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Fenton |
The following article is the first in a series written by
American carnival glass collector Bob Grissom. It is reproduced with Bob’s kind
permission. There are other articles by Bob on Northwood and Millersburg.
Original Carnival
Glass Makers - Fenton Art Glass Company
by Bob Grissom
Who were the companies that made this
inexpensive iridized glass which later became known as carnival glass? Between the years
of 1907 thru 1925 eight Companies produced the major portion of the glass, Fenton,
Northwood, Imperial, Dugan/Diamond., Millersburg, Westmoreland, U.S. Glass (which was a
conglomerate of several companies), and Cambridge. Other companies iridized a small amount
of glass.
 Frank L.
Fenton (pictured at right) and his brother John W. Fenton were the principal founders of
the Fenton Art Glass Company of Williamstown, West Virginia. The company has been in
continuous operation since it's founding in 1906, and started producing iridized glass in
1907 and continued until sometime around 1925. They produced a great many forms of coloured
pressed glass during this period, Many of these pieces are considered very collectable
today. But, their major production was the iridized glassware.
As with all of the companies that produced carnival glass, most
pieces can be identified as being made by a particular maker due to certain
characteristics, ie, colour, pattern, shape, edges, and back pattern.
Colours:
Fenton made the usual colours of amethyst, cobalt blue, green, marigold, and white. Pieces
in cobalt blue and marigold are easily found in a large majority of their patterns. Of the
usual colours, amethyst pieces are the most difficult to find. Green and white pieces are
available, but not in all patterns. Fenton made a limited number of pieces in amber, aqua
opalescent, custard, lime Green, lime green opalescent, moonstone, peach opalescent, red,
and vaseline. Their production of carnival glass was noteworthy for having produced most
of the red pieces. Red pieces were made in a very limited quantity, and they have always
been some of the more sought after carnival glass items. Aqua opalescent is another
favourite colour of the carnival glass collector, but the Fenton pieces are not as popular
as those made by Northwood.
 Patterns: More than 150 different carnival glass patterns are
attributed to Fenton. Two patterns, ‘Butterfly & Berry’ (pictured at left)
and ‘Orange Tree’ are found on more pieces than any other. These two patterns
can be found on either the front or back of various pieces. Some of the best known animal
and bird patterns came from the Fenton factory. Patterns such as ‘Kittens’,
‘Lion’, ‘Panther’, ‘Dragon & Lotus’, Dragon &
Strawberry’, ‘Peacock & Dahlia’, ‘Peacock & Grape’,
‘Stag & Holly’ and ‘Peacock & Urn’. Many of their patterns
follow an oriental theme, and the ‘Bearded Berry’ pattern is used as the back
pattern on many of the pieces.
Shapes & Edges: The saw-tooth fluted edge is used on
many of the pieces. In addition, either the six or eight ruffles, the 3-in-1, ice cream
shape (ICS), and the candy ribbon edge (tight crimp) were also added. Fenton pieces with
the pie crust edge (PCE) are not very often found. A distinct characteristic of Fenton
plates is that they are more flat than those made by the other makers.
Editor’s Note: Of course, Fenton is still alive and well
and manufacturing glass in Williamstown, West Virginia, USA. You can visit Fenton’s
Internet site by clicking here
to find out more about their history and what they are doing right now.
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- To provide a
friendly forum for the exchange of information about carnival glass
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© 2008 Carnival
Glass Collectors Association of Australia Inc |
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