Fenton Art Glass Company is the largest manufacturer of handmade colored glass in the United States, and is still in business after 102 years when it was founded in 1905.
The Fenton Art Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Frank L. Fenton and his brother John W. Fenton in an old glass factory building in Martins Ferry, Ohio. They began by painting decorations on glass blanks made by other glass manufacturers. Soon, being unable to get the glass they needed, they decided to produce their own glass. The first glass from the new Fenton factory in Williamstown, West Virginia, was made on January 2, 1907.
Frank L. Fenton's desire to develop new and unusual colors helped to keep Fenton in the forefront of the handmade_ _art glass industry. During the years from 1905 to the 1920's, Fenton design was heavily influenced by the artists at Tiffany and Steuben. In late 1907, Fenton introduced "Iridescent" glass. Interestingly, Fenton was the first American Manufacture of this “iridescent” glass known today as “Carnival” glass….Very popular collectors today.
During the 1930's and 1940's, Fenton produced practical items, such as mixing bowls and tableware to get through the depression and WWII shortages. They continued working on developing a wide array of new colors. It was during this period in time that Fenton introduced new lines and experimented with new colors. In the early 1930s “Georgian” tableware were made in both plain colors of Fenton Pink and in Fenton Blue. They also made this line in Fenton Green and the very popular Fenton Ruby colors. Fenton Lincoln Inn line was also made in colors …Fenton Jade Green as well as Fenton Royal Blue, black, amber and crystal.
Fenton began to produce at the end of the 1920s a series of New colors. Fenton Mandarin Red came in to being as well as Fenton Peking Blue. Following on these new colors for Fenton was Fenton Chinese Yellow in 1932 and Mongolian Green which started in 1934. By 1935, Fenton Periwinkle Blue was also in the Fenton line.
It was also during this period that Fenton created new tableware and novelty pieces and it was also the birth of Fenton Milk Glass introducing this glass in 1933. Toward the middle of the 1930s, Daisy and Button pattern began to show up on such things as hats, slippers, ashtrays, and a slug of other items including candelabras puff boxes bowls and more.
It was during this time also that Fenton began making some glass for L.G. Wright company…a hobnail lamp fount, and the Wrisley company for which Fenton began to produce Perfume bottles and vanity sets. Two more large companies were buying glass from Fenton of which Woolworth was one of them and S.S. Kresge was another. Marshall Fields was another good customer of Fenton Art Glass.
Fenton hobnail came about in the late 1930s in all shapes and descriptions. By the 1940s, the hobnail line was being produced in Fenton Cranberry and in another very popular color, Fenton Blue Opalescent. Further it was being made in Fenton French Opalescent. However the Fenton Topaz Opalescent or as other manufactured called it, “Vaseline Glass”, was also being produced. Now also introduce to the general public Aqua Crest which was a milk glass and a ring around the top of pieces in a very light blue: hence AQUA CREST. Fenton Ivory Crest started at this time also but due to the war effort, was forced to cease manufacturing this line.
In 1941 Fenton Art Glass sales continued to increase. Fenton colors included Ruby Overlay which the name eventually changed to Fenton Cranberry Aqua Crest which we mentioned earlier Fenton Crystal Crest which was the forerunner of the present day Fenton Silver Crest or as some would spell it Fenton Silvercrest. Fenton Silver Crest was an opal glass with a crystal ring spun around the edge and a second ring of opal around that edge. Fenton Crystal Crest was only in the line for one year when the company switched to Fenton Silvercrest in order to eliminate the outer edge of opal glass. Fenton Silvercrest was much easier to produce that the Fenton Crystal Crest was.
Fenton Mulberry was a cased glass with gold ruby on the inside covered with light glue glass. It was first produced in a diamond mould but soon became in vases and pitchers as well as bowl. All blown glass of course. Fenton Overlay Glass began also during this era. Fenton Blue Overlay was also a color developed during the 1940s and a color called Fenton Rose Overlay. I mentioned Fenton Ruby Overlay (Fenton Cranberry) earlier. And along with Fenton Silver Crest items being produced, Fenton began to sell a line called Fenton Gold Crest, the same glass as Silvercrest but with a gold ring at the top rather than the Silver ring or Opal ring. Fenton Peach Crest was developed also which was a Silver Crest style item with a pink or Peach inside --- an Overlay?
Fenton Mulberry was discontinued and out the line in 1944, whereas Fenton Rose Crest came in the Line in 1945. Little changes were made to the line during World War II due to the supply of certain chemicals to making glass as well as the basic, SAND, was difficult to get to the factory for processing. A new addition to the Fenton line was Fenton COIN DOT. This was added to the line in 1947 and remained very strong. Fenton produced Fenton COIN DOT in the basic Fenton French Opalescent color and a Fenton Blue Opalescent color as well as their Fenton Cranberry. Honeysuckle was also introduced that year. This was a cased glass with an amber inside…French Opalescent on the outside. In 1948, Fenton began production on a new mould called DIAMOND LACE in which Epergne sets were made both in French Opalescent as well as Blue Opalescent colors.
In the late 1940's, the top three members of the Fenton management team died, leaving Frank M. Fenton, age 33, and Wilmer C. (Bill) Fenton, age 25, to step in and take over as President and Vice President. In spite of other glass factories closing at a rapid rate, Frank and Bill led the Fenton factory through significant American growth for the next 30 years.
Fenton Milk Glass was the color of choice, it appears, in the 1950s. Fenton Milk Glass Hobnail became Fenton Art Glass’s “Bead and Butter” however Milk Glass was also produced during this period: Fenton Milk Glass Plain, no hobnail, no bumps so to speak. I would say that about ½ of the 1956 Fenton Year Catalog was Fenton Milk Glass of one kind or another. Milk Glass Hobnail was the first three pages of that catalog. Then, one page of Fenton Cranberry Hobnail followed. Behind that was Fenton Silver Crest also referred to there as Fenton Petticoat Glass. Silver Crest is two pages and spills over into the 3^rd page of which ½ of that page is Silver Crest and the other half is Peach Crest. Fenton Cranberry Spiral and Block in Star (again Milk Glass) is on the following page which the next page and one page only of Cranberry Coin Dot pieces. Lacy Edge MILK GLASS is on the thirteenth page with Fenton Goldenrod and Ruby Overlay sharing the next page. Goldenrod is a glass sometimes confused with Yellow overlay but different treatments. Daisy and Button patterns again in Milk Glass are prevalent on next page. So you can see, Milk Glass was not only Fenton’s Predominate color and hence their ‘bread and butter” color as well. Interesting, the most popular item in the line was introduced in 1956. Can you guess what would be? Of course, the milk glass footed cake plate-an all time best seller.
In 1959 Fenton started production on the Fenton Cactus Pattern in both Fenton Topaz Opalescent also known as Vaseline glass, and in the milk glass treatment. It was also the year that Fenton brought out different shapes to the line in Green Opalescent and in a new color called Plum Opalescent. An interesting story is that Fenton Plum Opalescent started out as Cranberry being pressed going bad. Plum Opalescent is a pressed roll of ruby gold and when pressed ruby gold turns this darker purple coloring. Again Plum Opalescent is still a very sought after color by collectors.
1962 sees the beginning of the Colonial Blue and the Colonial Green colors along with the Colonial Pink and the Colonial Gold or Colonial Amber color treatment. Here we see them being made in the Hobnail patterns as well as in the new designs of Thumbprint as well as some other not so known patterns. Now in 1964, Fenton started production on the Vasa Murrhina line. Vasa Murrhina means “vessels of gems” and truly, this is what Fenton tries to do with the Vasa Murrhina line. Vasa Murrhina is fusing different colors or glass into one piece of glass. Vasa Murrhina is a piece of molten glass rolled in a “Frit” or small crushed pieces of glass. Then this piece is covered with a layer of crystal glass, blown and stretched after that. This is a very simply description of most of the process but there is more involved here than what I mention.
1966 sees a dramatic change in Fenton company policy in the Fenton Lamp business. Up until this time, Fenton would make the glass parts for lamps, then sell these parts to lamp manufactures around the country. It was this year that Fenton test markets selling lamps in key locations around the country to see how they would sell. In so doing, they started to make lamps themselves and labeling them FENTON LAMPS. And in 1967, Fenton introduced a separate lamp catalog for the first time. Another first for Fenton was in 1967 Fenton introduced their first Fenton Bell in over 30 years. It was a Hobnail dinner bell – of course Hobnail “Fenton’s Bread and Butter”. Fenton bells are still very popular today and Fenton produces a variety of Fenton Bells every year just for us collectors. A Fenton bell spans the generation gap. Everyone love a nice ring from a Fenton Bell.
Now beings the decorating at Fenton after several decades without due to the depression years. In April of 1968 Louise Piper was hired by Frank M. Fenton to head up a newly formed Decorating department. She brought with her, her own paint brushes & paint. A hand full of new people to were also hired for her to train. Her first decoration was called VIOLETS IN THE SNOW and was painted on Fenton Silver Crest items. I could go on for pages about the decorating department at this point, but I will not. But I will say another very popular design of Louise Piper was Yellow Roses and again that was made on Silver Crest pieces.
Time marched forward and in 1970, Fenton Art Glass decided to reintroduce the very popular FENTON CARNIVAL GLASS. In 1970, Fenton started the CRAFTSMAN series of collectors Plates, one to be produced for each year for 12 consecutive years. This was done and from 1970 through 1981 the CRAFTSMAN plates were introduced, one per year with a different embossed figures to commemorate different types of crafts throughout the United States which make us strong today. Then first of course was the GLASSMAKER. Each ran for one year and on Dec 31 of the year the plate was issued, the mould would be broken for ever, never to be released again.
It was such a success that Fenton came out 6 months after the first Craftsman Plate with another series in Carnival glass called CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA series. These were different churches around the country. The first in this series was THE LITTLE BROWN CHURCH IN THE VALE located in Iowa and actually is where my father was remarried. Yes, it is still standing and still used to this day. These plates were sold only from July to December and then those moulds were also destroyed. At the same time, MOTHER’S DAY plates were made…1971. Each of these depicted the MADONNA theme. There are 9 different sets of these. And then there are a series of 4 plates made exclusively for the GENERAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN’S CLUBS commemorating the bi-centennial. BI-CENTENNIAL pieces were highly sought after…as in 1976 this country saw its 200^th anniversary of being a country on and by itself. Fenton produced several pieces to commemorate the BI-CENTENNIAL or bicentennial items…an eagle paperweight, a plate a bell, a comport, a planter and a mug in 4 different treatments. One was the ever popular FENTON CHOCOLATE treatment. Chocolate glass was first made by Fenton in 1907 and though not a natural patriotic color, it was added due to Fenton History. Independence Blue Carnival was made also ( actually Blue Carnival) with all 5 items as well as Valley Forge White which was just a plain white opal glass, and Mandrian Red called then Patriot Red. I own all of these pieces in my private collection but there is one piece of this I don’t have. That would be the Patriot Red or Mandrian Red planter. It is my understanding that all of these went to the gift shop as seconds and sold there. I understand that there could be less than 150 of these made and it was never released to dealers around the country. They just couldn’t produce them so they didn’t. I would like to find one if someone out there has it.
In the 1970s also was produced Fenton Blue Satin items as well as Fenton Lime Sherbert which is a darker green but bright color. Custard glass was also very popular during this era. Fenton Black or Ebony was re-introduced in 1968 but was retired in 1976. The re-introduction of Fenton Carnival glass in the dark (purple or Fenton Amethyst Carnival) color was so popular that in 1972 Fenton introduced several different color treatments one being Orange Carnival. Of course the Independence Blue Carnival was really a cobalt blue carnival treatment and the Fenton Ruby Iridescent carnival was in the line for only 2 years in the 1970s.
In 1986, the leadership of the company passed on to the third generation, with George W. Fenton, Frank M's son, taking over as President. Today nine Fenton family members work together along with over 400 employees to create handmade glass artistry that is loved by collectors around the world. Fenton is known for its beautiful colors and patterns. Each piece of glass is an artistic creation by skilled glass workers and decorators.
This is an early History of Fenton Art Glass and does not cover much in the 1980s forward. I have used for my information, Fenton Art Glass web site area as well as the FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD 25 YEARS of Fenton Art Glass books to compile this information listed here. There is much more than be said but I would run out of room.
Randy’s Antiques and Gifts is now located in an antique mall located in Red Wing Minnesota at the POTTERY PLACE ANTIQUE MALL. We are now one of Fenton’s top 5 nationwide dealers. We are very proud of that accomplishment. We carry a large assortment of Fenton, of course, both old and new. A piece of Fenton Glass is for ever. Fenton Glass is highly sought after and held on to from one generation to another. Fenton glassware can be use for setting a dinner, or use your Fenton glassware to arrange a fresh bouquet of flowers in a handmade Fenton Vase of your choice. Decorate with a Fenton Basket. Again Fenton Baskets are timeless. Known for their crystal handles, a Fenton Basket can be used for floral arrangements, candy dishes or any other needs you want to use if for. Or enjoy an Fenton animal of your choice for your kids, your grandkids or for yourself. Fenton makes an array of Fenton Cats for the cat lovers Fenton Elephant figures that look like one of the first elephant cartoons. A Fenton Butterfly or a Fenton Dragonfly is nearly a Fenton namesake now-a-days. They have Fenton Butterfly Figures or a Fenton Dragonfly painted on a favorite Fenton Burmese piece. Fenton Burmese, you know, is made with real gold in the formula as well as spent uranium to give it that rosy look and pinkness to the glass.
And don’t forget, Randy’s Antiques & Gifts, INC also has a selection of Charming Tails figures created by Dean Griff depicting charming little mice figures playing with other figures. Charming Tails is another highly sought after collectible. JUST THE RIGHT SHOE is another line of collectibles that Randy carries. You have to check out these cute little shoes made by JUST THE RIGHT SHOE company. They will remind you of shoes you used to wear, would like to wear, something your kids wore when they were young. JUST THE RIGHT SHOE is just for you…..remember you don’t get the left one you get JUST THE RIGHT SHOE only. |
