five pitchers I had, there were three Northwood Grape & Cable tankard pitchers in purple.”
A friend of the Garrisons was a dealer named George Heller, who had always been ready to help. Garrison reported that:
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“Mr. Heller was one of the first dealers in this area to have the audacity to display Carnival openly in the days when it was regarded as junk. He had a long table covered with Carnival pieces for sale at 10 cents each or three for 25 cents.” 
Northwood Grape and Cable tankard pitcher
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Phil Garrison reported that purple Acorn Burrs punch sets, like this beauty, were selling for just $7 back in the early 1950s. Courtesy Seeck Auctions.
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25 cents for Rose Show Pieces
Phil Garrison’s account of some of the items he had owned and the prices he paid back in the 1950s is fascinating. He picked up Rose Show pieces for 25 cents; water sets cost him between 25 cents and $1.50; complete Grape & Cable table settings could be had for $3.50 while full Acorn Burrs punch sets in purple cost just $7.
A list of the items that Garrison considered “common” brings tears to one’s eyes! Nautilus, Tornado vases, Sunflower pin trays, Fisherman’s mugs and Grape and Cable colognes, pin and dresser trays.
An interesting observation was that pastel Carnival colours such as ice blue and ice green were not very popular among the early collectors. Garrison said they were more difficult to sell than the “dark” pieces. He was also offered what was described as “odd pieces” for sale, which included a Farmyard bowl, and he was able to purchase one collection that included four Elks bowls (two Detroit and two Atlantic City).
O. Joe Olson
O. Joe Olson was a “dear and good friend” of Phil Garrison. More recent collectors may not recognise the name, but Olson was also a true Carnival Glass Pioneer.
In 1964 he established the very first club devoted to Carnival collecting – the Society of Carnival Glass Collectors - which sponsored the first club souvenir. It was an Inverted Fan and Feather tumbler, made by Joe St. Clair, and moulded on the base "Original Carnival Society, S.C.G.C. 1964-69 O.J.O" One of the original colours was ice blue (300 made), pictured below courtesy of Bob Smith.
Phil Garrison’s account of some of the items he had owned and the prices he paid back in the 1950s is fascinating. He picked up Rose Show pieces for 25 cents; water sets cost him between 25 cents and $1.50; complete Grape & Cable table settings could be had for $3.50 while full Acorn Burrs punch sets in purple cost just $7.
A list of the items that Garrison considered “common” brings tears to one’s eyes! Nautilus, Tornado vases, Sunflower pin trays, Fisherman’s mugs and Grape and Cable colognes, pin and dresser trays.
An interesting observation was that pastel Carnival colours such as ice blue and ice green were not very popular among the early collectors. Garrison said they were more difficult to sell than the “dark” pieces. He was also offered what was described as “odd pieces” for sale, which included a Farmyard bowl, and he was able to purchase one collection that included four Elks bowls (two Detroit and two Atlantic City).
O. Joe Olson
O. Joe Olson was a “dear and good friend” of Phil Garrison. More recent collectors may not recognise the name, but Olson was also a true Carnival Glass Pioneer.
In 1964 he established the very first club devoted to Carnival collecting – the Society of Carnival Glass Collectors - which sponsored the first club souvenir. It was an Inverted Fan and Feather tumbler, made by Joe St. Clair, and moulded on the base "Original Carnival Society, S.C.G.C. 1964-69 O.J.O" One of the original colours was ice blue (300 made), pictured below courtesy of Bob Smith.
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Olson's newsletters, “The Carnival Glass News and Views” were a mine of topical information. His books, “Carnival Glass in the Mid-1970s” and “God and Home, Carnival Glass Superstar”, intriguingly blended research and archive information.
Originally, he was a newspaper reporter in New York, later doing police reporting in Ohio and finally working as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. He was also a radio broadcaster, so his style was distinctive and he rarely minced his words. It’s fair to say that he was something of an irascible and controversial character – but he was devoted to Carnival Glass. Read much more about O. Joe Olson in our “Blast From The Past”, originally in our NetworK Journal #23 from 1999. A snippet from “Carnival Glass in the Mid-1970s” gives a flavour of his work, writing about Rose Presznick: “Rose operated a home beauty parlor featuring permanents at $3.25 and henna hair rinses at 50 cents. Dealers in the area recalled the Preznick’s first Carnival and antique shop that Rose opened in a former chicken coop. Then the Presznicks moved to a farmhouse … over flow carnival was stored on the glass-enclosed porch. Early Presznick auctions were held in an unheated barn that had a packed dirt floor and crude benches of unplaned lumbar. No electric fan was necessary as the wind blew through large cracks between warped boards of the barn. The Presznick Museum opened in a converted former brooder house near the barn.” See some of the amazing glass that was displayed in Rose Preznick’s Museum. |
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Don Moore Don Moore was a gentleman; considerate of others, with a remarkable sense of humour and a gift for observing human nature. He was a retired attorney who lived with his wife, Connie, in Northern California. The Moores were passionate about Carnival, and through Don’s research and writings, they shared it with collectors worldwide. After Don passed away, his wife Connie (now also passed) recorded a number of reminiscences that we were honoured to publish as a series in our original NetworK magazine (see NetworK #2 for Connie's "Brownie Mary" story). Afterwards, Connie sent us the delightful painting shown below, with the words: “Just received the ‘Carnival NetworK’ and am enjoying every word – it is an excellent publication and thank you so much. My daughter will also be pleased to have a copy – she was extremely proud of her father.” Read much more about Don Moore in our “Blast From The Past” feature, from our original NetworK Journal #24 from 1999. |
“Paper & Paint” Original Art by C. A. Moore
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We are ending this Pioneer Special #2 by quoting Phil Garrison again, as he looked back over his history of collecting and learning about Carnival.
“For these many years our close connection with Carnival Glass has been a glorious experience. It has helped to make life brighter through knowing many wonderful collectors in person and through their letters.” How true his words are – we echo them – life is so much brighter because of all the wonderful friendships we make in Carnival Glass. Treasure them all – they are precious.
The late Don Moore wrote these powerfully true words quoted below.
We are ending this Pioneer Special #2 by quoting Phil Garrison again, as he looked back over his history of collecting and learning about Carnival.
“For these many years our close connection with Carnival Glass has been a glorious experience. It has helped to make life brighter through knowing many wonderful collectors in person and through their letters.” How true his words are – we echo them – life is so much brighter because of all the wonderful friendships we make in Carnival Glass. Treasure them all – they are precious.
The late Don Moore wrote these powerfully true words quoted below.
Special thanks to Ray and Judy Steele for their tremendous help in sourcing O. Joe Olson’s writings and to the late Dale Matheny for his personal recollections of Don and Connie Moore.
We hope you have enjoyed this NetworK Special. Do take a look at the unique information elsewhere on our website. We most certainly enjoyed researching it and recording it for Carnival Glass posterity!
If you have missed any issues of NetworK, read them all here: Back Issues
If you have missed any issues of NetworK, read them all here: Back Issues
