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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