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Identifying
carnival glass colours is one of the most controversial aspects of
collecting the glass. On the surface, it may seem relatively straight
forward. There is marigold, amethyst, blue, green, red and white. But the
difficulty arises when collectors try to differentiate between the
variations in each of these colour groups.
A
quick look at the CG acronyms page on this web site will give you an idea
of the myriad of colour definitions which exist. I'm sure the
manufacturers didn't intend there to be so many variations in their
colours, but through a combination of less sophisticated production
techniques, and variable quality control, many variations of the basic
colours did emerge. Certainly, if you look at any of the reference books
that are available you will not see them giving values for dozens of
different colours. Values tend to be lumped together under the main
colour groups. Differentiation of colours then at any lower level is
purely for interest's sake rather than for valuation purposes.
On
this page we attempt to describe the main colours that exist in carnival
glass to the best of our ability. Unfortunately we don't have photos of
all the various colours, so we have attempted to describe the colours as
best we can, using words alone. The colours described below were, in most
cases, names not used by the original manufacturers, but instead are
names developed by collectors over the years to describe the many
variations in carnival glass colour.
The
colour of a piece of carnival glass is normally based on the colour of
the base glass, and not the iridescent coating sprayed on top of the
glass - with a couple of exceptions. The trick then is to find a piece of
the glass that has not been sprayed with iridescence, and hold that to a
strong, white light in order to determine its colour.
Marigold
Tones
Marigold
Ah,
sweet marigold! Belittled by many in collecting circles as 'that orange
stuff', marigold was the first colour carnival glass was made in, and a
large proportion of carnival glass was produced in this colour. It is
therefore the most commonly found colour today.
The
base glass on marigold pieces is actually clear, and the colour name is
derived from the iridescence sprayed on top of the glass (this is the
first exception to the rule mentioned above).
The
colour of marigold's iridescence can range from a pale, champagne colour,
that contains subtle pinks and blues (this is called 'pastel marigold'),
through to a dark orange, almost red colour (this is called 'pumpkin
marigold'). Most variations in between are just referred to as marigold,
even though some may be paler than others.
Marigold
iridescence can be found on pieces of coloured base glass, but in these
cases it is identified by the base glass colour.
Marigold
was made by all carnival glass manufacturers, including Australia's Crown
Crystal Glass Company.
Pastel
Marigold
A
pale, champagne coloured iridescence, containing subtle pinks and blues,
on a clear glass base.
Pumpkin
Marigold
Very
deep, rich, dark orange, almost red iridescence on a clear glass base.
Clambroth
Often
confused with pastel marigold, clambroth has a pale, champagne coloured
iridescence on top of a base glass which is a pale, ginger ale colour.
The difference then is the colour of the base glass, which in the case of
pastel marigold is clear, and in the case of clambroth is ginger ale
colour. Most of the clambroth coloured carnival glass appears to have
come from Imperial, although Northwood did make a few pieces in this
colour.
Amber
At
first glance, amber carnival glass may appear to be marigold, because of
the orange coloured iridescence. The difference lies in the colour of the
base glass, which in this case is the colour of amber. Amber base glass
can vary from a yellow colour through to a dark brown. It appears that
most of the amber found today was made by Imperial, although some Fenton
pieces have been found as well. Northwood made a colour that looks like a
grayish amber, but this is in fact called horehound.
Peach
Opalescent
Opalescent
glass was created by putting bone ash into the molten glass mix and then
reheating the finished piece of glass after first allowing it to cool
slightly. Parts of the glass then turned a milky white colour, usually
from the edge inwards, thus giving the glass its unique appearance.
The
majority of opalescent carnival glass seen today is peach opalescent -
clear base glass, with a milky white effect running from the edge
inwards, and a marigold iridescence. In theory, this should more
correctly be called marigold opalescent, however somewhere along the line
it was called peach opalescent and the name seems to have stuck.
The
marigold iridescence can vary from very pale and delicate to strong and
intense. The opalescent effect can also vary from pale and delicate to
deep and solid.
Dugan
made most of the peach opalescent carnival glass, followed closely by
Westmoreland. Northwood and Fenton both small quantities in this colour.
