Opalescent Vases with Carnival Twins: 4 - Fenton Vases

Part IV.

Carnival and Opalescent Vase Twins from Fenton

by curculiosglass

A scarce white opalescent Diamond Point Columns vasephoto by jimsseeknsave

After 1907, many American glassworks reused or retooled existing opalescent glass molds to embark on carnival glass production. As a result, early carnival glass pieces occasionally have older opalescent "twins". This guide is about such opalescent and carnival glass doubles. Parts II and III focused on vases of the Northwood and Dugan Glass Companies. This section, Part IV, is dedicated to vase doubles of the Fenton Company. Part V is a pictorial guide to opalescent and carnival Ribbed Spiral and Ripple vases. This guide was made possible by the many E-Bayers who came together to contribute photographs for this project. Please leave feedback by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

THE FENTON ART GLASS COMPANY

The Fenton Art Glass Company of Williamstown, West Virginia, pioneered carnival glass production, and introduced the first carnival glass to the market in 1907. Fenton also produced a vast array of pieces in opalescent glass. Unlike Northwood and Dugan, whose opalescent glass patterns predated the companies' carnival glass period, Fenton made most of its early opalescent glass contemporaneously with its first carnival, between 1907 and 1912.

An informative description of Fenton's early opalescent glass can be found in Fenton Art Glass 1907-1939 by Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer, 2nd ed. (2003), pp. 16-19. Fenton's opalescent glass glass shared a number of patterns with the company's carnival glass. These patterns included Beaded Stars, Blackberry Spray, Coin Spot, Fern Panels, Flowering Dill, Grape & Cable, Honeycomb & Clover, Kittens, Northern Star, Open Edge, Orange Tree, Peacock Tail, Plaid, Prayer Rug, Stag & Holly, Strawberry and Waterlily & Cattails.

Fenton produced, in addition, five vase patterns in both early opalescent and carnival glass: Diamond Point Columns, Plume Panels, Boggy Bayou, Reverse Drapery, and Fine Rib. All five patterns are discussed below. Many present unique identification problems, because they are easily confused with other patterns from the same period issued by Fenton as well as by the Northwood, Dugan and Jefferson glass companies. In addition, as is noted below, finding carnival-opalescent pairs in the last two of these patterns may prove difficult -- surviving examples of carnival Reverse Drapery and opalescent Fine Rib are extremely rare. Fenton's opalescent colors: Fenton's early opalescent vases usually were produced in three colors: blue, green and a clear-to-white hue called crystal opalescent. A single early Fenton vase pattern -- Fenton's Fine Rib vase - was produced between 1908 and 1910 in canary opalescent, the bright yellow color that fluoresces green under a black light. Fenton's Boggy Bayou and Reverse Drapery vases were issued in amethyst opalescent as well. To our knowledge, these are the only early American vases ever issued in amethyst opalescent glass. According to William Heacock's Fenton Glass: The First Twenty-Five Years, p.25, and his Opalescent Glass from A to Z, p. 95, Fenton first issued amethyst opalescent glass as early as 1907 or 1908. The Standard Encylopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., p. 97, notes that Fenton is the single company that produced amethyst opalescent glass in this early time period. Amethyst opalescent is deep purple to mauve, and distinct from Fenton's later cranberry, plum and wisteria opalescent colors.



FENTON'S EARLY OPALESCENTAND CARNIVAL VASES





Amethyst carnival Diamond Point Columns vasewith a very scarce blue opalescent Diamond Point Column vasephotos by sundazeco101 (left) and hdw6100 (right)

