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They resembled the high lustre, hand blown pieces produced by high-class glass manufacturers like Tiffany.
Rumour has it that Tiffany sales slumped when pressed glass companies began producing iridescent glass, Tiffany customers hating to think that poor people could now afford to have similar objects in their homes. A trawl through various books on glass produces a variety of dates and it seems that no-one is absolutely certain when the various manufacturers first developed their carnival glass products, although it is known that by the first cheap, carnival glass, that rivalled the expensive Tiffany glass, was in production.
During the s , hand-operated press moulds were developed by the American glasshouses, which enabled them to produce domestic glassware in large quantities much more cheaply than the traditional methods allowed. Unlike hand-blown glass which was time-consuming to produce, pressed glass was produced using moulds.
Two moulds were used with the molten glass being poured into the outer mould and then the inner mould or plunger forced inside, under great pressure. Sometimes moulds were in two or more parts, and a trickle of the molten glass would seep through the gaps. Later, these seam lines would be polished out unless they were hidden in the intricate design. Initial products were made from clear glass, but gradually colours were introduced. So, the glassmakers completed their creations in a variety of ways. Sometimes they would very gently draw up the edges of a plate into a fluted shape, creating a bowl.
They might add some rounded feet or using special tools would pinch or crimp edges, or make ruffles, pleats, frills or scallops. Gorgeous rose bowls and posy bowls could be formed by carefully pinching in the top edges of small basins, while tall vases were elongated by using centrifugal force which had the effect of stretching the malleable glass.
Then the top edges where decorated by crimping. The most common shade of carnival glass is marigold, then amethyst, blue, green and red, which is probably the rarest of all. Other shades do exist, including black, pastel shades, and many varieties of the main colours such as amber, electric blue or sapphire. In addition, some of the colours were coated with white, altering the hues — ie; marigold and white is called peach opalescent. The colour refers to the base colour of the glass, not to the iridescence, and the best way to discover it is to hold the piece to the light and the base colour will show through.
An amazing variety of items were created from carnival glass and many were intended for everyday use, rather than for decoration, and it is surprising how many items have survived.
Rose bowls, plates, ashtrays, hatpins, salad bowls, cream jugs, punch bowls, plates, stemmed dishes, vases and hair tidies were just a few of the items that poured from the factories during the relatively short period that the glass was in production. After these markdowns, Iridill pieces were used as carnival prizes. Iridill became popular and very profitable for Fenton, which produced many different types of items in this finish, in over patterns.
Fenton maintained their position as the largest manufacturer and were one of very few makers to use a red colored glass base for their carnival glass. In more recent years, due to a resurgence in interest, Fenton restarted production of carnival glass and continued making it until about It is very commonly seen in flea markets and antique stores.
See this page for more info on that particular type of hen. An Indiana Glass blue carnival hen is pictured on that page. Some significant production continued outside the US through the depression years of the early s, tapering off to very little by the s. Carnival glass was made in a wide array of colors, shades, color combinations and variants.
More than fifty have been formally classified. In order to ascertain the actual base color, you have to find an area of the item which had no mineral salts applied, which is usually the base, and hold the item up to the light in such a way that you can see through that area. This is usually easy enough to do, but it can still be difficult for the inexperienced to differentiate the exact base color between the many possibilities as there are often only subtle differences, as well as variations.
Marigold has a clear glass base and is the most easily recognizable carnival color. The highlights may appear mostly on ridges in a pattern, and vary in appearance according to the strength and angle of nearby lighting. Other base colors include amethyst a reddish purple , blue, green, red and amber. The basic items produced in Carnival Glass included bowls, plates, vases, jugs, or pitchers and tumblers but many other more specialized items of tableware were made also.
In smaller numbers and seen much less often are items having to do with lighting, or associated with smoking and those designed solely for show as ornaments, such as figural sculptures or statuettes. Approximately 20 different glass companies located in the United States made Carnival glass at some time in their history. Competition became so fierce that new patterns were continually being developed, so each company ended up making a range of patterns to give the customer a wider variety of choices.
Sowerby England is notable for their use of swan, hen and dolphin figural pieces in carnival finish as well as pieces which have figural parts such as bird figured legs. German production of carnival was dominated by the Brockwitz glassworks, with mainly geometric patterns which take their cues from cut glass. Most carnival glass is considered to be highly collectible. Examples of carnival glass are seen frequently in most antique stores, and there is an active market for it on the ebay.
Identification of carnival glass is frequently VERY difficult.
Many of the glass manufacturers who produced Carnival glass copied patterns with or without slight changes from their competitors, so it is often very difficult to know for sure where, or by whom, a particular piece was made. Carnival Glass keyword search on eBay. Click here to go to the Glass Bottle Marks pages page one.
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Many glass companies made carnival glass back in the early s. Look at the value of certain pieces and some identifying characteristics of. Carnival glass is moulded or pressed glass, always with a pattern and always with a shiny, metallic, 'iridescent' surface shimmer. The keys to its appeal were.
There is a website that is devoted to helping carnival glass collectors learn more about this beautiful glass. They have a daily mail list and a pricing database with pictures of the piece that sold. Hi Galen, I checked out the site and I am truly impressed. It would be a very good place for anyone interested in carnival glass to do some extended browsing!
Lewis A Williams in particular?! However, I am posting your comment here, in case someone should happen to land on this site who would be willing to help with your research. The bottle is pink,and it has a raised pattern on it which look like a sunshine,and it has a number on the bottom REGOH Thank you for your time and help. Update on this thread: The design number design patent was registered in Although specimens with this marking may have been made for years afterward. The bottle has been seen in a pale pinkish glass, light green, and perhaps other colors.
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All the major European glass making centres except Italy produced some and it was very popular in Australia. Thank you for your understanding and support! Carnival Glass was produced in a wide variety of items, from utilitarian to the purely decorative. A wide range of colours and colour combinations were used but the most common colours accounted for a large proportion of output, so scarce colours can today command very high prices on the collector market. Because of time and energy constraints, I can no longer answer all emails personally, but you may contact me directly at: Marigold carnival glass is the most frequently found color and in general commands lower prices in the collector market.
Because of time and energy constraints, I can no longer answer all emails personally, but you may contact me directly at: Remove underscore within first part of address. Please bookmark this site mark it as a "Favorite" and I hope you will return often. Thank you for your understanding and support! What is Carnival Glass?
Carnival Glass Insulators Glass electrical powerline insulators are also found in Carnival glass, although the intent of production was not ornamental. Carnival Glass bowl, aqua glass, unidentified maker, ruffled pattern. September 3, at 4: September 3, at 5: