NetworK ezine Issue 67. December 2020
Totally Devoted to Carnival Glass
Chasing Butterflies Butterflies – ancient civilisations believed they reflected the soul and to the Chinese, they represent happiness and joy. The butterfly was a favourite theme in Oriental design, which later inspired many Carnival patterns. It’s not hard to see why the butterfly is such a popular design motif – we love its colours, its ephemeral beauty and its sheer elegance. Right: detail from Zabkowice’s Butterfly Catcher
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Butterflies at Fenton
Around 1910-11, Fenton introduced their Butterfly & Fern water set, their Butterflies bonbon and another pattern featuring the butterfly that was to prove one of their most enduring and popular lines – No. 1124, known to us as Butterfly & Berry (and described in early ads as “blackberry and butterfly”). Other shapes were soon added – a hatpin holder and a vase that was made (swung) from the tumbler.
Above: a 1911 Butler Brothers clip showing a “Dining Set” Assortment of Fenton’s Butterfly & Berry items. Table sets, water sets and berry sets were available - six sets were packed in one barrel.
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Above: a blue Classic Carnival Butterfly & Berry butter dish. This pattern was a best seller at the time, featuring in Fenton’s lines well into the 1920s. It was then used again in their Contemporary Carnival revival.
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Shown below is a little piece of history.
This is a Butterfly & Berry shard. It was found on the Fenton site during the excavation of the property after the plant had closed. Grateful thanks to Marty Seufer for this image. On the left is an extract from Fenton’s 2007 General Catalog, shown courtesy Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Co. It shows Fenton glassworkers in around 1910, described as making Butterfly & Berry items. The group is the “press shop” and Fenton explained that they were “headed by Elmer Goosman (dark shirt, second from right)”.
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Butterfly & Berry was a best-seller, and it was also a very useful mould. It was used as an exterior pattern on other designs; Panther, Fantail and Hearts & Trees. And yet more butterflies flew out of the Fenton factory!
A blue Fenton Butterflies bonbon, courtesy of Burns Auctions.
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Possibly the most enigmatic butterflies to emerge were these little Butterfly Ornaments. Known in a variety of colours, and undoubtedly exceptionally scare, these little beauties are thought to have been used for various purposes, including the adornment of baskets (possibly glued or puttied on). Two Butterfly ornaments in marigold (courtesy Seeck Auctions),
and green (courtesy Burns Auctions). |
When the Carnival Glass Revival began at Fenton in the 1970s, butterflies were ready to emerge from their slumber. In 1970, Fenton issued a Carnival Butterfly ornament, #5170. This version from 1970 had no pattern on its wings, but a year later, the mould had been altered to add a delicate design.
Above: Fenton catalogue 1970, showing the Butterfly ornament #5170 (top row) made
“From the Original Fenton Formula”. Shown courtesy of the Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Co. |
Shortly afterwards, Fenton's re-issued Butterflies bonbon was added to the new lines of Carnival Glass. The Butterfly also morphed into other beautiful forms including candle holder, ring holder and the ever-popular Butterfly on Stand.
Shown above on the left is an extract from Fenton’s 1980-81 catalogue which featured the Butterfly on Stand in iridised Velva Blue Stretch. On the right is Fenton's actual mould that was used for this piece - it was pressed upside down.
Images are courtesy of the Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Co. Though the Contemporary Butterflies shown above are probably familiar to many of you, the delightful one on the right is probably not. Shown here, courtesy of Marty Seufer and (the late) Howard Seufer, this tiny Fenton beauty is just one inch across; it has been iridised back and front, and hand decorated. |
Below: a delightful new small Butterfly in red Carnival which appeared in Fenton's 2003 catalogue.
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And of course, the ever-popular Butterfly & Berry pattern emerged to have its day in the sun in Contemporary Carnival. The old tumbler mould was used not only for re-issued tumblers but also for making vases and handled baskets. The exterior pattern Butterfly & Berry mould was used again in conjunction with Fenton’s Fantail pattern, which was described in catalogues as ' Butterfly and Berry, 9" ', without reference to the interior pattern. Far left: Butterfly & Berry exterior with the Fantail interior in Teal Marigold from 1988-89, courtesy of the Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Co. Immediate left: an aqua opal Contemporary Butterfly & Berry vase, made by Fenton for Levay from the old tumbler mould (which we show later). |
Fenton Moulds
One of the educational aspects we have been featuring whenever possible, on our website and here in the ezine, is the original moulds used for making glass. The image below, courtesy the late Howard Seufer and Marty Seufer, shows the Fenton Mould Store in 1995. It’s a remarkable piece of archive.
