Canary Glass - Vaseline Glass - Vaseline Stretch Glass - Fenton Vaseline Carnival Glass - Topaz Opalescent

Fenton's Vaseline Opalescent Glass
of 1905 - 1929:  rare and notable pieces

 

A rare canary opalescent Fenton Fine Rib vase under UV light: 
The Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass
assigns the vase a $500 book value.

photo by oxbeetle

          The purpose of this guide is to furnish information on Fenton vaseline glass made before 1930, and to provide photographs of rare and unusual early Fenton vaseline glass pieces that appeared on E-Bay in 2007-2008.  Part I  of this guide focuses on Fenton's early canary opalescent glass.  Part II  provides information on Fenton's vaseline carnival glass.  Part III  is about Fenton's vaseline stretch glass.  These guides have been made possible by the E-Bayers who have contributed photographs to them.  Please leave feedback by clicking on the button at the bottom of this page.

Introduction     

            The term "vaseline glass" encompasses a wide variety of non-opaque glass, including, for example, clear, opalescent, carnival, stretch, cased and cut glass. To qualify as "vaseline," glass must contain at least 2% uranium dioxide; be yellow or yellowish-green in daylight; and fluoresce bright neon-green under ultraviolet light.  Green depression glass, while fluorescent, is not "vaseline glass," nor are opaque fluorescent glasses such as custard and Burmese glass.

           Vaseline glass was first produced in the United States in 1840.  Known in the late Victorian era as "canary glass," vaseline glass reached the height of popularity in America between the late 1880's and 1905.  Most high-quality American vaseline glass predates 1943:  with the advent of World War II, the United States government curtailed the liberal use of uranium by glassworks.  The Atomic Energy Commission did not lift the government's ban until 1958, when glassworks once again were able to use uranium as a coloring agent.

          The Fenton Art Glass Company of Williamstown, West Virginia, opened in 1905 and closed its doors in 2007.  During its first two decades of operation, the company produced vaseline glass in three forms:  pressed canary opalescent glass (beginning in 1905); vaseline carnival glass (1907-1927); and Topaz stretch glass (1917-1929).  This part of our guide focuses on Fenton's canary opalescent glass made before 1930.

Fenton's Canary Opalescent Glass, 1905-1920:

Basketweave Open Edge, Lattice & Daisy and Fine Rib

 

Close-up of a Fenton canary opalescent Fine Rib vase
photo courtesy of curculiosglass

            During the late 1800's and early 1900's, a number of American glassworks issued opalescent pressed glass.  This glass was made by adding bone ash to the glass while it was still molten, and by fusing and repeatedly firing layers of transparent and translucent glass until a glass piece's edges took on a milky translucence.  Such opalescent glass typically shows a fiery reddish opalescence when held up to a light.  Among the glassworks that issued opalescent pressed glass were four principal carnival glass producers:  Imperial, Northwood, Dugan and Fenton.  All of these produced "canary opalescent" glass -- that is, opalescent glass that was colored with uranium dioxide and which consequently glows green under a black light.  Canary opalescent glass of this early period was typically a very bright yellow mixed with a white opalescence.

           In its first decade of operation, Fenton's produced a variety of opalescent pressed-glass pieces.  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.  Notably, however, that work records that Fenton's early opalescent glass patterns were usually issued in four colors only:  white ("crystal"), blue, green and amethyst opalescent.  The Whitmyers' fairly comprehensive volume does not list a single Fenton canary-opalescent piece issued before 1920. 

          The scarcity of pre-1920 Fenton canary opalescent glass is surprising -- cross-pollination among Midwestern glass companies was frequent, and many of Fenton's early designs reflected the influence of glassworks such as Northwood, Dugan and Jefferson, whose output of canary opalescent pressed glass was substantial.  Nevertheless, very few surviving specimens of early Fenton canary opalescent glass have been documented.  

         To date, only two Fenton canary opalescent glass patterns from the company's first decade have appeared photographed in authoritative works on Fenton.  In Fenton Glass:  The First Twenty-Five Years (p. 32), William Heacock documented two pressed-glass canary opalescent patterns:  Basketweave Open Edge bowls, issued in 1911; and Lattice & Daisy tumblers, issued in 1912.

  

Fenton's Basketweave Open Edge bowl, circa 1911
photos courtesy of creekside2

          A 1911 Basketweave Open Edge bowl is shown above:  the bowl is 7 inches wide and 1 7/8 inches tall.  Heacock referred to such Basketweave Open Edge pieces as a "flared nappies" or "baskets," but they appear elsewhere in glass literature simply as "bowls," "flared bowls" or "basket-shaped bowls"  (see, e.g., Peterson, Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary, p. 160).  Buyers should note that after 1930, Fenton produced this pattern (as Fenton #1093) in a variety of colors and in many shapes, including square, flared, cupped and crimped bowls, handled baskets, plates, vases, small mayonnaise bowls, bonbons and candleholders.  Pictures of these later pieces can be found in Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer's Fenton Art Glass 1907-1939, pp. 238-239.

          Heacock described 1912 Lattice & Daisy tumblers as having an "extremely limited production". We have been able to locate only two photographs of a Lattice & Daisy canary opalescent tumbler:  one appears in Heacock's Fenton Glass:  The First Twenty-Five Years work, at p. 32, and a second, more detailed photograph can be found in Sue C. Davis' Pictorial Guide to Vaseline Glass, at p. 28.  An example of the pattern in iridescent blue carnival glass may be viewed at David Doty's website (ddoty.com/latticedaisy.html).  The Lattice & Daisy tumbler pattern, also known as "Daisy and Lattice," features a 7/8" band consisting of a lattice made of intersecting lines, positioned one inch below the tumbler's rim.  Below this band is a thrice-repeated design of a stem with long spiked leaves and a 10-petaled flower:

Fenton's Lattice & Daisy pattern, found on
rare canary opalescent tumblers, circa 1912

drawing courtesy of curculiosglass

         Neither Heacock's nor Peterson's comprehensive works record any other Fenton canary opalescent glass patterns issued before the 1920's.  To our knowledge, only one other Fenton pattern may have been produced in canary opalescent before 1920 -- Fenton's Fine Rib vase.  This vase was first identified as early Fenton by the second edition  of the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass (1997), p. 73, which estimated the vase's date of issue to be 1908-1910, deemed the vase "rare" and assigned it a book value of $400; the SEOG's 5th edition now assigns the vase a $500 book value.

         Two Fenton canary opalescent Fine Rib vases appeared on E-Bay in 2007.  One was the vase featured below left (and in the photograph at the top of this section); this vase stands 10 1/2" tall and has a base diameter of 2 7/8".  The authors of a Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., surmise that such opalescent Fine Rib vases may well exist in white, green and blue opalescent glass -- although since the publication of the SEOG's 2nd edition in 1997, no documented opalescent Fine Rib vases in these colors have surfaced. 

A rare canary opalescent Fine Rib vase, possibly circa 1908-1910
with a green opalescent Boggy Bayou vase, circa 1907-1908:
both fluoresce bright green under ultraviolet light.

photos (left) by oxbeetle and curculiosglass

            The manufacture years of 1908-1910 which the SEOG ascribes to Fenton's canary opalescent Fine Rib vase do not seem far-fetched -- during the same period, Fenton was using uranium to tint at least two opalescent vase patterns green:  Boggy Bayou and Reverse Drapery.  A green opalescent Boggy Bayou vase is shown above right; due to its uranium content, the Boggy Bayou vase fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light.  (Because such fluorescent ware is green rather than yellow or greenish-yellow, it is technically not "vaseline glass"; it is instead called "uranium glass," a term explained in our vaseline glass guide.)  In addition, according to Ellen T. Schroy of Warman's Carnival Glass, p. 65, Fenton's production of carnival glass Fine Rib vases commenced in 1911, and included pieces in both vaseline and vaseline opal carnival (shown in Part II of this guide).

          Nevertheless, in March, 2008, an interesting development relevant to the dating of Fenton's canary opalescent Fine Rib vases arose during an E-Bay sale.  A reputable and long-time collector of opalescent glass, whose collection numbers more than 600 opalescent vases, listed a 10 1/2" canary-opalescent Fine Rib vase.  Affixed to the vase was a Fenton blue paper label:

A canary-opalescent Fine Rib vase with a paper label:
photos courtesy of unclechamps

The blue Fenton label appearing on the vase bears a Fenton inscription under a small picture of a worker.  In June, 2008, a second canary opalescent Fine Rib vase measuring 12" high (with a 2 7/8" diameter), also surfaced on E-Bay with a blue "worker label" attached.  

           The appearance of Fine Rib canary opalescent vases with blue worker labels raises questions about such vases' true date of issue.  Fenton did not use paper labels before 1920.  Moreover, Fenton's blue "worker labels" were issued between 1957 and 1971 (see  J. Shirley's "Fenton Labels" at glasscastle.com/fstickers.htm; and fentonartglass.com/history/labels.htm).           

          Arguably, a label can be affixed to any glass piece at any time.  Nevertheless, the lack of documentation in any early catalogs of Fenton Fine Rib vases in opalescent glass points to the possibility that the vases were in fact issued much later than the date ascribed to them by the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass -- if this possibility proves true, then Fenton's pre-1920 output of canary opalescent was limited to two patterns only.  To deepen the mystery, however, no currently available reference on Fenton documents any vaseline opalescent Fine Rib vases made after 1950.  We would be interested in hearing from E-Bayers about the origins of this controversial vase.

Fenton's "Topaz" opalescent glass in the 1920's:

Ringed Bowl and Double Dolphins

A Topaz opalescent 7" Ringed Bowl, circa 1929
photo courtesy of neomant  

         In the early 1920's, Fenton coined the name "Topaz" for its yellow vaseline stretch glass.  By the end of the 1920's, the term "Topaz" had been affixed to Fenton's vaseline opalescent glass as well.  

         Fenton's vaseline opalescent output of the twenties was limited.  To our knowledge, the company issued only two new vaseline opalescent patterns:  Ringed Bowl (shown above), which appeared in round and ruffled bowl shapes and flat dishes (see Peterson, pp. 44, 160); and Double Dolphin compotes and candy dishes, which sport handles shaped like leaping dolphins (see Peterson, pp. 37, 160).

       In 1921, Fenton also issued an unusual vaseline stretch glass line called "Victoria Topaz," which applied iridizing techniques to opalescent glass.  Used principally to make lemonade, ice tea and water sets in Fenton's Curtain Optic (Drapery) and Rib Optic patterns, Victoria Topaz glass is featured in this guide's Part III, which focuses on Fenton's vaseline stretch glass. 

A Brief Note on Fenton's 
Vaseline opalescent glass after 1930

            In the 1930's, Fenton embarked on an era of greatly increased production of vaseline opalescent glass.  Fenton's 1930's Topaz opalescent output included stunning Rib Optic vases and lamps; Spiral Optic vases, hats and baskets; striking Daisy & Button hand vases that feature a right hand holding a cornucopia; Leaf plates; and pieces issued in such patterns as Apple Tree, Basketweave Open Edge, Dancing Ladies, Dot Optic and Leaf Tiers. 

