South & Central America

The amazing Beetle ashtray, made by Cristalerias Rigolleau of Argentina

Carnival production in Argentina, Mexico and Peru is documented in our books, "Carnival Glass The Magic and The Mystery" and "A Century of Carnival Glass", and luckily some catalogues exist and various items bear moulded trade marks.

The production of Carnival in Brazil is not yet fully explored or known – details of the emerging knowledge are included here courtesy of Karen Rath. Further information regarding Carnival production by Saint Gobain in Brazil stems from our collaborative research with Marcus Newhall.

Glass production in Brazil also has strong links with production in Portugal – in particular the works at Marinha Grande, where we have evidence that some Carnival Glass was produced. One of the earliest glass factories in Brazil was Esberard in Rio de Janeiro (operated from 1882 to 1940) with other major factories subsequently being established at the Santa Marina Glassworks and Cisper (in Rio). We believe that Carnival Glass was indeed produced in Brazil, most likely at the Esberard and early Saint Gobain factories; our quest for further information continues.