To read our other guides on carnival and opalescent glass, click on  GUIDE INDEX. 

OPALESCENT CORN VASES:

The Dugan Original and the Wright Reproduction

by Curculiosglass

Dugan vaseline opalescent Corn Vase (left)
and L. G. Wright Reproduction (right)

 photos by vant21 (left) and curculiosglass
       

             Reproductions of Dugan's corn vases crop up frequently on E-Bay.  This guide is intended as a short reference for buyers trying to distinguish the Dugan original from the L. G. Wright imitation.  Both of the vases shown above are called "corn vases," and both are the color known as "vaseline".   Both are collectible, but they have different values.

           The genuine Dugan corn vase is shown above at left.  It was made in 1905 by the Dugan Glass Company of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and can be found in four opalescent glass colors -- in order of lowest to highest value, in white, canary (vaseline yellow), blue and an exceptionally scarce green.  Dugan's 1905 corn vase appears in Carwile's Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 6th ed., p. 37, which assigns it 2009 book values ranging from $280 for green opalescent to $125 for white opalescent.  Vases in excellent condition tend to go for more on E-Bay -- in 2007, for example, a vaseline opalescent Dugan corn vase without flaws sold for $334.  The SEOG describes Dugan's corn vases as "a collector's dream ... the mould work is fantastic and the open husks show real glassmaking skill."

            The corn vase shown above right is a reproduction made by in the 1950's and 1960's by the L.G. Wright Glass Company of New Martinsville, West Virginia.  Wright issued corn vase reproductions in four colors as well:  yellow vaseline opalescent, blue opalescent, amber, and a light blue that the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 6th ed., p. 180, describes as "a strange pale blue that had no opalescence".  The SEOG assigns L. G. Wright corn vases 2009 book values as follows:  vaseline ($70); amber ($60) and blue ($55).  Vaseline-colored corn vases like the one shown above right, correctly represented by the sellers as L. G. Wright reproductions, sold on E-Bay in 2007 in prices ranging from $35 to $75.

            To date, no corn vase reproductions have appeared in either green or white opalescence glass.  Nevertheless, the existence of L.G. Wright's molds always opens the possibility that corn vase reproductions might be issued in other colors as well.  (When L.G. Wright closed, many of its molds were sold to Asian companies.)  Thus, before buying any corn vase, buyers should famliarize themselves with the differences between original Dugan corn vases and L.G. Wright's reproductions.

Green and white original Dugan opalescent corn vases:
To date, reproductions have not appeared in these two colors.
Note the deep, curved dip in the top rim of each vase.

photos by noazark (green) and curculiosglass

          According to both the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass and David A. Peterson's well-regarded book, Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary, p. 149, all corn vase reproductions and true originals can be distinguished by two characteristics: 

(1) As is evident in the above photographs of green and white vases, Dugan originals have a curved dip at the top.  As shown in the photo of the yellow L.G. Wright vase at the top of this guide page, L.G. Wright reproductions have a nearly straight rim.  

(2) As shown below, left, Dugan originals have openings between the twisted parts of the husks and the corn ear, so that you can see daylight between them.  In most reproductions, such as the one shown below right, all parts of the husk are connected to the cob by a web of glass:
  

Dugan original (left) and L.G. Wright reproduction (right)
photos by  vant21 and curculiosglass

          It is notable, however, that unscrupulous sellers have been known to proffer L. G. Wright corn vases that appear to lack the webbing between husk and corn ear.  When you see these, the vase probably has been altered to make it appear more like a Dugan.  This is done either through mechanically chipping out the glass webbing, or by manuipulating photographs -- that is, by erasing the glass webbing in sales photographs, so that the Wright vases look more like Dugan vases.  It also may be possible that some Wright vases, or knockoffs of Wright vases, were made from moulds that lacked the webbing.  An E-Bayer sent us this photograph as an example:

 Amber L. G. Wright corn vase
altered to look like a Dugan corn vase

This is obviously not a Dugan corn vase, for two reasons.  First, it lacks the dip at the top.  Second, the vase is "amber"  -- a color Dugan never used on corn vases, but which L.G. Wright did.  ("Amber" in the glass world is a color about the same shade as beer.)  Needless to say, such tampered-with vases are often listed as Dugan corn vases -- or, in the alternative, the seller calls them "corn vases" and describes them with vague or ambiguous language that encourages buyers to conclude the vases are vintage Dugan.  

          L. G. Wright blue corn vases have appeared on E-Bay with the webbing similarly removed. You usually can identify them as frauds by their lack of a dip at the top.  Nevertheless -- you guessed it -- sometimes the tops of L.G. Wright vases are tampered with to fool buyers.  An E-Bayer sent us a photo of the L.G. Wright corn vase below, which someone had ground or filed on the top to give it a slight dip.   We show the photo of the filed L.G. Wright vase here beside a true Dugan vase, for your edification and amusement:

Genuine Dugan corn vase (left),
 with an L.G. Wright corn vase  (right): 
The L.G. Wright vase was ground or filed on top,
to make it appear to have a slight dip.

Fortunately for buyers, the person who filed the L.G. Wright vase at right wasn't an accomplished forger.  The vase at right had the tell-tale webbing between the body of the vase and the husks that characterizes most Wright vases.  In addition, as shown clearly above, the artificially created dip on the Wright vase was not as deep as the dips found on original Dugan vases.  (A real Dugan blue corn vase with a deep dip  is shown in its entirety at the bottom of this page.) 

           Despite the abundance of fraudulent corn vases, absent evidence of intentional deception or tampering such as that shown above, if you see an incorrectly identified Wright reproduction selling on E-Bay, don't immediately assume the seller is trying to cheat buyers.  A seller may have purchased an L.G. Wright corn vase in good faith, thinking it was a Dugan.  Unless you view the Dugan and Wright vases side-by-side, or you've seen real ones before, the mistake is an easy one to make.  If you've bought or bid on a reproduction because the listing led you to believe it was an original, contact the seller and give him a chance to respond graciously.  If the seller doesn't act responsibly, then report the listing to E-Bay, so that E-Bay can contact the seller and alert other bidders.  If you're a buyer, you can file a dispute to recover money fraudulently obtained.  

          Of course, some corn vase ads are obviously calculated to deceive buyers.  For example, avoid corn vase listings where the seller pretends to be ignorant about what he's selling.  When a seller suggests that an item may be authentic but then disclaims knowledge of whether it is by writing something like "Dugan corn vase?" or "This looks like a Dugan, but I'm not sure, so bid accordingly," this practice is called an authenticity disclaimer.   Authenticity disclaimers are forbidden by E-Bay and can result in anything from listing cancellations to account suspensions for sellers.  Wait to buy from someone whose listings are honest and straightforward.  If you're patient, you'll find that there are plenty of opportunities on E-Bay to buy corn vases from honest sellers.

          If you're a prospective buyer, please note that sales listings of L.G. Wright corn vases that identify them correctly are honorable and legitimate.  There are people who collect L.G. Wright glass, and there is a market for Wright corn vases.  In the past when honest E-bay sellers have openly identified reproductions as L.G. Wright corn vases, they often have sold.  This seems to be especially true of the vaseline-colored Wright reproductions such as the one shown at the top of the page, which makes sense to me, because I like things that fluoresce.  (I have a coatless coat closet full of shelves of fluorescent rocks, and I travel every year to see the fluorescent zinc mines of Franklin, New Jersey, which glow in the dark, but that's another story.)   Vaseline glass contains uranium dioxide as a colorant, and this makes the glass fluoresce green under a black light.  Notably, vaseline glass versions of both the Dugan original and the Wright reproduction glow bright green under a black light.  In the dark, they both look pretty good:

Vaseline glass Dugan original (left) and
L.G. Wright reproduction (right), fluorescing under UV light  
photos by vant21 (left) and curculiosglass

NORTHWOOD CARNIVAL GLASS CORN VASES
           

       

Dugan's  opalescent  corn vase in blue  (left)
and Northwood's carnival glass corn vase in green (right)
photos courtesy of shadowrunner64 and oldnewbandb

Northwood's Carnival Corn Vases.  Buyers and sellers sometimes misidentify Northwood Corn vases as Dugan Corn vases.  The Northwood Company of  Wheeling, West Virginia, did issue a carnival glass corn vase in 1911-1912, but like all carnival glass, the Northwood vases are iridescent -- that is, they show a rainbow-like play of light on the surface.  More notably, the iridescent Northwood corn vase bears little resemblance to the opalescent Dugan corn vase  -- as these photographs illustrate, seen side-by-side, the two corn vases are almost impossible to confuse with each other.  Both vases show exceptionally fine mold work, and both are avidly sought by collectors. 

A Note on Dugan's Carnival Corn Vases
  

          You would be extraordinarily lucky to chance on a carnival (iridescent) specimen of a Dugan corn vase.  According to Carl O. Burns in Dugan & Diamond Carnival Glass 1909-1931 (p. 53), Dugan produced its corn vase in carnival from 1909 to 1910, but carnival glass authority David Doty has noted that there is only one verified surviving iridescent marigold example, now in the collection of Floyd and Cecil Whitley.  This specimen is featured at Doty's website under the pattern name "Lustre Corn" (see ddoty.com/lustrecorn.html).  No carnival reproductions are known, but Doty cautions that since the L.G. Wright molds do exist, iridescent reproductions are possible.  In 1999, the Wright factory closed, and its molds were sold to Japanese companies.

        Dugan's iridescent corn vase was first documented by glass authority and author William Heacock, in the premiere 1982 issue of the journal Collecting Glass (p. 27).  In a short article titled "The Corn Vase," Heacock showed a photograph of an iridescent corn vase.

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Read our related guides:
 Dugan Twigs Vases: Originals and Reproductions
Dugan Carnival and Opalescent Vase Twins

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          Many thanks to E-Bayers noazark,  oldnewbandb,  shadowrunner64, and vant21  for generously contributing their photographs to this guide. Rights to photos belong to the photographers and photos should not be used without their permission.  Text is (c) 2007, 2009 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.  To locate any E-Bay seller mentioned here,  just click on "Site Map" at the bottom of your E-Bay screen, and then click on "Feedback Forum" at the right top corner of the large menu that pops up.  Type or copy the seller's name into the Feedback Forum's search blank.  To read our other guides on carnival and opalescent glass, click on GUIDE INDEX.

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