Page 26 - April 2024

Imperial bowl, in marigold, Although spun glass figurines are often clear, the better to capture
one of the best-known light, color highlights add both dramatic impact, and greater visual
Carnival Glass color appeal—the yellow filigree on a spun glass table and chairs, for instance.
variations. Things comprised entirely of tinted glass—such as a navy-blue sailing
“Grape” ship—are especially striking. The addition of “solid” coloring can also
pattern, be effective, although this makes the glass opaque.
6-3/4” d.
The thin threads that form spun glass are as intricate as a
(Photo by
Donald- spider’s web – and just as susceptible to damage. That necessitates
Brian displaying a spun glass collection
Johnson) A trio of Northwood “bushel baskets” in where it won’t accidentally be sent
marigold, dark cobalt blue, and aqua
spinning into oblivion. Then, like
opalescent. 4-3/4” h. (Photo by Donald-Brian Johnson)
Laura Wingfield in the famed
Tennessee Williams play, you can
Among the prominent manufacturers of carnival glass were be endlessly enthralled by your very
Northwood, Fenton, Dugan, and Imperial. A rainbow of colors own “glass menagerie.”
awaited buyers, including marigold, cobalt, and amethyst. In addition
to the satiny iridescent finish, other treatments included opalescent, At right: Steppin’ out: spun glass
translucent, “radium” (which created a mirror-like appearance), and high heel. (Photo by Donald-Brian Johnson)
frosted. Among the many popular patterns are Northwood’s “Grape
and Cable,” Dugan’s “Persian Garden,” and Fenton’s “Stag and Holly.”
For the first twenty years or so of its lifespan, carnival glass was
marketed in traditional giftware outlets. However, with the 1929 onset
of the Depression, household budgets
became limited. Warehouses were soon
filled with barrels of unsold inventory, and
manufacturers were forced to explore
other means of distribution.
Carnival game entrepreneurs were
always on the lookout for something new
to tempt patrons into parting with their
pennies – and what could be more tempting
than shiny glassware? Snapped up at
bargain prices by wholesale distributors,
iridescent glass quickly became part of the
barker’s “step right up” spiel, and “carnival
glass” earned its enduring title. That
endurance continues. Carnival glass still
earns its keep, blending well in any Ready for the ball: Cinderella’s pumpkin coach.
decorative environment, far removed from (Photo by Donald-Brian Johnson)
its heyday on the midway.
“Cocktail Party: Glassware by Georges Briard”
“Spun Glass Figurines: Imperial marigold vase, Of the stacks of glasses crowding their way onto bar shelves in the
“Grape” pattern, 9-1/4” h.
Weaving A Sparkling Web” (Photo by Donald-Brian Johnson) 1960s, many were the work of designer Georges Briard. He’s become
so identified with decorative mid-twentieth-
Sometimes called “lace glass” or century housewares (especially gold-decorated
“lace crystal,” spun glass was first glass), that even items not bearing his signature
popularized in the 1940s and ‘50s. It’s are often classified “Briard.”
easily recognizable by the fine glass A native of the Ukraine, Briard (then Jascha
threads that form all, or at least part, Brojdo) emigrated to the United States in 1937.
of an object’s surface texture. The After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago,
“spun” portion might be the rotund and serving during World War II, he teamed
body of a carnival clown, Cinderella’s up with Art Institute colleague Max Wille,
pumpkin coach, or an entire and embarked on his design career. To separate
Christmas tree. commercial work from purely artistic endeavors,
Watching the creation of a spun he adopted the professional pseudonym
glass figurine can be mesmerizing. As “Georges Briard.”
the artisan holds a rod of glass in each
hand, in front of a blazing heat source,
molten glass “threads” from one rod
are delicately transferred to the other,
eventually forming a pattern. As the
glass threads are applied, the receiving
rod is “spun,” building up volume
(hence the name). Once the spinwork
is complete, other portions of the rod
are drawn out and shaped to form the
rest of the image—the wings of an
owl, or the oar of a gondolier. Spun
glassmaking is sort of a cross between
fine embroidery and taffy-pulling, if Spun glass ship in navy blue. Georges Briard “Coq Rouge” highball glasses.
both your embroidery needle and your (Photo by Hank Kuhlmann)
(Photo by Leslie Piña)
taffy are red-hot.
24 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles