Featured Old Rare Carnival Glass Shakers

Here are a few that are in my collection. Old carnival glass shakers are extremely rare and many collectors have never even seen any. It has taken me 20 years to find what is in my collection.
They are a bit of a mystery because there is not much documentation if any on them. The Imperial Octagon pieces are known and in known old colors. There are reproductions out there but are marked on the bottoms.
When displayed all together, they make a nice display!

One must understand that there are a ton of repros and new carnival shakers out there. Some are obvious and others may not be, so use extreme caution before buying any believing that they are old.

Does anybody have any?

Scott

 

Hi Scott,
Those are beautiful! I've never come across carnival glass shakers, but it is good to know that there are reproductions out there.
The last one looks like a silky white - do you have any information on it?
Can't wait to see more!
Mary

 

Thanks so much Mary, I will post a few more tonight. The white one is the only pastel carnival glass shaker I have seen.
The interesting thing about these pieces, and I've done a whole article on them, is that many show up in old Victorian era patterns. Its a very interesting subject.

Yes, Grape & Cable would have been nice. I believe that there are so few carnival glass shakers and toothpicks because the days of the fancy shakers and toothpicks fell out of favor from the Victorian era when carnival was rising.

 

Sorry I did not answer all your questions there. The interesting thing about the Square shakers are, and by the way the shaker was produced by Challinor Taylor Victorian era is that they are most often seen in slag and opaque colors. Clear colors are very rare! The carnival glass shakers that have turned up are all in clear colors as the base glass. Two of the examples shown are amethyst and the other is sort of an olive green.
Concerning black amethyst,
Depending upon the company that produced the piece that may be true and may not be in my opinion.

 

Here are some more examples. The miniature mason jars are old with the zinc lids rather than the contemporary ones produced.
The next is an interesting mustard jar in smoke carnival glass ( found that one in a school antique show in Kansas City, Mo.). Along side is a Libbey Maize mustard in a documented light marigold. I also have the shakers that I've not pictured.
The last is a pattern called Soda Gold, some people may call it Crackle which is the most common of the old carnival glass shakers.

Note: The distortion of the images is from my camera phone. Its not really meant for close ups.

 

I'm not sure I understand this - carnival glass is considered clear glass?
Those miniature shakers are wonderful, especially with the zinc tops!
The mustards are interesting, I've never come across any. For the carnival one I would have thought a syrup from the lid, although I can't tell if there is a spout or not; the Libbey one I would have had no idea.
Love the soda gold pair, I would have thought crackle on those.
Thank-you for sharing photos of your pieces & your knowledge! Very interesting!
Mary

 

Hi Mary,

Carnival glass is an iridized glass with a pattern primarily produced between 1907 and maybe 1920 or so. There are two components to it. The base glass which is the color of the actual glass. This is most often seen when the piece is held to the light. The color of a piece of carnival is IDed by the color of the base glass, with the exception of Marigold which is on clear glass, and is IDed by the iridescence.
Carnival glass was produced mainly in bowls, plates, vases, and novelty items. Shakers and mustard jars were rarely produced. Mustard jars do look like syrup jugs but much smaller and usually have a small cut out for a small spoon. Some tops may have a handle, some may not. They were used to serve a dry mustard and were most often used during Victorian times. So, a table set with a salt and pepper would often have a mustard. As I mentioned before, carnival glass S&Ps and mustards are rare due to the fact that these kinds of things were falling out of favor after the end of the Victorian period to more plain utilitarian type pieces.

I hope this helps

 

Yup, it does, thanks Scott!
I don't see items like this around here, hoping to get at least one trip down to the States this summer and will keep my eyes open. I do have one shaker somewhere, I'll have to dig it out. I know there was no top with it - will post it when I find it.
Mary

 

You are welcome.Are you located in Canada?

 

Yes, Cxgirl is located in Canada. (Me, too!)

 

I have seen some really great unusual glass come out of Canada!