          Fenton continued its Topaz opalescent production through 1943, the year the government banned the use of uranium in glass manufacture.  From 1941-1943, Fenton issued a broad variety of Topaz opalescent pieces in its Hobnail pattern, as well as Topaz opalescent  handled jugs, baskets, mini-vases and mini-hand vases.  Fenton also issued Topaz opalescent atomizers and perfume bottles for DeBilviss in 1941.  All of these patterns have been copiously documented in the following books:  Peterson's Vaseline Glass:  Canary to Contemporary (pp. 37, 161, 182);  Sue Davis' Pictorial Guide to Vaseline Glass (p. 60);  John Walk's Fenton A-Z (pp. 92, 109); Bill Heacock's Fenton Glass: The Second Twenty-Five Years (p. 59); and the Whitmyers' Fenton Art Glass Colors 1939-1980 (pp. 46-47, 50-51).

A 5" Cactus vase #3454, circa 1959-1960,
an example of Fenton's "Topaz opalescent" vaseline glass
photo courtesy of oxbeetle

          After the government ban on uranium-content glass was lifted in 1958, Fenton's Topaz opalescent made a return -- this is the period of Fenton's Topaz opalescent production that coincides with the company's first use of blue paper "worker labels".   From 1959 through the sixties, Fenton released Topaz opalescent lines in its Coin Dot, Coin Spot, Hobnail and Thumbprint patterns.  The best known Topaz opalescent pattern from this later period, however, may be Cactus, first produced in 1959 and issued in at least thirty shapes.  Peterson documents Cactus glassware exhaustively in Vaseline Glass: Canary to Contemporary (p. 162); as does Fenton Art Glass Patterns 1939-1980 (pp. 274-277), which assigns the small 5" vase shown above a book value of $60-70.   Fenton also produced a very hard-to-find Topaz opalescent wine bottle in its New World pattern;  Fenton Art Glass Patterns 1939-1980, 2nd ed., (p. 325) sets this rare piece's date of issue at 1953, but given the government's ban on uranium-content glass during that year, the true date of issue must have been after 1958. 

           From 1959 through the early sixties, Fenton produced vaseline opalescent glass for other companies such as L.G. Wright (a four-horn epergne), A. A. Sales (Hobnail fairy lights and Diamond Lace epergnes) and the William F. B. Johnson Co. (Hobnail lamp bases).  After the sixties, many of Fenton's 1950's and 1960's pieces were reproduced by companies such as St. Clair and Summit.

          Fenton recommenced issuing Topaz opalescent glass in 1978 and continued to do so until the factory's closing in 2007.  Some of Fenton's better known contemporary Topaz opalescent patterns include its Chessie covered candy dish; bells marketed under the name "Collectibells"; Fenton's Extravaganza Series; and pieces issued in Fenton's Lily of the Valley pattern.  In 1979, Fenton made Topaz opalescent pieces in its Polka Dot pattern for Levay.  In the early 1980's, Fenton also produced Topaz opalescent pitchers in its Daisy & Fern pattern for the L.G. Wright company.  According to the Standard Encyclopedia of Opalescent Glass, 5th ed., p. 216, while such pitchers are not rare, they are quite beautiful.  Fenton later issued its own line of Daisy & Fern, with the pattern slightly altered.

Vaseline Glass Guides:

Part I:    Fenton's Canary Opalescent Glass
Part II:    Fenton's Vaseline Carnival Glass
Part III:     Fenton's "Topaz" Stretch Glass
 General Guide to Vaseline Glass 

 ~ O ~

           Many thanks to E-Bayers  5hills,  creekside2,  neomant,  oxbeetle and unclechamps,  for generously contributing photographs of their vaseline-glass finds to this guide.  Rights to all photos belong to the photographers, and pictures should not be used without their permission.  Text and drawing are (c) 2008 curculiosglass, all rights reserved.  To locate any E-Bayer whose name is mentioned here, or to visit his or her store, simply click on "SITE MAP" on the bottom of your screen, and then click on "Feedback Forum" on the right top corner of the screen that next appears.  Type or copy the E-Bayer's name into the search blank.  To see our other guides on glass, click on GUIDE INDEX.   Please leave feedback on this guide by clicking the button below.