Diamond Point Columns. Opalescent vases: First issued in 1907, Diamond Point Columns vases feature diamond points separated by three columns of five vertical lines each, as shown in the photographs directly above and at page top of this guide. Diamond Point Columns vases are referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., p. 54, which characterizes the vases as "scarce". The SEOG notes that for a long time the Diamond Point Columns vase pattern was associated with Imperial Glass, but is now known to be a Fenton product that was once exhibited with other Fenton pieces in old Butler Brothers wholesale catalogs. Fenton issued Diamond Point Columns vases in blue, green and white opalescent. The vases are most valuable in blue and green, but are considered a good find in any color. We are fortunate to have the above photograph of a blue opalescent vase from an E-Bayer -- these vases appear very rarely on E-Bay. The single sample photographed in the SEOG is a white vase that is 12" tall. The white vase shown at page top is similarly 12" tall, and has a base diameter of 3 1/2". The blue vase shown directly above is 12 1/2" tall and has a base diameter of approximately 3 3/8". The Diamond Point Columns pattern was issued on vase shapes only. In the 1990's, Fenton re-issued Diamond Point Columns vases in pink opalescent glass; such contemporary reissues are clearly marked on the base with the Fenton logo.

Easily confused patterns: Diamond Point Columns vases resemble Northwood's Diamond Point vases, but are quite distinguishable on close inspection, because Northwood's Diamond Point vases lack the vertical columns that are the hallmark of the Fenton vase. (For more detailed photographs comparing the two patterns, see our guide on easily confused vases):



Details of blue opalescent Fenton Diamond Point Columns vaseand green opalescent Northwood Diamond Point vasephotos by hdw6100 (blue) and curculiosglass (green)

Carnival Diamond Point Columns vases: Diamond Point Columns vases were issued by Fenton circa 1911. The shortest vases measure 5-6" and the tallest stretched ones about 12". According to ddoty.com, the base diameters of all carnival vases are 3 1/2". Doty's website lists squatty vases in marigold and amethyst; a green squatty Diamond Point vase measuring 6 3/4" with an unusual tri-corner pulled rim sold on E-Bay in December, 2007. Fenton issued pulled taller vases in marigold, amethyst, green, cobalt blue, ice green, vaseline with marigold overlay, lime green and a rare celeste. Although David Doty's website and field guide do not mention iridescent white Diamond Point Columns vases, their existence is noted in the SECG's price guide at p. 309. Diamond Point Columns vases are also found in clear crystal, and thus caution should be exercised when buying white carnival vases to assure that they are iridescent. Fenton reissued swung Diamond Point Columns vases in amethyst carnival in 1973, and in iridescent lavender opal in the 1990's; ; reissued red vases also have appeared on E-Bay. Re-issued vases have the Fenton logo on the bottom. Diamond Point Columns carnival vases are referenced in The Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed., p. 78,





Marigold Carnival and White Opalescent Plume Panels Vasesphotos courtesy of johnsjars and curculiosglass

Plume Panels. Opalescent vases: The Plume Panels pattern is referenced on p. 119 of the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., which deems Plume Panels opalescent vases "rare". As shown above, the pattern features panels of vertical plumes separated by plain panels. The panels stop short of the rim, where a band circles the vase's top. According to the SEOG, Plume Panels opalescent vases appear in white, blue and green opalescent. Green is the most valuable in opalescent Plume Panels vases, followed by blue and then white. The white vase shown above is 8" high and has a smooth base with a 3" diameter. In the posthumously published Opalescent Glass from A to Z, p. 91, William Heacock noted that Plume Panels vases were first issued circa 1914.

Carnival Plume Panels vases: Carnival vases feature six raised panels of vertical plumes separated by plain panels. As shown in the above photograph of a marigold vase, the panels stop well short of the vase's rim: according to Marion Hartung in Eighth Book of Carnival Glass (1968), p. 22, "the six vertical rows have a definite beginning-and-ending... here we find a line definitely punctuating the upper end, short of the scalloped top." The "line" or band at the top is similar to that found on Fenton's Fine Rib vases. Margaret and Kenn Whitmyer, authors of Fenton Art Glass 1907-1939, 2nd ed., p. 88, record that carnival Plume Panels vases were issued from 1915 to 1923. The vases are known in amethyst, blue, green, marigold, russet (olive green), oxblood, sapphire blue, vaseline and red. An ice-blue-opal carnival Plume Panels vase also surfaced at the January, 2006 at the auction of the Sunshine State Carnival Glass Association. According to David Doty's field guide, green is the most common carnival color in this pattern, while marigold, amethyst and blue are "scarce". Sapphire and vaseline are considered highly desirable, and red vases fetch exceptional prices. The Whitmyers' Fenton Art Glass notes that Plume Panels vases vary from 6" to 12". A squatty Plume Panels vase under 6" appeared in red (with a base crack) in April, 2007 on E-Bay. According to ddoty.com, however, the heights of Plume Panels vases seldom vary from the 10" to 13" range. These carnival vases are referenced on p. 215 of The Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed.

Easily confused carnival patterns: Plume Panels opalescent vases are confused occasionally with Northwood's Feathers vase. In addition we feel compelled to note that opalescent Plume Panels vases are so similar to opalescent Inverted Chevron vases made by Jefferson Glass, that we question the SEOG's assertion that the vases are really two different patterns, rather than one vase issued by one manufacturer. Any buyer or seller believing he has an opalescent Plume Panels vase should compare it to photographs of the Jefferson vase. Carnival Plume Panels vases are sometimes confused with Northwood's Feathers vases and with Northwood's Leaf Columns vases. (To view photographs showing the distinctions among these various patterns, see our guide on easily confused vases.)



Squatty lime opal carnival Boggy Bayou vase,with a squatty blue opalescent Boggy Bayou vase.The lime opal vase fluoresces green under ultraviolet light.photos by *treasurehunter* (left) and morcovelo

Boggy Bayou. Opalescent vases: These are among the most striking of opalescent glass vases from the early 1900's. The Boggy Bayou pattern consists of six rows of eight interlocking opalescent arcs; the rows are divided by narrow ribs. The undersides of the vases' bases bear a distinctive geometric pattern -- as is especially evident in the photo of the squatty blue vase above, this base pattern is often visible when the base is viewed from above. Opalescent Boggy Bayou vases were first issued in 1907-1908, and are referenced on p. 29 of the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed. Vases appear in both "squatty" and standard sizes, usually ranging from 5" to 13" tall. (The amethyst opalescent vase shown below is 11 1/4"; the squatty opalescent vase shown above measures 5 5/8"). Both squatty and tall opalescent Boggy Bayou vases have bases with 3 1/2" diameters. The opalescent vases are found, in order of highest value first, in amethyst, blue, green and white. All colors of the vase set off the attractive pattern well and all tend to sell quickly on E-Bay. Amethyst vases like the one shown below, are an especially good find; as noted at the top of this guide page, this color was quite unusual in the first decade of the 20th Century. It is also notable that although opalescent Boggy Bayou vases were not made in the color known as "canary" or vaseline, the opalescent green vases tend to fluoresce green under a black light. Boggy Bayou vases are often confused with Fenton's Pulled Loops and Reverse Drapery vases, as discussed below.





Amethyst carnival (left), and amethyst opalescent Boggy Bayou vasesphotos courtesy of curculiosglass and n_it_to_win_it

