Part III:
 Dugan's Opalescent #1013 Vases
and Whimseys

by curculiosglass


       

Detail of a white opalescent Dugan Ten Thirteen vase (left)
with an assortment of Ten-Thirteen whimseys (right)

photos courtesy tink10 (left) and joy2own!  

Introduction

             This is Part III of a three-part guide on Dugan's #1013 and #1013-R vases.  Part I  of our guide focuses on Dugan's rare #1013-R carnival vase.  Part II centers on a "mystery" vase often mistaken for Dugan's #1013-R.  Part III offers a photographic gallery of opalescent #1013 vases and seldom-seen opalescent whimseys made from Dugan's #1013 vase molds.  This part of our guide is made possible by the generosity of e-bayer joy2own!, who contributed her expertise and her photographs from her extensive #1013 and #1013-R collection.

Dugan's Opalescent #1013 Vases
             

The jagged flame points
of  a green opalescent Dugan #1013 vase

photo by curculiosglass

          As noted in Part I of this guide, the Dugan Glass Company of Indiana, Pennsylvania, first advertised its #1013 vases in Butler Brothers wholesale catalogs in 1905 and continued to issue the vases until around 1908.  Featured above and below, Dugan's #1013 vase has 6 wide panels separated by 6 ribs terminating in jagged flame points.  In design, the vase is very similar to Dugan's Target vase, which bears the same jagged flame points.  The flame points on #1013 vases may be widely or subtly splayed, as shown on the vases below:

    
Two green opalescent Dugan #1013 vases:
the yellowish-green vase at left fluoresces under UV light.

photos by curculiosglass

           According to the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 6th ed., p. 55,  Dugan's #1013 vases have been documented in blue, green and white, and vases have been reported but not yet documented in canary.  We have encountered green #1013 vases that exhibit a deep and vibrant fluorescence (glow) under ultraviolet light, a fact that indicates that Dugan sometimes added uranium salts to the molten glass mixture of its #1013 vases.  An example is the vase shown above left; while not the classic greenish-yellow of canary glass, the vase is a notably lighter and yellower shade of  green than the vase at right -- which does not glow under ultraviolet right.  The pure green of the vase at right is more typical of Dugan's green #1013 vases and of Dugan's green opalescent glass generally.  (A photograph of the green-yellow vase fluorescing can be found in our guide on vaseline glass).      

           Ten-thirteen vases are found with two base sizes:  with 3 3/4" bases that feature impressed 36-point stars; and with 2 3/4" bases  that feature 40-point impressed stars.  Vases appear in squat and stretched sizes, and have surfaced on E-Bay in heights ranging from 7" to 13".  Base diameters do not correspond to vase height -- both tall and short sizes are found with the wider bases.

          Special Note:  Dugan's opalescent Ten-Thirteen is occasionally called Dugan's Wide Rib in its opalescent form.  This causes confusion, because Dugan's carnival Wide Rib is an unrelated and substantially different vase, with 8 ribs that terminate in knobby points at the vase's rim.  As a consequence, Dugan's Wide Rib carnival vases often appear mislabeled as "Ten-Thirteen" or "Ten-Thirteen-R" vases on E-Bay.

Dugan's Ten-Thirteen Vase Whimseys

  A bird's-eye view of the mouth of a #1013 vase (left)
and a Ten Thirteen whimsey flattened into a star-shaped bowl (right)
photos by curculiosglass (left) and joy2own! (right)

           A whimsey is a special kind of pressed-glass piece.  Pressed glass pieces are made as follows:   the glassmaker pours molten glass into a metal mold which gives the glass, when cooled, its shape and pattern.  Most pressed-glass pieces are made from molds with similar shapes:  that is, a vase mold is used to make a vase, a bowl mold produces a bowl and so forth.  A "whimsey," however, is an exception:  the glassmaker removes the glass from its mold before the glass is completely cooled, and he then stretches and shapes it into a new form. Thus, whimseys are inventive pieces that tend to show marked variety from example to another.  Traditionally, whimseys are thought of as pieces that the individual glassworker made for himself as a display of his special skill, which he intended to slip home with at the end of the day.  Dugan's opalescent #1013 pattern is occasionally found in whimsey form:  vase forms are flattened into whimsical star-shaped bowls and plates such as those featured here.

A white opalescent Ten Thirteen whimsey,
with a white opalescent Ten Thirteen vase (center).
The bases of the whimseyed plate and vase are identical in size.

photos courtesy of  joy2own!

        Dugan's Ten-Thirteen Vase whimsey bowls and plates have marie bases measuring the same diameters as the vases, and like the vases bear impressed many-rayed stars.  Ten-Thirteen whimseys are referenced in the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass (6th ed.), p. 55.  They are found in blue, green and white opalescent glass.  Green is the most valuable, followed by blue and then white.

An assortment of Ten Thirteen whimseys
photo courtesy of  joy2own! 

To read other parts of this guide, click on one of the links in the Table of Content below. 

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GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I:  Dugan's Rare Carnival #1013-R Vases

Part II:  A "Mystery Vase" Often Misidentified as Dugan's Carnival #1013-R

Part III:   Dugan's Opalescent #1013 Vases and Seldom-Seen #1013 Whimseys

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Many thanks to E-Bayer  joy2own!  for her photographs #1013 whimseys, to  gailcat  for her close-up photo of the green #1013 vase, and to tink10 for her close-up of the white #1013 vase.   Rights to the photographs belong to the photographers, and photographs 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.   If you found this guide helpful, please leave feedback by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.  This allows other E-Bayers to find the guide more easily.   To access our other guides, just click here:  GUIDE INDEX.