Carnival Glass

Carnival Glass is moulded or pressed glass to which an iridescent surface shimmer has been applied. The keys to its appeal were that it looked superficially like the much finer and much more expensive blown iridescent glass by Tiffany, Loetz and others and also that the cheerful bright finish caught the light even in dark corners of the home.  Data from: Wikipedia.

Carnival Glass was given out as prizes at carnivals and fairs. It was also sold very cheaply in grocery stores. Carnival glass was manufactured from 1895 to just before the Great Depression.

Fenton Carnival Glass was famous for its early Carnival ware, which was called Iridill.   Iridill was made between 1907 and 1920 and came in over 150 different designs.

Other companies that created art glass and made wares for carnivals were The Northwood Glass Company, The Indiana Glass Works which became The Dugan Glass Company in 1904 and The Imperial Glass Company.

Radium iridescent is a finish that is often found on carnival glass. It was placed on vintage carnival glass while it was molten but cooling down. This gave the item a shine as well as iridescence. A matte finish would result if it was applied while the glass was still very hot. Iridescence is the play of many colours over and within the piece.

There were different types of coloured glass used.

Some examples are:

1.  Amethyst: These items come in many shades of purple, from palest lilac to purplish black. Black amethyst looks black, but it reveals its purple colour when held up to a light.

2.  Marigold: These pieces have the beautiful golden colour associated with the flower.

3.  Opalescent: These pieces remind you of an opal gemstone. It is made when bone ash, or calcium phosphate is added to a molten batch. The main colours depend on which metallic oxide is added to the batch. Chromium creates green, gold makes pink, uranium produces yellow, and copper produces blue. This is done within the furnace.

Carnival Glass has some of the most beautiful and unusual glass art in the world and is one of my personal favorites.  Over generations, collectors  have been accumulating these exquisite Carnival Glass pieces.