This is the very first wholesale ad that we are aware of for Fenton's Classic Carnival Glass.

The color, "Golden Sunset" - iridescent, was surely marigold!

The patterns shown in this splendid 1908 ad include: Waterlily and Cattails, Beaded Stars and Diamond Point Columns.

The following year, another Fenton ad appeared, showing: Stippled Rays, Honeycomb and Clover, Coin Dot, and  a compote in the seldom seen geometric pattern Finecut Flower.

The company made the decision to trademark their modern output of Carnival with the word Fenton in script in an oval cartouche - see far left -  so that "collectors of early Classic Fenton Carnival, which was unmarked, could tell the difference.

The idea of using a logo on carnival proved so popular that there was a call for its use on everything else in the line. The company adopted this idea in 1974, thus all Fenton line items made since 1974 have the Fenton logo impressed on them. ("Fenton Glass: The Third Twenty Five Years" Wm. Heacock). They also used a paper label showing a master glassmaker (near left), although these will undoubtedly have washed off over time.

Throughout the 1970s the logo was simply "Fenton" within the oval, then during the 1980s, a number 8 was added, in the 1990s, a 9 - see left.

Since then, a zero has been used. Only a few items have different marks, or rarely none at all. Sometimes Fenton use moulds that they bought from other companies, or are owned by others - then they use a single letter F in an oval, to mark the items.

From time to time, the Fenton trademark may be tricky to find, as it may have been discretely tucked into the design and isn't obvious at first glance. It's also possible that the reheating operations during production of a piece may almost obliterate the mark - but the oval shape can still be detected. Take for example Fenton's 6" marigold Carnival "Grape" bowl - it is on the far left. Finding the logo on that piece has proved to be a challenge - but it's there alright! Howard Seufer's photo clearly shows where the logo can be found - it's on the underside of the piece just inside the rim of the marie.  There is a leaf stem on the inside that just overlays one end of the outside logo. Or look at the aqua opal piece on the immediate left. The pattern or the reflection of the glass can trick the eye, but the photos show that the logo is there if you look for it.  (Photos courtesy of Howard Seufer).

Another logo that is hard to find. This is a Fenton snail in gorgeous favrene. The underside of the snail is ground so that the piece sits flat, so any logo there would be lost. Instead, the Fenton cartouche is carefully placed on the lower back of the snail's shell.

Here is a very special piece of Fenton glass - the "Dancing Ladies" urn. It was designed in the mid-1920s by Frank L Fenton and inspired by an earlier piece made by H Northwood Co. Dancing Ladies pieces were originally produced by Fenton in various colours in the 1920s and 30s.

In 2004 the design was adapted for this new covered urn, offered exclusively in Favrene. Favrene glass contains pure silver, and each piece is unique.

Each piece also had the special Fenton 100 Years label, and was signed on the base by members of the Fenton family - as shown. The pieces were only available to customers who bought Fenton's special 100th. anniversary book "FENTON: Handcrafted American Glass Artistry."

This is another truly special piece!

The  internet-based Carnival Glass club, Woodsland World Wide Carnival Glass Association - see Links - commissioned Glen Thistlewood,  a past President of the club, to design their club's commemorative. Glen designed both the interior pattern - "Woodsland Pine" shown on the far left - and the exterior pattern "Flowers of the World". Glen worked closely with Fenton who were commissioned to make the mould and the plunger for these patterns, and to make each year since 1999, what has been the club's hugely successful commemorative.

A special honour by the mouldmaker was to incorporate Glen's initials (GT) into the design itself - see immediately on the left.

Read the full amazing story of the design and making of "Woodsland Pine / Flowers of the World" here.