Carnival Boggy Bayou vases: According to the Whitmyers' Fenton Art Glass 1907-1939, Fenton issued the Boggy Bayou pattern in carnival glass in 1910. Like the opalescent vases, carnival Boggy Bayou vases feature 6 columns of 8 interlocking arcs, and have bases whose undersides bear a distinctive geometric pattern. The carnival vases come in two sizes -- a standard height ranging from 10" to 12", and a squatty version ranging from 5" - 7". (The lime opal vase shown higher up on the page is 6", and the amethyst vase above is 12"). Both sizes have bases measuring approximately 3 1/2" - 3 3/4" in diameter. The Whitmyers note that marigold is an uncommon color in the carnival vase, and green the most common. Ddoty.com and David Doty's A Field Guide to Carnival Glass record Boggy Bayou vases in the colors marigold, blue, amethyst, lime green, lime green opal and vaseline opal. A vaseline carnival squatty vase also appeared on E-Bay in 2007. Like Fenton's opalescent green Boggy Bayou vases, the lime green opal squatty vase shown above fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light. (For information on distinguishing Fenton's lime green and vaseline carnival Boggy Bayou, see our guide on Fenton vaseline glass.) Notably, Fenton reissued Boggy Bayou vases under the name "Vase #32," in transparent (non-opalescent and non-iridized) green and pink glass in 1932.

Easily confused patterns: On E-Bay, both opalescent and carnival Boggy Bayou vases often are mislabeled as Dugan Pulled Loop vases. Although Pulled Loop vases are similar, they are easily distinguishable, because each column of interlocking arcs on Pulled Loop vases contains 5 arcs only, rather than 8. The Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., p. 128, also cautions collectors to be careful not to confuse opalescent Boggy Bayou vases with the very similar Fenton pattern called Reverse Drapery, shown below and in the next section. (To view and compare multiple photographs of Pulled Loop, Boggy Bayou and Reverse Drapery vases, see our guide on easily confused vases.) Like Boggy Bayou, Reverse Drapery has 8 interlocking arcs. As shown below, however, the bases of the two vases differ: as noted, Boggy Bayou vases have a geometric pattern on the marie base that is strongly visible even when viewed from above. By contrast, Reverse Drapery vases have a many-rayed star on the base that is not easily detectable from above:



Fenton Opalescent Reverse Drapery Vase (white) and Boggy Bayou vase (green) photos courtesy of krd (white) and katyskloset (green)



Hard-to-Find Fenton Vase Twins

The two patterns shown below were made by Fenton in both carnival and early opalescent glass: Reverse Drapery and Fine Rib. Nevertheless, assembling opalescent-carnival pairs of these vases would prove challenging, because of the scarcity of surviving specimens in both kinds of glass.

A green Opalescent Reverse Drapery vase:Only two known Reverse Drapery vases exist in carnival glass.The vase shown above fluoresces green under ultraviolet light.

photo by curculiosglass

Reverse Drapery. Opalescent vases: Like Boggy Bayou, this is a stunning opalescent vase pattern. The pattern features series of eight interlocking arcs separated by ribs. Reverse Drapery vases such as that shown above in green were whimseyed from bowl molds. The vases often have mouths like that on the green vase shown above -- slightly flared mouth with pointed flames. The vases may also appear, however, with mouths that are ruffled or widely flared. All vases we have seen have 3 1/4" bases, but they vary greatly in size from squat vases under 7" to pulled sizes up to 14". Reverse Drapery vases appear in the opalescent colors white, blue, green and amethyst. Amethyst is the most valuable, followed by blue and green, which are equally valuable, and then white. Like green Boggy Bayou vases, green Reverse Drapery vases tend to fluoresce yellow-green under a black light. Reverse Drapery is referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., pp. 128 and 197. According to William Heacock in Opalescent Glass from A to Z , p. 93, the Reverse Drapery pattern was first issued circa 1907-1908, and is sometimes referred to as "Fenton's Drapery".

Easily confused vases: As shown and noted above, Reverse Drapery is often confused with Boggy Bayou, and the two patterns are most easily distinguished by examining their bases: A Reverse Drapery vase has a many-rayed molded star on the underside of the base, and a collar of smooth glass above the base. (To compare multiple photographs of Reverse Drapery and Boggy Bayou vases, see our guide on easily confused vases.)Carnival Reverse Drapery vases: We include this pattern in this guide on carnival-opalescent vase doubles because two known carnival vases exist. In carnival, the pattern is called "Cut Arcs". Ddoty.com notes that Cut Arcs is seldom seen on any shape in carnival, and that it appears generally only as an exterior pattern on bowls. No photographs of the carnival vases are available, even on David Doty's website. Finding a carnival vase in this pattern would be remarkable.





