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Welcome to the wwwcga Carnival Glass Education page.  Please click on an article below to view.

 

Vaseline Acorn Burrs Tumblers Gerald Thomas shows three of these rarities that he found last year before Christmas.

Contemporary Reflections Gerald Thomas looks at the potential closing of the Fenton Art Glass Company and some of the ramifications of that event.

Swan Lake The famous and much loved ballet, Swan Lake, conjures up visions of elegant swans gliding across an enchanted lake. Here, thanks to collectors Lance and Pat Hilkene, is the Carnival equivalent – a display of beautiful glass swans in many colors, shimmering with iridescence.

Alphabet Soup Lettered patterns are a strikingly different aesthetic in carnival glass, one that generally shows in values and desirability (there are people in carnival glass who collect only lettered pieces.)  In this article, some of the highlights are discussed.

Hot Stuff: Cooking Up A Storm Is it possible? Can a Carnival Glass bowl that was made back in the early 1900s be flattened into a plate today?  There are some out there who think that indeed it can be done, and that it has been done.  There are many reasons to try: Fenton plates are worth more than bowls.  But can it really be done?

Waltzing Matilda: Australian Carnival Glass What comes into your mind when you think of Australian Carnival? Do you think of the rich dark iridescence that was often used? Most likely the images that will come into your mind are the delightful Australian flora and fauna. In this feature we’ll show you some of these splendid patterns, along with some fascinating details along the way.

Going Round in Circles The circle is a perfect shape, so full of symbolism and history. It has been used by mankind in so many ways, through the ages. Carnival glass makers have used the circle as inspiration in so many various patterns.  This article looks at the use of the abundant round shape in patterns throughout carnival glass.

Diamonds! Diamonds are of course, “a girl’s best friend”. Especially when they are set in gold and clustered into a splendid piece of jewelry. But don’t worry, it’s not that sort of diamond we’re looking at here. We’re going to consider another kind of dazzling diamond that also is “forever” - diamond patterns on Carnival Glass.

Anyone for Candy? It’s truly scrumptious and there’s no doubt about it. Yes, Carnival Glass is fabulous stuff to start with, but add one of those tightly ruffled edges and let’s face it; you’ve got a mouth-watering effect. It’s as sweet as can be. But how easy is it to find this kind of edge? And what factories made it?

Fine Feathered Fowl This article written by Shirley Smith looks at carnival glass hen on nest covered dishes.  With so many variations and manufacturers of these items out there, this article is the definitive answer to who made what, in which colors, and for what purpose.  If you have a collection of these, this article is a must.

John vs. Frank: Millersburg and Fenton This article written by Diane Fry, Brian Pitman and Glen Thistlewood is based partially on the John vs. Frank debate that Diane and Brian had at the 2005 wwwcga Convention in Columbus, Ohio.  It also includes personal reflections from Diane about her many memories of the Fenton factory and its family members over the years.

A Tour of the Dr. Jack Adams Collection Dr. Jack Adams collected glass for many decades, and had a collection which featured many desirable rarities. The pictures and text for this article were contributed to wwwcga almost a decade ago. The article is presented here as a remembrance of a collection which was later split up at auction, and will most likely never be in one place again.

$20,000+ Pieces So, what is it about the $20,000 threshold that excites many carnival glass enthusiasts?  Is it the fact that each one of these pieces equates to a nice car, or maybe a nice home?  Is it because it's a round number?  Is it because each piece represents the lifetime work of the owner, to be able to purchase such a valuable piece of magic?

Four Flowers Variant The Four Flowers Variant is a mystery. The manufacture of Dugan/Diamond’s Four Flowers pattern is documented, as is the manufacture of the Scandinavian versions of the Four Flowers (also known as Ohlson) by Eda in Sweden and Riihimaki in Finland. But the Variant remains shrouded in mist so let’s take a look at the facts.

A Thousand Pitchers At the 2003 www.cga convention in St. Louis, the club embarked on an ambitious mission to answer a question offered up by Pete Bingham in the daily mailing list. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what's a thousand pitchers worth. When Pete asked the question, he had no idea that he would be the one to helm the effort to find out.

Those Darned "Morphing" Hobstars Geometric patterns are possibly the hardest of all to recognize. It's not too hard to identify a pattern with a panther prowling across its face or perhaps a couple of peacocks perched on a fence. But what happens when you are faced with a bunch of hobstars, whirling stars, diamond shapes, square shapes, triangles and fans? Yep, they're tricky!

Imperial Blue Imperial Blue is an intriguing color.  The simple fact is, not very much of it was made.  Unlike Fenton, whose Cobalt Blue color was seen in almost everything they did, Imperial, Millersburg and Dugan didn't make that much blue.

Iridescence: The Color on Top There are many terms to describe iridescence: electric, pumpkin, pastel, dry, stretch and so many more.  Learn some of the basics here with pictures to give you an idea of at least what one collector believes.  Keep on top of the ever changing terminology in carnival glass iridescence.

A Closer Look at the Millersburg Nesting Swan John Fenton was a fan of swans, so much so that he even bought a pair of them to keep at home.  As John drew so much of his inspiration for patterns from his surroundings, it was only natural that Millersburg would release a pattern based on swans.  This article takes a closer look at the pattern itself.