Handle It!

Carnival Glass 101 | home Quick Reference to Carnival Glass Patterns

“LET’S GET A HANDLE ON IT!”

Many times this task is not easily accomplished. However, we will lead you into the vastness of this particular specialty shape with the fact that total collections numbering several hundred can be accumulated in buying the many patterns available in the WATERSETS!

Complete Lily of the Valley waterset by Fenton

THIS one is difficult to “get a handle on!”

Considering the quantity of carnival glass which was produced during the vintage years, one might tend to think that the words scarce, difficult to find, and rare would never come into play. When there is such a quantity of most vases, nearly any Peacock pattern one can name, or for that matter, blue Cannonball pitchers with painted blossoms on, who could possibly say that any of the many watersets available, could be so elusive as to be termed RARE?

The lovely set we are delighted to share with you turned up at an estate auction over in the area of Ephrata, PA in late 2002. It had remained in the same family for a couple of generations. This is the first time (we believe) that a complete and absolutely perfect set has appeared in color. We do hope you enjoy the privilege of viewing it here! In nearly 25 years of studying books and periodicals concerning carnival glass, we have never seen one pictured.

Betty and Ed Pierce are the proud owners of this beautiful and much desired set. The cobalt blue base is standard for these and the applied handle displays that well. A blue tankard sold for $6000 in 1995. The only known marigold tankard was destroyed in a CA earthquake years ago.

The July 2003 issue of the HOACGA Bulletin, that Club’s monthly publication, carried tallied information on this coveted set; written by Robert Grissom and confirmed by Charles Mochel.

Collector data of this pattern (only found on this waterset) dates back to 1972. Seems that three of the known tankards, and some tumblers have been found in the general area of Kansas. The article states that twelve tankards are now known and five of those have damage.

Note: Pierce’s indicate that one of the tumblers is a lighter shade of blue than the others, and is not iridized inside, which brings up another point which needs clarification. Pitchers/tankards were manufactured without thought of matching tumblers to any given example. The tumblers were another “turn” of production entirely. Since each piece was individually handled and given the “dope” treatment one at a time, when time came to pack “sets” with six tumblers, no attempt to “match” sets was considered. It would be a RARE set indeed if all six tumblers just “happened” to match the pitcher/tankard! This lack of continuity does not constitute a “flaw” in any way!

Dean & Diane Fry……7/03

Some patterns were made in only one or two colors, others can be found in six or eight. Tankards and Pitchers are the referenced names, along with tumbler(s rather than water glass or glass”. There are entirely too many to delve into on this website, so we will illustrate the beauty of several “handles”, and refer you to HOACGA Club. Membership will make available to you, their many-sectioned catalog inserts. The section pertaining to watersets is particularly informative. Watersets is a nice area of carnival glass collecting, for many of the patterns ONLY appear on these shapes.

There are two types of handles in this situation: Molded and Applied.

Excepting the underlined patterns designated below, the handles pictured are of the molded variety, meaning the glass was poured into the mold at the same time the pitcher/tankard was poured, making those handles attached when removed from the mold.

Molded Handles

Banded Rib by Imperial	Chatelaine by Imperial	Cherries by Dugan

Cosmos & Cane by US Glass	Fentonia by Fenton	Grape by Imperial

File by Imperial	Harvest Flower by Imperial	Hobstar Banded by US Glass

Waffle Block by Imperial	Marilyn by Millersburg	Peach by Northwood

The Blueberry pitcher by Fenton, the Oriental Poppy and Dandelion tankards by Northwood and the Perfection pitcher by Millersburg all have applied handles. The body of these pieces were molded and removed from the molds, taken to the sprayer for application of the “dope”, ( iridization in laymen’s terms), then taken to the finisher for application of the molten glass handle………Then it goes to the lehr for tempering. Hence: applied handles have no iridization. Occasionally, the pitcher/tankard had cooled enough that when the hot molten glass handle was applied, a slight interior crack appeared in the wall of the vessel.