Roll Up, Roll-Down!
Thanks to Dave Doty for permission to use these amazing images.
The nostalgia of the early days of the Carnival Glass story is clearly reflected in these images of a "Roll-Down" or "Roll A Ball" sideshow, where Carnival Glass was included in the range of prizes that the lucky punter could win for such "games of skill".
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The connection with fairs and carnivals is very much a part of the magic and mystery, as well as the history of Carnival Glass.
The ad below is from "The Billboard" (a trade magazine) in 1915, and it shows how Imperial had established itself in this thriving trade, even boasting that it was given "special attention" at the factory. 
On the right is an image showing a very "rustic" looking Roll-Down (or Roll A Ball) booth at a fair or carnival. The shelves to left and right are loaded with goodies to tempt the passers-by to try their skill and win a prize. |
Image courtesy of Dave Doty
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The image below shows a close-up of the shelves on the left of the Roll-Down table in the image at the top of the page. What an amazing selection of items!
If today's equivalents are any guide, the "lesser" prizes are on the lowest shelves, and the higher the shelf, the more desirable the prizes, and presumably, that bit harder to actually win.
Carnival Glass items seem to be present across the whole range of prizes, but it is not easy to identify them.
If today's equivalents are any guide, the "lesser" prizes are on the lowest shelves, and the higher the shelf, the more desirable the prizes, and presumably, that bit harder to actually win.
Carnival Glass items seem to be present across the whole range of prizes, but it is not easy to identify them.
Image courtesy of Dave Doty
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Here is another set of shelves and prizes (see right). From what we can make out, the Carnival items include:
Bottom shelf: Dugan Stippled Flower ruffled bowl, probably in peach opal as you can see a contrast on the edge. The shelf above: Northwood Stippled Rays bowl. Could it be a Northwood Grape and Cable candlestick next to the bowl? A Westmoreland Corinth Jack in the Pulpit vase is next to that, and another Westmoreland Corinth vase on the right hand side of the shelf. Interestingly, Westmoreland's Corinth Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase featured in a 1910 ad in the Washington Times (as below) - just 5 cents would have purchased one of these beauties. 
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Image courtesy of Dave Doty
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Undoubtedly, the fairs and showgrounds trade was an important outlet for the Carnival Glass producers, but our research shows there were many other ways that Carnival originally found its way into people's homes, including Mail Order and Premiums as well as direct newspaper advertising. We have two unique feature series that show the incredible ingenuity of the Carnival Glass producers in creating a market (and a desire) for their wonderful glassware, and the sales methods they used, some of which are not out of place even today!
Our two feature series are:
Our two feature series are:
