The Origins of Carnival Glass

Some vintage collectibles have odd names. For example, Carnival Glass. Perhaps you have seen a piece before, and either admired it or disliked it, but either way you were still left wondering how it the piece received such an unusual name.

In the early 20th century, this sort of iridescent glass was given away at carnivals. Instead of taking home a stuffed animal, a contestant could win a piece of glass to take back as a prize. Not everyone liked carnival glass though. To the uppity folks in the neighborhood, carnivals were for riff-raff and these prizes were rejected as being beneath them.

Fortunately, there were many people who valued this type of glass enough to save a few pieces so collectors can enjoy them today. In fact, most carnival glass pieces were purely decorative so they tended to sit on shelves undisturbed rather than being subjected to daily use.

The Kovels on Milk Glass

Ralph and Terry Kovel explain milk glass for us.

Milk glass, an opaque white glass, was of course named for its color.

The thick white glass was first popular from 1870 to 1880. It regained popularity in the 1920s and '30s, then in the 1950s to '80s.

Glass factories made thousands of covered dishes, pitchers, small trays and even figurines. But the descriptive terms "blue milk glass" or "black milk glass" are now used for some colored glass.

Milk glass was made in many colors in the United States and Europe, especially France. The pieces are similar enough to be confusing.

Portieux and Vallerysthal are two French names that appear on some colored milk glass made in the 20th century. The two companies merged in the 1970s.

There's so much junk out there, that it's good to see someone try to talk up the better stuff. Unfortunately, there will always be too much mismarked stuff available at the low end of the market.

Carnival Glass

Carnival glass is produced by a process known as doping, hence this glass is also sometimes referred to as "dope glass". This process was first adopted in the early 20th century, lasted until the late 1930s and is no longer used.

The Fenton Glass Company of Williamstown, West Virginia was the first and most widely recognized carnival glass producer. Fenton initially began life as a company which decorated blank glass produced by other companies. In 1907 it started creating carnival glass. When production started, Fenton glassware was marketed as "Iridill" or "iridescent ware". This was an instant hit and several other companies began producing and marketing their own carnival glass bowls.

In the late twenties, demand for their products began to wane. This was due to the decrease in sales during the Depression, and also in part to the saturation of the market by glass companies. To get rid of stock, companies began selling their wares at deeply discounted prices to carnivals, which the carnivals then used as prizes for their games. Several companies went out of business during this period.

Known as "carnival glass" by glass collectors, the popularity of carnival glass bowls surged in the 1950s. Originally used as carnival prizes, today reproductions are made by several companies. Fenton glass in particular is a prized collectible and the most frequently manufactured.

At present, online auctions and antique shops are the best places to get carnival glass Fenton antique glass as well as other well-known carnival glass fetches high prices. Popular colors of these glasses are marigold, as well as dark hues like blue and green.Carnival glass bowls in red or pastel color are the most expensive. One rare ice-blue plate recently sold for $16,327.55!