NetworK ezine Issue 37. June 2018
Totally devoted to Carnival Glass
It’s our 3rd./24th./30th. anniversary!
We were on a short holiday in May 2015 when we decided to relaunch our original Carnival NetworK (a printed paper journal) as a free ezine, available to all.
We were staying at an amazing place called Hope Cove – an inspiration in itself – as we reminisced (over a glass of wine) about our original launch of NetworK which we first published 24 years ago in 1994.
We were on a short holiday in May 2015 when we decided to relaunch our original Carnival NetworK (a printed paper journal) as a free ezine, available to all.
We were staying at an amazing place called Hope Cove – an inspiration in itself – as we reminisced (over a glass of wine) about our original launch of NetworK which we first published 24 years ago in 1994.
It's also hard to believe that we wrote our first contribution to a Carnival club newsletter just over 30 years ago! Throughout all the years since then we’ve researched, written and shared – and our passion for Carnival, discovering its mysteries and revealing its beauties, continues just as strongly today. Our very first ezine NetworK graphic that we designed for June 2015 (which is shown in the header above) was based on a sunset photo we’d taken of Hope Cove (below). “Hope” felt right, it was the way forward … |
This free ezine is seen by a huge (and growing) number of readers, and many more read it online. And just over 18 months ago we launched our Carnival NetworK Facebook Group, which has approaching 8,000 members. That’s a breath-taking number. Our group loves Carnival - old Classic Carnival, new Carnival, any kind of Carnival. And they cover the world. We have members in every continent, from the USA to Australia … from South Africa to Egypt … from Canada to India. The group is very busy and interactive – there have been over 37,000 posts, comments and reactions over the last four weeks alone.
The passion and interest for Carnival Glass is thriving and strong.
The passion and interest for Carnival Glass is thriving and strong.
As we say at the top of every ezine: NetworK is Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass. Our key objective from the very start of NetworK in 1994 was to provide a focus for education, facts, breaking news and discoveries about Carnival Glass worldwide - revelations that we researched ourselves, and crucially, revelations that fellow Carnival enthusiasts around the world have generously entrusted us to publish and share. In this anniversary issue, we felt it appropriate to revisit a few of them. However, now that the Fenton factory is sadly closed and demolished, we thought it was very fitting to share with you a brilliant new discovery: The very start of the Fenton factory. This amazing photo shows how it all began. It is shared with us all thanks to Marty Seufer and a local Williamstown resident with family ties to the Fenton factory. It shows men and their teams of mules and horses dragging sleds to prepare the ground for the construction of the Fenton Art Glass plant. |
Some of our Early Discoveries and Revelations
Of all the many discoveries we made or reported during the early years, two are especially dear to us.
One was the proof absolute that Northwood had made Rose Show (shown right in aqua opal) and Poppy Show. Although the Carnival world had believed it to be the case for years, there was no proof, no confirmation. No pieces bore the Northwood N mark, and no catalogue illustrations had ever been found ... until our NetworK journal was published in January 2000. The ad shown on the right is from the 1913 Baltimore Bargain House book which had been found by collector Karen McIntyre. She kindly gave it to us for publishing in NetworK. It showed the first reported illustrations of the Rose Show and Poppy Show patterns alongside a host of other definite Northwood designs. Proof positive at last. |
The other revelation that we remember so well is the one that really caused shock waves - Carnival Glass had been made in India!
This was a discovery that we worked on closely with the late Bob Smith, and it all began in 1997 where it was first revealed in our NetworK journal. We subsequently exchanged letters with Mahavir Jain in India, showing him our photos and our drawings of various Carnival pieces, including our Fish vase … and he confirmed production at the Jain glassworks in Firozabad. |
Above: three very different versions of the Fish vase, made in India.
Left (left to right): Hand Vase (Right Hand), Fish Vase, partially frosted, Elephant Vase. The Fish and Elephant Vases are marked "JAIN". The Hand Vase is attributed to Jain, but is unmarked. |
It was the start of a long and wonderful friendship with Bob ... and further intensive research, as we collaborated closely with him.
You can see some of the early correspondence with Jain and more about the Indian Discovery with our great friend, (the late) Bob Smith: Carnival Glass from India. More discoveries regarding previously unknown Carnival makers came thick and fast – and again we rocked the boat: Rindskopf in Czechoslovakia (in which we identified many “unknown” items) and Walther in Germany were two notable ones. Read more about Rindskopf's Carnival here: Our Rindskopf Revelation! We also worked closely with the late Marie McGee to bring our detailed drawings of all the Millersburg exteriors into the wider world, so that collectors could readily identify them. See detailed drawings of Millersburg's Amazing Back Patterns here: Millersburg's Masterpieces |
Two wonderful vases from Rindskopf: left and the central catalogue image is Classic Arts, and on the right is a catalogue image of Egyptian Queen.
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More Recently Reported Discoveries
It’s been quite a ride! All our research over the past three years has instantly appeared in our ezine – no waiting around for a hardback book to appear, or an article six months later.