Purple
Tones
Amethyst
The
next most common colour of carnival glass after marigold, amethyst can
sometimes create controversy when trying to draw the lines between
lavender at one end of the scale, amethyst in the middle, and purple at
the other end.
The
base glass of amethyst is usually referred to as the colour of plum jam
if you are familiar with that. For those not familiar with plum jam, the
colour is a sort of browny purple. The iridescence can range from one
that is very subtle, pale and almost non-detectable, thus allowing the
full amethyst colour of the base glass to show through, to one that is a
very strong silver, completely masking the base glass colour underneath.
Amethyst
was made by many manufacturers of carnival glass, although not all.
Marigold iridescence is also known on amethyst base glass, particularly
on Fenton pieces, and a green and red iridescence has also been seen on
some amethyst pieces from Dugan.
Lavender
Very
similar to amethyst, except that the base glass is a very pale amethyst.
The iridescence on lavender is nearly always a pale, pastel iridescence
allowing the full lavender colour of the base glass to show through. Both
Imperial and Northwood carnival glass has been found in lavender.
Purple
Similar
again to amethyst, except that this time the base glass is a very
definite purple colour. No brown tinge like amethyst, and no suggestion
that it is pale like lavender. Some purple was quite intentionally made
that way, like Millersburg's purple pieces for example, others started
out to be amethyst, but turned out purple on the day because of quality
control and other production issues. Some of Crown Crystal's 'dark'
carnival glass actually turned out purple.
Fiery
Amethyst
Most
likely intended to be just normal amethyst, this colour actually turned
out much deeper. In fact it is almost red, hence the name term 'fiery'.
It is actually a deep browny purple with a red tinge. Some people
actually call this colour 'Ox Blood', so that may give you an idea of
what the colour looks like. The iridescence is normally a good strong
blue/gray, which means that the true colour of the glass can only be
determined by looking through a section of non-iridised glass, such as
the collar base of a bowl. Some excellent examples of this colour may be
found on Dugan pieces.
Black
Amethyst
Black
amethyst glass is so dark, that no light can be seen at all when looking
through the glass, even when it is held in front of the sun. The
iridescence can vary from a blue/gray through to a strong silver
iridescence which allows none of the base glass colour to show through at
all. Some of Crown Crystal's 'dark' carnival glass actually turned out
black amethyst.
Blue
Tones
Blue
Probably
the most diverse range of colours in carnival glass is blue, which makes
for much controversy. Northwood made most of the blue carnival glass we
find today, while Fenton also made lots of carnival glass in this
colour. Surprisingly, Millersburg, Imperial and Dugan don't appear
to have made much blue carnival glass at all. We will not try to
differentiate between the many minor variations on the basic mid-range
blue colour here, rather we will leave them all grouped together. So if
the colour of the base glass is similar to the blue on the Australian
flag at the top of this page, then it is blue. Some blues are darker than
this, some are paler. The iridescence on blue carnival glass can vary
from subtle, pastel iridescence allowing the full colour of the base
glass to show through, to a very silvery iridescence which allows none of
the base glass colour to show through at all. Some important variations
of blue are listed separately below.
Ice
Blue
Ice blue
is a very pale blue base glass with a frosted iridescent finish. The
colour of the iridescence is normally a subtle, pastel allowing the full
colour of the base glass to show through. Most of the ice blue carnival
glass came from Northwood.
Celeste
Blue
Normally
associated with Fenton and Dugan, the base glass colour of celeste blue
is also a very pale blue, although a little more intense than ice blue,
with a frosted iridescent finish. The main difference lies in the
iridescence, with celeste blue's subtle, pastel iridescence having a
stretch or 'onion skin' effect which is quite distinctive. Nearly all
celeste blue carnival glass came from Fenton or Dugan.
Sapphire
Blue
Similar
again to both ice blue and celeste blue, sapphire blue also has a very
pale blue base glass colour, which some liken to the colour of the blue
sky. It is a little darker than both ice blue and celeste blue, and the
iridescence, while still generally subtle and pastel, does not have the
characteristic stretch, or 'onion skin' effect of celeste blue. Northwood
made most of the sapphire blue carnival glass known today.
Aqua
Aqua
is blue base glass with a touch of green in it. The iridescence can vary
from a subtle, pastel through to a pale marigold. See also Teal under the
green tones.