One of the educational aspects we have been featuring whenever possible, on our website and here in the ezine, is the original moulds used for making glass. The image below, courtesy the late Howard Seufer and Marty Seufer, shows the Fenton Mould Store in 1995. It’s a remarkable piece of archive.
Two of them are shown above on the right. The top picture is the Butterfly & Berry tumbler mould and the bottom picture is the exterior mould that was used for the ball-footed bowls. Pictures are shown courtesy of the Fenton Family and Fenton Art Glass Co.
LINKS for Further Reading
There is so much more elsewhere on our website about Fenton’s use of the butterfly motif on Classic Carnival, on their Contemporary Revival, and even on Fenton's re-creation of two Classic designs - a Northwood Butterfly nut dish, and a Dugan Butterfly and Tulip bowl.
Here is an Index with links to where this information is to be found.
Butterflies #8230 reissued bonbon in Orange Carnival: the reissued piece was renamed "Butterfly": Contemporary Marigold
In 1984, Butterfly & Berry Basket #9324 and Fenton's version of Northwood’s Butterfly design on a 3-toed nut dish in Cobalt marigold #8442 (the exterior appears to be Leaf Tiers) appeared in a wonderful selection of 25 pieces. The colour was called Cobalt Marigold, made to a "secret formula" which replicated Classic Carnival production: Cobalt Marigold
Red Carnival featured heavily in Fenton's Contemporary production; In 1992, there was the Butterfly on Stand #5171, and the reissued Butterfly (Butterflies) two handled bonbon #8230: Red Carnival
Fenton’s re-birth of Dugan's Butterfly and Tulip design: Butterfly and Tulip - the re-birth
And do not forget that Butterfly & Berry is such a brilliant design that it has also been faked!: Butterfly & Berry Fakes
LINKS for Further Reading
There is so much more elsewhere on our website about Fenton’s use of the butterfly motif on Classic Carnival, on their Contemporary Revival, and even on Fenton's re-creation of two Classic designs - a Northwood Butterfly nut dish, and a Dugan Butterfly and Tulip bowl.
Here is an Index with links to where this information is to be found.
Butterflies #8230 reissued bonbon in Orange Carnival: the reissued piece was renamed "Butterfly": Contemporary Marigold
In 1984, Butterfly & Berry Basket #9324 and Fenton's version of Northwood’s Butterfly design on a 3-toed nut dish in Cobalt marigold #8442 (the exterior appears to be Leaf Tiers) appeared in a wonderful selection of 25 pieces. The colour was called Cobalt Marigold, made to a "secret formula" which replicated Classic Carnival production: Cobalt Marigold
Red Carnival featured heavily in Fenton's Contemporary production; In 1992, there was the Butterfly on Stand #5171, and the reissued Butterfly (Butterflies) two handled bonbon #8230: Red Carnival
Fenton’s re-birth of Dugan's Butterfly and Tulip design: Butterfly and Tulip - the re-birth
And do not forget that Butterfly & Berry is such a brilliant design that it has also been faked!: Butterfly & Berry Fakes
"Aurora" Glass Butterflies
Fenton’s iconic Butterfly & Berry pattern was popular, and widely marketed – and in the early 1920s it flew all the way to Australia. Above, left, extract from 1922 Foy & Gibson ad in Australia, showing a berry dish in Fenton’s Butterfly & Berry (4.5 inches across). It was described in the ad as a “pretty sweet dish”. On the right is an actual marigold Butterfly & Berry small berry dish, shown courtesy Seeck Auctions.
Here on the right was part of a beautifully illustrated 1922 ad for the Australian department store, Foy & Gibson. All the glass in the full-page ad was Fenton’s Carnival, and it was described as “Aurora Glassware”. The term “Aurora" was a marketing term that had been used in the USA from time to time, since Dugan’s adoption of it to describe their new Carnival Glass line in 1910. Indeed, it had been used even earlier, in the 1880s, to describe Webb’s Iris iridescent glass. We show a small reproduction of the ad here, but you can see the full size, beautiful illustration in detail in the feature article “Aurora” where we explore the fascinating history of this interesting marketing term. Click on the ad to see it full size, and another fascinating Foy & Gibson ad, or go here: The Story Behind the Glass: "Aurora" |
And More Butterflies
It would be remiss of us not to include a look at some of the many magnificent butterfly patterns worldwide.
