CARNIVAL GLASS

 Blue LAUREL BAND covered bonbonniere (Riihimaki); purple TOWN PUMP (Northwood); purple VINTAGE perfume (Dugan), with a multi-strand Bohemian necklace made from blue Carnival beads.

Carnival Glass is an apt and colourful name – but it is a recent term. What we now call Carnival Glass was first made in the USA during the early 1900s, when such names as “Pompeiian Iridescent”, “Venetia Art” and “Mexican Aurora” were used to market and sell the glass as an inexpensive imitation of imported iridescent art glass. These names have long since fallen out of use, as have others that have been used over the years – “Baking Powder Glass”, “Nancy Glass” and even “Poison Glass”. It was mass produced to keep the price low and very affordable, and indeed it has been referred to as “poor man’s Tiffany”.

Read more about Carnival Glass names

Although Carnival Glass was press moulded, much of it was also hand-finished to give each piece its own individuality of colour, iridescence and style, to the extent that it is difficult to find two pieces that are exactly alike.

The production of Classic Carnival Glass in the USA took place from about 1907 to 1925. Its popularity in both its home and export markets did not gone unnoticed, and glassmakers in Europe were quick to make their own versions of this popular glassware, from as early as 1915 (or possibly before) through the 1920s and 30s. Glass factories in Germany, England, Czechoslovakia, Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe got in on the act as did makers in Australia, South America and India.

Carnival Glass first became thought of as a “collectible” in the 1950s and was carried forward in the 1960s by pioneer writers and researchers such as Marion Hartung and Rose Presznick. It went from strength to strength, boosted by a plethora of collectors clubs and associations, by auctions and by the sheer enthusiasm of Carnival Glass collectors all around the world. Carnival Glass has been fuelled most recently by the internet, not just by the success of websites and on-line auctions, but also by the publication of cutting-edge research. Whilst most of the earliest information about Carnival Glass focused on its production in the USA, the last 25 to 30 years has seen an amazing volume of information emerge about its production in other countries.

We (Glen and Stephen Thistlewood) have researched Carnival Glass production extensively for many years. We have written widely about Carnival Glass (check the Publications tab) and through our research into original catalogues and archive material we have discovered many new patterns and previously unknown makers of this wonderful glass. For more information, just follow the navigation links to each country shown on the left hand menu bar, or any of the links.