Aqua
Opalescent
After
peach opalescent the next most frequently seen opalescent carnival glass
colour is aqua opalescent, which is considered by most collectors as one
of the most desirable colours in carnival glass. Not only is it hard to
come by, but it is also usually stunningly beautiful. Made the same way
as peach opalescent carnival glass, but using aqua base glass instead of
clear. Again, the iridescence varies from a subtle pastel colour, that
allows the full colour of the base glass to show through, to a rich
marigold. The most expensive piece of carnival glass sold so far (that we
know of) was an aqua opalescent 'Grape & Cable' small punch set by
Northwood, which sold in 1996 for $US95,000 ($A180,000). This colour was
only made in production by Northwood, although a few Fenton pieces are
known.
Green
Tones
Green
Like
blue, the range of green colours found in carnival glass is quite
diverse, and we won't attempt to separate out minor variations of the
basic mid-range green. The iridescence used on green base glass included
a pale pastel colour, allowing the full colour of the base glass to show
through, to a green iridescence, and even a marigold iridescence. Most
carnival glass manufacturers from the 'prime' or 'classical' carnival glass
era made green carnival glass, but not all.
Ice
Green
The
palest of the green tones, ice green has a light, frosted iridescence.
Usually from Northwood, although some Dugan pieces have been found.
Teal
The
opposite effect to aqua, teal is instead green base glass with a touch of
blue in it. Again, the iridescence is usually marigold.
Vaseline
Vaseline
glass was created when a small amount of uranium oxide was mixed into the
molten glass mix. The base glass colour thus produced is a light greenish
yellow. The iridescence is usually marigold. Real vaseline carnival glass
will glow when illuminated with an ultraviolet light in a dark room.
Red
Tones
Red
Red is
normally considered the most desirable of carnival glass colours, mostly
because of its rarity and hence its value, but also because of the
intensity of colour found in red carnival glass pieces. Fenton made most
of the red carnival glass found today, while a smaller amount was made by
Imperial. Red base glass was created by add selenium to the molten glass
mix, and then reheating it until the colour appeared. It was very
difficult to achieve correctly, and hence the emergence of the amberina
colour (see below). The iridescence on red carnival glass can vary each
having it's own special effect on the red base glass. The subtle, pastel
iridescence allows the full colour of the base glass to show through,
while a stronger bluey green iridescence creates a rich vibrant overall
colour in conjunction with the colour of the base glass.
Amberina
Amberina
base glass ranges from yellow at the outside edge to red at the middle
(or yellow at the bottom and red at the top if referring to a tumbler or
vase shape), and was made the same way as red, that is by adding selenium
to the molten glass mix. However, the yellow colour at the bottom
appeared because the glass was not re-heated long enough. The iridescence
on amberina carnival glass can also be marigold, brown or red.
White Tones
Clear
The
base glass of clear carnival glass is clear, and it has a subtle, very
pale, almost non-detectable iridescent coating which can sometimes only
be seen by turning the piece of glass in the light so that the light
reflects off the metallic salts in the iridescence. This was not a
commonly used colour at all.
White
Similar
to clear except that the iridescence has a frosty, opaque appearance, and
is subtle and very pale. Dugan manufactured most of the white carnival
glass we see today, but Northwood, Fenton and Millersburg all made white
carnival glass as well.
Brown, Grey
and Yellow Tones
Amber
At
first glance, amber carnival glass may appear to be marigold, because of
the orange coloured iridescence. The difference lies in the colour of the
base glass, which in this case is the colour of amber. Amber base glass
can vary from a yellow colour through to a dark brown. It appears that
most of the amber found today was made by Imperial, although some Fenton
pieces have been found as well. Northwood made a colour that looks like a
grayish amber, but this is in fact called horehound. US Glass made a
distinctive shade of light orange-brown called honey amber.
Smoke
This
was a colour used by Imperial, although that was not the term they used.
Small amounts from Northwood and Fenton are also found. The base glass of
smoke carnival glass can be either clear or a smokey gray colour, and the
iridescent coating is either a pale blue, grey colour, or a light brown
colour.
Yellow
This
is a very scarce colour, found on some 'Four Flowers Variant' bowls and
plates by Dugan, and several Westmoreland pieces. It is a true, pale
shade of yellow.
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