Stretch Glass:

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Stretch Glass The Younger Cousin of Carnival
Glass
By Dave Shetlar, the BugDoc
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What is stretch glass?
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What is iridescent stretch glass?

• Press or blown-molded.
• Spray iridized (doped).
• Reheated and/or shaped after doping to produce
  the stretch effect.
• Made between 1916 into early 1930s.
• Generally characterized by lack of complicated
  patterns!

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Where did the name stretch glass come from?
Berry Wiggins (glass historian and author) always
stated that Rose Presznick said, This glass is
different from carnival glass because it has no
patterns and an iridescent effect that looked
like the stretch marks on a womans belly!!!
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A gather is taken from a glass tank.
The hot metal drops into the mold and is cut
off. This produces the cut-off tail.
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The mold with molten glass is pushed under the
plunger which forces the glass into all parts of
the mold.
The mold is pulled back, opened and the molded
glass piece is turned out.
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The molded piece is placed into a snap, a metal
rod with jaws on one end that open and close.
The snapped-up piece is reheated in a glory hole.
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The reheated piece is doped (sprayed with a
metallic salt solution.
The doped piece is REHEATED (this produces the
stretch effect).
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After reheating, the doped piece is further
shaped (this enhances the stretch effect).
The doped, reheated and shaped piece is put in
the lehr to remove internal tension in the glass.
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Carnival Glass and Stretch Glass
Carnival Glass Take Gather Mold Snap
Up Reheat Shape Dope Lehr
Stretch Glass Take Gather Mold Snap
Up Reheat Dope Reheat Shape Lehr
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So, is iridescent stretch glass really just
another form of carnival glass?
Lets take a historical tour of American
Iridized Glass!
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1881 Louis Comfort Tiffany patents his first
glass lustering technique. This glass was given
the name of Favrille and most was produced
between 1890 and 1918. 1903 Frederick Carder
establishes the Steuben Glass company in Corning,
NY. Tiffany sues Steuben in 1913 claiming patent
infringements through Steubens use of iridizing
techniques. Tiffany agrees in court that
Europeans had been iridizing glass before his
patents and the case was settled out of court.
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1902 (October) - first trade articles indicating
that H. Northwood production had begun in
Wheeling, WV. 1904 (January) - Dugan Glass
Company, Indiana, PA began. 1904 - First Imperial
Glass factory production begins in Bellaire,
OH. 1907 (January) - first piece of glass comes
through the Fenton Art Glass Company lehr at
Williamstown, WV.
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1904 - a China, Glass and Pottery Review article
states that the reporter had seen iridescent
vases and added, Of the iridescent vases there
is so great a variety of colors and shapes to
choose from that one can hardly fail to make up
an assortment... This was referring to pieces
that were later called Pompeian and Venetian
glass, blown molded pieces infused with
iridescent frit. These were well illustrated in
1905 and 1906 Dugan Glass Company advertisements.
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Two Dugan Venetian vases, one in pale blue with
iridized frit and milk glass frit, one emerald
green with iridized frit and a darker frit.
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1905 Dugan introduces Intaglio Line, a type of
Goofus glass. 1906 Northwood introduces Sateena
and Khedive lines, a Goofus glass. 1906
Northwood introduces Verre Dor and Intaglio
lines (painted with a liquid gold process). 1907
(January) Dugan introduces Filigree lines -
like Northwoods lines with extensive gold
decoration.
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1907 - Fenton becomes the first to reach the
market with dope-iridized glass, most likely late
in the year. Used names such as Golden,
Green, Royal Blue, Violet, Red or
Ruby. 1908 (probably summer or fall) Northwood
introduces Golden Iris line, most likely a
marigold treatment which is described in
Northwoods notes as being made with ferric
chloride. 1909 (October) Imperial catalog page
introduces first iridescent ware called Rubigold
(a marigold). 1909 (December) - American Flint
article states that Dugan has put out a new line
called Pearl Iris which is iridescent effect
on opalescent,.. (peach opalescent)
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1916 (July) - Crockery and Glass Journal refers
to Northwoods assortment of Tiffany finish
glass... 1916 (mid-year) Imperial introduces
the Art Glass Line (Jewels of todays
collectors) Pearl White, Pearl Ruby, Pearl
Amethyst, and Pearl Green. 1917 Fenton
introduces Florentine Line with Celeste Blue,
Florentine Green, Persian Pearl, and Topaz. 1921
Diamond introduces Harding blue, Golden
Lustre, Egyptian Lustre (with stretch glass
descriptions).
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Notes Knowing when true carnival glass began
production, the question still remains, Did the
glass companies differentiate stretch glass from
carnival glass? And, Was stretch glass
production at a different time than carnival
glass? The answer to the first question is
pretty obviously yes. Most of the glass houses
that produced doped ware had annual
demonstrations of their new lines at the major
industry glass shows, especially in Pittsburgh,
PA, but also in New York and Chicago. These
shows were covered by reporters that wrote
articles for glass and ceramic trade magazines.
In these trade magazines new lines and names were
emphasized. Major wholesale distributors (mainly
Butler Brothers) and mail order retailers often
featured lines of glass from various companies
and decorating firms, but the names used were
often not the same used by the manufacturers. By
the time that stretch glass was produced, in the
late 1910s into the early 1920s, many of the
larger companies were producing their own, well
illustrated catalogs. Catalogs, price listings
and sales sheets have been found for stretch
glass produced by Northwood, Imperial, Fenton,
and U.S. Glass. In these documents, it is clear
that the companies used different line names and
color names to differentiate stretch glass. One
of the best documented companies is Fenton Art
Glass, since they are still in business and have
never suffered from destruction of their business
records through take-overs or closings. Fenton
has very good records of molds made and the years
that they were used. By looking at the molds
made for carnival glass it becomes clear that the
hay-day of carnival production was from 1910 to
1915, but carnival molds continued to be produced
and used into 1926. This answers the second
question! While carnival glass production
appeared to decline in the 1920s, when stretch
glass dominated, both were being produced.
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Lets look at just Fentons production
1907 first doped pieces (true carnival). 1908
4 carnival molds created 1910 17 new carnival
molds 1911 32 new carnival molds 1912 15 new
carnival molds 1913 1 new carnival mold 1914
8 new carnival molds 1915 10 new carnival
molds 1917 2 new carnival molds 1917
Florentine line introduced 1918 2 new carnival
molds 1920 2 new carnival molds
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Fentons production (contd)
1921 3 new carnival molds 1921 Wistaria (sic)
introduced (and likely Ruby) 1925 3 new
carnival molds 1925 Offhand Art Glass produced
(one year) 1926 Pastel Swan mold made (last of
new carnival molds) 1926 Velva Rose
introduced 1927 Tangerine and Aquamarine
introduced 1932-33 Dope-iridized production
stops
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Summary of American Iridized Glass Production
True Art Glass Tiffany, Steuben, Durand, etc.
(1890s through 1930s) Frit Iridized blown-molded
glass Dugan (1904-1906) Dope Iridized
press-molded glass (true carnival) Fenton 1907
to late 1920s Northwood 1908 to early 1920s
Imperial 1909 to early 1920s Dugan/Diamond
1909 to late 1920s
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Summary contd
Dope Iridized press-molded glass reheated (true
stretch glass) Northwood 1916 to 1925
Imperial 1916 to late 1920s Fenton 1917 to
early 1930s Diamond 1921 to 1931 True Art
Glass Imperial 1923-24 Freehand/Lead
Lustre Fenton 1925 Offhand pieces
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Other Characteristics found in Stretch Glass

