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Carnival
glass is press-moulded iridised glass. That is, glass which has been created
using a mould, and has had a coating of liquid metallic salts applied
after it has been taken from the mould to give the surface an iridescent
lustre.
Glass
with an iridescent finish was known in Roman times, but this finish was
not used again until the famous hand crafted glass of Louis Tiffany
appeared in the late 1800s. The glass that we now call carnival glass was
not originally known this way, but was instead referred to by a number of
names including iridescent glass, poor man's Tiffany, Imperial Jewels,
Imperial Art Glass, taffeta, lustre glass, Aurora and even rhodium ware
to name just a few. These names were meant to describe the silken sheen
like iridescent glass that came in colours like marigold (orange), green,
blue, amethyst (plum), white and red which helped to brighten up the dark
heavy furnishings of the Edwardian period. Carnival glass was intended to
provide the same effect as the more expensive Tiffany glass, but at a
price much more affordable to the average person.
The
American company, Fenton Art Glass Co, was founded in 1905 by Frank and
John Fenton, and is credited with being the first producer of
press-moulded iridised glassware, now called carnival glass. Thus the
home of carnival glass was the USA, but it was also produced in England,
Europe, Central and South America, India, China and Australia. To find
out more about Australian carnival glass,
please click here.
The
bulk of American carnival glass was produced by four companies:
Northwood
Glass Company, of Wheeling, West Virgina, from 1908 to 1921;
Imperial
Glass Company, of Bellaire, Ohio, from 1908 to 1973;
Fenton
Art Glass Company, of Williamstown, West Virgina, from 1907 to the
present day; and
Millersburg
Glass Company, of Millersburg, Ohio, from 1909-1911.
The
next biggest produced of American carnival glass was the Dugan Company of
Indiana, Pennsylvania, which became the Diamond Glass Co in 1913. Some of
the other companies who produced small amounts of iridised glass were:
Cambridge
Glass Company, of Cambridge, Ohio;
Jenkins
Glass Company, of Kokomo, Indiana;
Westmoreland
Glass Company, of Grapeville, Pennsylvania;
Fostoria
Glass Company, of Fostoria, Ohio;
Federal
Glass Company;
Heisey
Glass Company, of Newark, Ohio;
Anchor-Hocking
Glass Company, Lancaster, Ohio;
Jeanette-McKee
Glass Company, of Jeanette, Pennsylvania;
US
Glass Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and
Indiana
Glass Company, of Dunkirk, Indiana.
Carnival
glass was made in virtually every shape you can imagine in household
items. It appeared as creamers, sugars, butter dishes, pitchers,
tumblers, plates and bowls of various sizes, bon bons, punch sets, vases,
compotes, decanters, wine glasses, powder bowls, money banks, bottles,
baskets, dresser sets, and even spittoons. There are many other shapes
too numerous to list here.
Colours
also varied. The first color carnival glass was made in was marigold -
this is an orange coloured iridescence over clear glass. But many other
colours of base glass were used as well, including amethyst (plum
coloured), purple, blue, green, red and white, with many variations and
shadings of each of these, and different coloured iridescence.
Towards
the end of the early carnival glass era, the Imperial Glass Company began
to produce stretch finish iridescent glass in pale pastel colours. This
was a cross between the Tiffany iridescent glass and Steuben clean cut
colours. These press-moulded glass items were elegantly plain with a subtle
pattern. The Northwood Glass Company, and Fenton Art Glass Company, also
made stretch glass with all three factories producing crepe or cracked
effect glass.
Defining
the periods of carnival glass manufacture is somewhat controversial, as
there are a number of methods used. Most collectors consider the 'prime'
or 'classical' carnival glass era to stretch from 1907 to 1929. The
period from 1930 to 1939 is usually called the 'depression era', the
period 1940 to 1959 is often considered to be the 'late' carnival glass
era, while carnival glass made from 1960 to the present is mostly
referred to as 'contemporary' carnival glass.
During
the 'prime' carnival glass era, the glass was referred to by the various
names outlined at the beginning of this page. It was sold as a cheaper
alternative to Tiffany glass through stores such as Woolworths in the
USA, with prices usually less than $1. By 1930 the initial popularity of
the glass ware had started to fade, and so businesses started to offer
the glassware as bonuses for purchasing other items, eg, one sugar bowl
with every 24 pound bag of flour, and so forth. It also appeared as
prizes in carnival side shows, and thus the name 'carnival glass'
emerged, and stuck.
Of all
the companies that originally made carnival glass, worldwide, only one
remains. The Fenton Art Glass
Company continues to produce carnival glass to his day, although the
prices are somewhat higher than their original products.
Descendants
of the late Harry Northwood resurrected the Northwood Art Glass Company
in 1998, and they produced a beautiful range of Carnival Glass which you
can see pictured on the Contemporary Carnival
Glass 2 page of our Gallery. Alas, their venture did not last long,
but no doubt their glass will be coming back on to the market again as
current owners decide to sell their pieces. These will no doubt become
very collectible in years to come.
If you
would like to see some photos of carnival class please visit our Gallery pages.
Current
values of carnival glass vary dramatically depending on the maker, the
pattern, the colour, when it was produced, what condition it is in, and
which market it is being sold in. The reference books listed on our Library page will provide you with many of the
answers you may need regarding a piece of carnival glass you might have.
However, the best way to learn about carnival glass is to handle the
glass yourself, and talk to other collectors. Therefore we strongly
recommend you join your local carnival glass club. If you live in
Australia, we invite you to join our club, particularly if you live in
NSW, ACT or Queensland. If you are interested in joining our club, please
go to the How to Join page. If you live
in another Australian State, or do not live in Australia, please check
the Club Directory page to see if
there is a club near you. If there is not a club near you, please contact
us and we will be happy to help you if we can.
Some of the information on this page was extracted from
the book 'Australian Carnival Glass Valuation Guide' written by Ken
Arnold, and is reproduced with Ken's kind permission. For details on this
book please check out our Library page.
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