It would be remiss of us not to include a look at some of the many magnificent butterfly patterns worldwide.
Left: Big Butterfly tumbler, green, attributed to United States Glass (the Poucher Collection, picture courtesy of Seeck Auctions). Right: Butterfly and Corn vase, marigold, Millersburg (picture courtesy of Burns Auctions).
Dugan's Classic Carnival Butterfly and Tulip bowl in purple.
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Left: Butterfly bon bon, blue, Northwood.
Right: Butterfly Bush, purple ("dark") by Crown Crystal. Left: Butterfly Catcher, marigold and clear, Zabkowice.
Right: Firefly (aka Moth), blue, Riihimaki. |
Discoveries from Brazil
This fascinating and very elegant, marigold tumbler was shown to us recently by Brazilian glass researcher, Claudio Deveikis. It belongs to a friend of Claudio’s, a young collector in Brazil called Thiago Zanette, who named the pattern Milhinho, meaning little corn (baby corn). It does not appear in any currently known catalogues, but it is felt that it is possibly an Esberard piece. Photo courtesy of Thiago Zanette
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This wonderful little item was shown in the Esberard catalogue, dating c. 1940s. Actually, four double salts, or salt and pepper cellars were illustrated, one of them being the piece shown here, named for its shape as Canoe ("Canoa").
Canoe double salt, or salt and pepper – "Saleiro/Pimenteiro Canoa", courtesy Daniel Chaieb Leilões. Extract from Esberard catalogue is courtesy Clóvis Bezerra. With thanks to Claudio Deveikis for contacting us about this super item.
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Another intriguing item from Thiago Zanette is this epergne base on the right. It appears to be blown art glass and not pressed glass. The complete item was shown in the Esberard catalogue (shown far right, courtesy of Clóvis Bezerra). Although the piece pictured here is missing its “lily” (also known as “horn” or “tulip”) it is a significant discovery, as it shows the astonishing range of glass forms and skills that Esberard were capable of. Clearly Esberard was a glass works of considerable repute, making not only pressed glass but also decorative art glass and more. Esberard received many international awards for their glass; a bronze medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1889, a silver medal at the Saint Louis Exposition and Chicago Exposition in 1900, a silver medal at the Buenos Aires Exposition, a gold medal at the Brussels and Turin exhibitions and a gold medal at the National Exhibition that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1908. |
The full fascinating story of Esberard, thanks to the excellent research of Claudio Deveikis, is on our website: The Esberard Story
The full fascinating story of Esberard, thanks to the excellent research of Claudio Deveikis, is on our website: The Esberard Story
And Finally …
At the start of this issue of the December Network ezine, we featured a 1910 photo of an early “Press Shop” at Fenton. One hundred and ten years ago, that “Press Shop” was working, producing glass at the new Fenton Art Glass Company in Williamstown, West Virginia.
At the start of this issue of the December Network ezine, we featured a 1910 photo of an early “Press Shop” at Fenton. One hundred and ten years ago, that “Press Shop” was working, producing glass at the new Fenton Art Glass Company in Williamstown, West Virginia.
Here, in the last 2020 Issue of NetworK, it seems appropriate to feature an iconic photograph taken by the late Howard Seufer, and shown here courtesy of Marty Seufer. Howard titled this amazing picture as “Last Fenton Art Glass Company Press Shop” and it was dated October 2011 (when Fenton ceased making pressed glass).
(Note, “shop” is the name used for a group of workers performing a specific part of glass production – in this case, making pressed glass using a side-lever press.) Howard wrote the names of the men in the photo – here they are, in Howard’s own hand. |
Our enduring and most sincere thanks to the late Howard Seufer and his son, Marty Seufer, for sharing this iconic piece of history.
January Network, 2021 will be released in the New Year.
Wishing everyone, all over the world, Happy Holidays and a safe, healthy New Year.
Wishing everyone, all over the world, Happy Holidays and a safe, healthy New Year.
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