It was like looking into a rainbow.
Lining two walls of long shelves at the auction house, carnival glass and other glassware glistened in the artificial light. It looked as if the auction-house staff had painstakingly dusted and cleaned and buffed each one of the pieces – or the previous owner had taken exceptionally good care of them.
They bore the colors of nature and man-made: orange, tangerine, lime, grape, grass, roses, sky, cobalt and vaseline.
The colors were splendid; I understood why someone would collect glassware. Too bad, though, that most of it is worth so little compared to the big bucks collectors likely paid for it.
As for carnival glass, it is not the good stuff. After it was produced around the turn of the 20th century, it was dubbed the “Poor Man’s Tiffany,” in reference to the more expensive Tiffany glass. Carnival glass was given away free as prizes at carnivals, and it was made to be both decorative and functional.
It was manufactured as vases, plates, ashtrays, bowls, pitchers, candy dishes and creamers, among others. By 1918, it had fallen out of favor but was revived in the 1950s as some folks began to earnestly collect it.
The glass was made into various shapes, patterns and colors – as was seen in the pieces at the auction. There were four major manufacturers, with Fenton Glass Company being the first in 1907.
Many of the pieces at the auction were made by Fenton, according to the catalog sheet, as well as Northwood, Millersburg and Dugan. The auction included ice cream bowls, hats, punch cups, vases, bonbon candy dishes, plates and pitcher sets. They were sold individually and in groups of up to 10 pieces. The highest was a set of Northwood peacock bowls that sold for $300, but most of the items were below $50.
Here’s a sampling of the carnival glass and other glassware. The descriptions are from the auction catalog sheet:
