I have a carnival glass bowl. It is dark blue with a fabulous iridescent sheen that covers it inside and out, except for the foot. I love it and I will tell you why.
Carnival glass was produced in the early part of the Twentieth Century. That means, within a few years, my bowl will qualify as an antique. (I myself am over half way to qualifying.) But this change from vintage to antique will not actually mean much as far as the value of my bowl is concerned. These pieces were made in molds, very quickly and cheaply and by the thousands. The same molds were used to create regular glass bowls as well as carnival glass, so I will see this same pattern in many colors with and without the hallmark sheen of carnival glass. Because the iridescence is created after the bowl is molded, by throwing metal oxide salts on the form before it cools, the colors and patterns of the iridescence vary considerably from one batch of carnival glass bowls to the next, even if they are made by the same company. In addition, popular patterns were “emulated” by other companies, so unless you look very closely, there are bowls by other manufacturers that appear to be the same pattern.
Even if the other bowls are made by the same manufacturer, and are even dark blue, the quality control of the glass is such that there are variations in the colors of the basic bowl itself. So, all told, if I wanted to collect this same bowl in all the combinations made, I would have to look for the pattern in clear and many glass colors, and then in those same glass colors with the iridescent colors added, some totally covered and some less so, until my interest flagged or the house fills up with carnival glass bowls. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I could place several bowls on the buffet or coffee table, holding different fruits (fake), marbles, glass beads or anything else small that I collect, or wrapped candies. Then every month or two I could change out the bowls for others in the group and change the whole arrangement’s looks. The red and green ones for Christmas, the yellow and orange ones for fall, light colored ones for spring… You get the idea. And it all started with a single carnival glass bowl. What fun, and what glass collectibles.
The next time you see a carnival glass piece, consider how it might be the start of something big.