|
 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? And
what was it called by the glass-makers who produced it? Let’s
get the answers to these questions and enjoy a taste of some
delectable Carnival glass pieces at the same time.
The Fine Crimp Edge
A few years ago we talked to the late Frank M Fenton about his
factory’s production of this distinctive edge shaping. Although
many Carnival collectors refer to it as a Candy Ribbon Edge (or
a Ribbon Candy Edge) Frank told us that Fenton called it a Fine
Crimp Edge. There are other names for it too: sometimes people
refer to it as a Tight Crimp Edge or Continuous Crimping /
Ruffling.
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| A 1909 ad in the Butler Brothers
catalogs that showed three bowls from Fenton in the
Stippled Rays pattern. Described as a "Venetian Art"
Iridescent Footed Fruit Bowl Assortment, you'll see
that see that two of the bowls have the Tight Crimp
Edge (on the left and on the right). |
Whatever your choice of name for it, it’s a gorgeous effect -
its tight, sinuous curves belie the fragile brittleness of the
glass.
Checking through Butler Brothers catalogs dating back to 1909
we found the first ad to carry an illustration of a bowl with a
Fine Crimp Edge was Fenton’s Stippled Rays. The bowl shown had
32 tight ruffles or crimps. It started us looking back through
the old catalogs and we discovered that only a handful of
patterns were shown with this kind of crimp treatment - and 32
tight, regular crimps seemed to be the standard number mostly
used. Judging by the Butler Brothers ads, bowls with this edge
were on offer mainly between 1910 and 1912.
| Courtesy
of Steve Fink, this is the splendid Peacock and
Grape bowl that he has recently found. |
Fenton's
Captive Rose bowl in green with a magnificent Tight
Crimp Edge. |
Fenton were undoubtedly the main manufacturer to offer the
Fine Crimp Edge, but Dugan also used it on some pieces, while
Millersburg attempted a rather looser version of the tight
crimping.
The Process at Fenton
Frank Fenton explained to us how Fenton produce the Fine
Crimp Edging. The hot glass is snapped up and pushed down onto
the open bottom section of a shaped apparatus known as “the
crimp” (which would have been operated by a foot pedal in the
early days of Carnival production). The top part of this machine
then closes down onto the piece to form the distinctive edge.
It’s a skilled process - the real trick is to center the bowl
onto the apparatus. Get it off center, and you can imagine the
result’s not too pleasing.
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| Fenton's Ten
Mums bowl in green with a magnificent Tight Crimp Edge. |
Millersburg's ZigZag in an amethyst tricorner shape with
a Tight (though not as tight as some) Crimp Edge. |
So What Patterns can be found with the Fine Crimp Edge?
Arguably one of the hardest to find is Fenton’s Peacock &
Grape. An amazing example of this beauty, with a splendid Fine
Crimp Edge, has just been reported by wwwcga member, Steve Fink.
As you can see in his lovely photo of the bowl, the iridescence
is (in Steve’s own words) “marigold around the crimping, and
electric pastel coloring in the main body”. Only one other
example of a Fine Crimp Edge Peacock & Grape is currently known
- and that resides in the splendid collection of Bob Grissom.
Other Fenton patterns known on bowls with the Fine Crimp Edge
are:
Autumn Acorns
Captive Rose
Coin Dot
Feathered Serpent
Goddess of Harvest
Heart & Vine
Peacock Tail
Persian Medallion
Ribbon Tie
Stippled Rays
Thistle
Ten Mums
Vintage
 |
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| The back
of a wwwcga commemorative whimsey - this is a red
plate with a Tight Crimp Edge. |
A red
wwwcga commemorative whimsied into a rose bowl with
a Tight Crimp Edge. |
Dugan, as we noted above, also used the Fine Crimp Edge on
some bowls, and they too, usually employed 32 tight ruffles. On
some of their small bowls this really does have an astonishing
effect. Patterns we have noted are:
Caroline
Cherries
Fishscale & Beads
Petal & Fan
Question Marks
Ski Star
And then Millersburg. Their fine crimping isn’t as tight as
that done by Fenton and Dugan. It’s a freer, looser effect, but
it is continuous. Patterns that it can be seen on are:
Blackberry Wreath
Holly
Fleur de Lis
Whirling Leaves
Zigzag
Maybe you know other examples that we haven’t mentioned here.
Let us know if you do.
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A detail view of one of the 2002
wwwcga commemoratives - a black amethyst
plate with a Tight Crimp Edge. This one was hand
decorated. |
And on to Today
You may have noticed in the section above on the Process at
Fenton, that we deliberately wrote it all in the present tense.
Making Tight Crimp Edge pieces is not only something Fenton did
in the past - they still do it today. Fenton has produced some
of our lovely wwwcga Commemoratives with the splendid Candy
Ribbon effect too. Our 2001 and 2002 commemoratives both had
that magnificent edging. Fenton have also produced some unique
whimsies with the Tight Crimp Edge for us as well, as you can
see in the photos.
So, look out for those sweet and delectable Candy Ribbon Edge
pieces - you can still find them today if you’re lucky.
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|
Well, we know who
ate all the candy! |
Click Here for more photos of
pieces featuring a Candy Ribbon Edge.
Copyright 2006, G&S Thistlewood. All Rights
Reserved.
Special Thanks to Steve Fink, Bob Grissom and the late Frank
Fenton. |