A rare vaseline-opal carnival Fine Rib vase (shown, left, under UV light)and and even rarer Fine Rib vase in canary opalescent.Both vases fluoresce green under ultraviolet light.photos courtesy of bb4513 (left) and curculiosglass

Fine Rib. Opalescent vases: This vase in opalescent form is deemed "very rare" by the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass (which assigns the vase a $500 book value). Fenton's Fine Rib vase features a simple pattern of narrow vertical ribs. The ribs terminate short of the rim, which is circled by a narrow band approximately 1/2" wide. The vase shown above right has transparent canary-yellow ribs alternating with canary opalescent ribs. The band is canary opalescent with some clear glass showing along the edges, and the base is transparent deep-yellow glass. The entire vase glows bright neon green under a black light. The vase stands 10 1/2" tall and has a smooth, patternless base with a diameter of 2 7/8". The authors of a Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass record that they have seen Fine Rib opalescent vases in canary only, but that "there may well be white, blue and green examples that exist" -- although so far, none have surfaced. The SEOG indicates that the vase probably was made between 1908 and 1910. It is notable that during the period of 1907 to 1912, Fenton is not known to have issued any other vase patterns in canary opalescent. (Further information on this topic can be found in our guide on Fenton vaseline glass.)

Carnival Fine Rib vases: Fenton's carnival Fine Rib vase began production in 1911. Also known as Fenton #1126, Fine Rib vases are ubiquitous in carnival glass. According to the Standard Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass, 11th ed., p. 106, Fine Rib carnival vases each have six sections divided into groups of either five or six ribs, depending on vase size. The vases appear in several sizes: standard has a base diameter of 2 1/2" - 2 3/4"; large standard a base diameter of 3"; and midsize a base diameter of 3 1/4". Heights range from 8 to 17". Midsize vases are found in blue, amethyst and vaseline, and very rarely in amethyst and red. Fenton's standard-size Fine Rib vases are found in every color imaginable, including truly unusual variations such as powder blue, moonstone with a marigold overlay, amber slag, amber opal, lime green opal and amberina. According to ddoty.com, red is not uncommon in standard-size Fine Rib vases. His field guide records that the standard-size vase is scarce is amethyst, aqua, green, lime and vaseline; it is rare in aqua opal, sapphire and vaseline opal. We are very lucky to have the above E-Bayer's photograph of a rare vaseline-opal Fenton Fine Rib vase.

Easily confused vases: When trying to identify Fenton Fine Rib vases, look for the distinctive narrow band circling the top just beneath the rim. Care should be taken not to mistake Northwood's Many Ribs opalescent vase for a Fenton opalescent Fine Rib vase -- the Northwood Many Ribs vase is similar but lacks the narrow band at the top. Photographs of Many Ribs and Fine Ribs vases can be viewed in our guide on easily confused ribbed vases. In carnival glass, the narrow band at the top of Fenton's Fine Rib vase distinguishes it from Northwood's Fine Rib carnival vase -- on the Northwood vase, the ribs run all the way to the edge of the top rim. Please note as well that Fenton issued Fine Rib vases from 1927-1937 in green, pink and colorless crystal: these transparent vases should not be mistaken for opalescent or carnival Fine Rib vases.



Guide Table of Contents

2. Northwood Vases 3. Dugan Vases 4. Fenton Vases 5. Imperial Ripple Vases

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Many thanks to E-Bayers bb4513, hdw6100, jimsseeknsave, johnsjars, katyskloset, krd, morcovelo, n_it_to_win_it, sundazeco101 and *treasurehunter* for contributing photographs to this part of our guide. Rights to all photos belong to the photographers, and pictures should not be used without their permission. Text is (c) 2007 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.

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