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What is Carnival Glass and when was it made? In a nutshell, Carnival Glass is press
molded, iridized glass. The story is, of course, much more complex than that - but it's a good starting point!
A POTTED HISTORY OF CARNIVAL PRODUCTION
By Glen and Steve Thistlewood
The beginning date of Carnival production is considered to be round
about 1907. Pressed iridized glass was made from that date to round
about the late 1920's by Fenton, Dugan/Diamond and Imperial (and
possibly a few other smaller companies). Millersburg and Northwood
stopped producing it before 1920. This is the period of Classic Carnival
production. Purists may prefer to think of the period as halting earlier
than the late 1920's - as the quality of Carnival is generally thought
to have deteriorated a little by the late 20's. Butler Brothers
Catalogues, however, illustrate glass in patterns such as Holly, Plaid,
Butterfly & Berry, Stag & Holly, Open Rose and Ripple - right up the the
late 20's early 1930's. There was an overlap. The second "flowering" (as it were) of pressed
iridized glass came from
about 1925 to the late 1950's. This is usually called "Late Carnival"
and encompasses the glass that is termed "Depression". This differs from
the Classic Carnival in that the patterns tend to be lighter and
shallower. The iridescence more even (greater use of machine methods)
and there was little or no hand shaping and finishing. A light Marigold
was the main color. Shapes tended more to the utilitarian (cups and
saucers, plates etc). Typical examples are Jeanette's "Herringbone and
Iris". Glass from this era is also very collectible - "Late" tumblers in
particular, have a following - some of them, such as the "Five Daisies"
pattern, being rare and sought after. 
This is an example of carnival glass. This bowl was made by the Northwood Glass Company. It is blue glass, but the iridescent sprays give it the fabulous colors you see. |
"Late" carnival as described above, was primarily a USA phenomenon.
However, in Europe and Australia, other glass producers got in on the
act. From the 1920's till probably as late as the 1950's, Europe
produced very distinctive and often lovely Carnival glass. There were
also some pretty awful examples too - but that goes for all types of CG.
Australia didn't produce their CG for quite as long, but it is
distinctive and is very sought after today. There were a few other
countries that also issued some carnival. Soon after, when it became clear that the old Classic Carnival was
becoming collected and there was a market to be satisfied, the next
generation of Carnival began. In the 1960's Imperial re-issued some of
its old lines in Carnival. Modern Carnival was born. Plenty of others
followed. New designs were produced as well as re-issues of old ones.
Most, but not all of these pieces are trademarked to show they are new.
That brings us to today - when Fenton lead the production of modern
Carnival. many other small firms, such as Boyd and Summit, also produce
very attractive Carnival. This is a very simplified "potted history" - purists may object to the
word "Carnival" being used to encompass all the ages of the glass - but
the qualifications attached to each era's production indicate the
origin.
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