It’s been quite a ride! All our research over the past three years has instantly appeared in our ezine – no waiting around for a hardback book to appear, or an article six months later.
As soon as we’ve made the discoveries, you’ve had our information too. We have to admit though, in the case of the Four Flowers Variant, it did take us around thirty years to get there! We were so thrilled, after all those years, to reach a conclusion that Brockwitz was their maker. Here is the link to our comprehensive revelation: Untangling The Gordian Knot - Four Flowers Variant. We have brought you contemporary newspaper ads from the USA, the UK and Australia, that bring Carnival Glass alive – establishing it in its correct context and providing constant insights. We’ve delved into the background of Carnival collecting, as far back as the 1940s, and heralded the Pioneers including previously unsung heroes such as Gertrude Conboy! We’ve uncovered the first intentional use of iridescence on glass, and we’ve shown how you could get your Carnival through trading stamps!
We’ve also been honoured to host the “Howard Seufer Presents” series of videos on Carnival, with amazing footage from the Fenton Museum. The revelations and insights have come thick and fast and you can see them all in our NetworK Back Issues if you want to browse. So many years of education, research, exploration and discovery. |
What else can we pull out of the bag for our birthday issue?
Sadly, we can't give everyone a FREE piece of Carnival Glass, but we can show you this ad (above) from a 1913 Pennsylvania “Daily Republican” newspaper. When we enlarged the image we could see the pieces clearly – so what pieces could you have received free, with your 50 cents (or more) purchase during the store’s “Rexall Week”? Three lovely Northwood items were on offer! On the right of the newspaper image there is a Hearts and Flowers comport. On the left of the ad is a candy dish, and surely that’s a Fancy interior with a Fine Cut and Roses exterior, whilst in the middle is a splendid Nippon bowl with a characteristic Northwood pie crust edge. Below: left to right, a marigold Fine Cut and Roses candy (with Fancy interior), a purple Nippon bowl (both pictures courtesy of Seeck Auctions), and a blue Hearts and Flowers comport. all made by Northwood. |
Simply Perfect, narrated by Connie Moore (from NetworK Journal #28, 2000).
We were also privileged to be able to run (in our printed NetworK) a series by the late Connie Moore about the many humorous adventures hunting for Carnival that she had enjoyed with her late husband, Don Moore. Here is one of them.
We were also privileged to be able to run (in our printed NetworK) a series by the late Connie Moore about the many humorous adventures hunting for Carnival that she had enjoyed with her late husband, Don Moore. Here is one of them.
There were three particular flea markets that were held in the Moore’s local area in California. Of course, all the Carnival collectors from miles around attended. Some got lucky … others didn’t. It depends on the luck of the draw. One particular flea market Don and Connie liked to go to was held on the San Juan Bautista peninsula. It was a fairly small fair, and the couple set off from San Francisco early one morning with their hopes high.
They visited stall after stall, but there was no Carnival anywhere to be found. Undaunted, the Moores carried on searching and finally reached the last few stalls on a small back street.
Don stopped – unable to believe what his eyes were telling him. There, in front of him on a stall were six amethyst Perfection tumblers. Perfect! He bought them all for the scoop price of $35 for the six. Perfection is a rare pattern indeed and though he continued to hope for a while, Don could not find the pitcher to go with his six tumblers – and so he sold them. Yes, you’ve guessed the rest of the story! Some years later, the Moores managed to acquire their own Perfection pitcher … but they never managed to find another Perfection tumbler to go with it! Perfection by Millersburg. Don’s words on this rare pattern: “Like many of the water sets made by Millersburg, this pattern was not used on other shapes. Found in green, amethyst and marigold – all are rare, but the green and marigold are nearly impossible. Full sets in any colour are almost non-existent.” (ICGA Supplement, 1988). |
Fenton's Contemporary Marigold Carnival Glass Fenton introduced their reissued marigold Carnival into the line in July 1971. It was described as "orange red iridescent" and given the product code "CO". Interestingly it included patterns previously known in Classic (old) Carnival from Imperial and Northwood, as well as Classic patterns that Fenton themselves had made. The catalogue page on our website is courtesy of the late Frank Fenton who gave us much original material when we were researching in the Fenton archives at Williamstown. The full page in all its splendour is here: Fenton's Contemporary Marigold. |
Smile!
Here's another trip down memory lane - one of Glen's cartoons (from 1993) about the perils of Carnival Glass collecting!
Here's another trip down memory lane - one of Glen's cartoons (from 1993) about the perils of Carnival Glass collecting!
Join us on Facebook
We invite you and your friends to join us all on NetworK's fast growing and very active Facebook Group (link is below), and if you have missed any of the previous issues of NetworK and NetworK Specials, they are all here: Back Issues.
We invite you and your friends to join us all on NetworK's fast growing and very active Facebook Group (link is below), and if you have missed any of the previous issues of NetworK and NetworK Specials, they are all here: Back Issues.