Carnival glass originated as a glass called ‘Iridill’, produced beginning in 1908.  This was produced by the Fenton Art Glass Company, and the glass quickly caught on.  The 1920’s was the height of the production of carnival glass, and the decade saw huge volumes of glass being produced.

The prices were low enough that everyone could afford, and one of the nicknames that the glass was dubbed was ‘poor man’s Tiffany’.

The keys to its appeal was that it looked a lot like the more expensive blown iridescent glass by Tiffany and Loetz (and others, really).  When the 1950’s came around the name that it has now came about because Carnival glass was often gave away at carnivals.

Today, carnival glass is a fun area to dive into and start to collect.  There are many different forms that you can find.  One such item is something like this vase by Northwood.

The vase was made in the 1910’s and sports the FINE RIB pattern.  You can see this wonderful vase in my Etsy shop here.  Another form that was made was a plate, like this one by Fenton.

The plate has the THREE FRUITS pattern on it, and it was made during the height of popularity for carnival glass, the 1920’s.  You can see this plate in my Etsy shop here.

Carnival glass was also incorporated into fashion, one example is this bolo tie.

The slide of the tie features the WINDMILL pattern, and it was made by the IMPERIAL glass company.  The tie was made in the 1930’s, and it would be a fun addition to any outfit!  You can see this bolo tie in my Etsy shop here.

You can see all of the different types of carnival glass in my Etsy shop here.  How many different forms of carnival glass have you run across?