Fenton glass
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A cousin, Jacob Rosenthal, became plant manager and brought with him the secret of making chocolate glass. The company enjoyed success selling opalescent and pattern glass. Following the industry trend, Fenton Glass manufactured large quantities of carnival glass in the 20s. As demand for carnival glass died in the early 30s Fenton introduced a very successful line of stretch glass.
During the depression Fenton Glass stayed afloat by making mixing bowls for the Doremeyer company. A chance encounter in 1938 saved the company when a buyer for a cologne company happened to see a reproduction of a hobnail barber bottle that Fenton had made as a custom order.Seeing how well the cologne sold, Fenton introduced a hobnail line of glassware that remains a staple of its business to the current day.
Although Fenton glass had always been sold by independent jobbers as well as company stores, in the early 1950s it was decided to sell only in factory authorized stores.
In the 1970s a new line of carnival glass was introduced, with the bases stamped Fenton so as to distinguish it from the antique glass, and by the mid 70s all Fenton glass was so marked.
The most popular patterns today --which are not necessarily the oldest-- include the opalescent patterns such as the cranberry hobnail opalescent, the milk glass, the crested milk glass and the hand-decorated lines begun in the 1960. The line of Fenton art glass is incredibly diverse and it is said offers something for everyone, not only bowls and vases but novelties such as glass bells, animals and slippers. The company is still in business as of this writing (2005).
Standard references include all of the Fenton Glass books by John Walk (Schiffer publishing) and The Fenton Art Glass books by Margaret and Ken Whitmyer (Schroeder publishing).
View Fenton glass for sale at Centennial Antiques
Vicki
Young
PO Box 435
Randolph, OH 44265
330-325-7866