• Console Sets more common
• Most bowls came with separate black bases
• Candleholders more common
• Gold, enamel, acid etch and wheel cut
  decorations common
• Greater range of base glass colors

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Central console set in green.
Imperial 320 double scroll console set in Ruby.
U.S. Glass 8076 plate 151 candleholders in
coral
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US Glass 8076 bowl on stand.
Imperial bowl in Green Ice on stand.
Northwood custard bowl on high stand.
Fenton Velva Rose bowl on stand.
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Fenton 604 punch bowls on high stands and
regular black stand. In Florentine Green,
Celeste Blue, and Ruby.
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Stretch glass decorated pieces. Imperial handled
server in Rose Ice with floral cut decoration,
Central handled server with acid cut decoration
and gold paint, and Lancaster bowl with enamel
floral decoration under an overall enamel cover.
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Imperial 727 11-inch cheese cracker set in
pink with decal decoration.
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Fenton dolphin pieces 1504 low bowl in Velva
Rose, 1602 crimped compote in Florentine Green,
1608 compote in Aquamarine, 1533 candy jar in
Topaz, 1503 spiral optic bowl in Velva Rose,
1533 square compote in Ruby.
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Stretch Glass by Company Notes The following
pages contain examples of the colors and forms
made by the major companies that produced stretch
glass. It is recommended that you use some of
your own pieces of glass to show your audience
the characteristics of stretch glass, its colors
and forms. Nothing can take the place of
up-close inspection!
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Northwoods line that included stretch glass was
first called Satin Sheen. This name was used in
1916. By 1920 advertising folders used the names
Cobweb and Rainbow. Under Satin Sheen,
descriptive names such as blue, and purple were
used to describe Venetian Blue and Royal
Purple. Pearl was also used, and it is
assumed that this referred to a crystal stretch
glass. Under the Cobweb and Rainbow names,
Blue Irisand Blue Cobweb with Topaz Iris
and Topaz Cobweb were terms showing up in
pamphlets. In 1921, Northwood added Jade Blue
(an opaque, light blue glass with light
iridescence), and in 1922 Russet (a unique
yellow-green) was added. One trade reference of
1923, referred to white iridescent pieces with
black decoration. A few rare opaque white
stretch glass pieces, usually with black enamel
designs have been found. By 1924, only Blue and
Topaz are listed in catalog sheets as
transparent and iridescent along with Jade
Green and Chinese Coral which were not
iridized. Beyond these known names, iridized and
stretched pieces of Northwood have shown up in
custard (an opaque yellow), emerald green
(bright, dark green), crystal and marigold on
crystal.
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Northwood Stretch Glass Colors
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• Imperial used two distinctive sets of names for
  their Art Glass Line (which is often called
  Jewels by collectors), and their Satin
  Iridescent Line.
• The Art Glass Line used names starting with
  Pearl
• Pearl Amethyst purple glass
• Pearl Green ginger-ale glass with green
  iridescence
• Pearl Ruby crystal glass with dark marigold
• Pearl Silver dark purple glass with silvery
  iridescence
• Pearl White crystal glass with white
  iridescence
• The Satin Iridescent colors usually end in
  Ice
• Amber Ice amber base glass
• Amethyst Ice purple base glass
• Blue Ice crystal base glass with blue-gray
  iridescence
• Green Ice blue-green (teal) base glass
• Iris Ice crystal base glass with white
  iridescence
• Rose Ice crystal base glass with marigold
• Other stretch colors commonly seen but not named
  are
• Ruby (or amberina) red, or red to yellow base
  glass
• Marigold on Pink Smoke on Pink pink base
  glass
• Marigold on Milk Smoke on Milk opaque white
  base glass

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Imperial Art Glass Colors
Pearl
Ruby
Amethyst
White
Silver
Green
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Imperial Art Glass - small bowls
63 bon bon
64 bon bon
62 bon bon
65 flower bowl
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Imperial Satin Iridescent (Ice) Colors
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Fenton Art Glass Company introduced their
Florentine Line in 1917 with the basic colors of
Celeste Blue, Florentine Green, Topaz, Grecian
Gold, Persian Pearl, Ruby and Wistaria (sic).
Over time, they introduced Tangerine, Royal Blue,
Aquamarine, Velva Rose and Amber. These later
colors were often produced for only a year or two.

• Amber light amber glass
• Aquamarine pale blue glass
• Celeste Blue nice clear blue glass
• Florentine Green light green glass
• Grecian Gold crystal with marigold
  iridescence
• Persian Pearl crystal with white iridescence
• Royal Blue dark cobalt blue glass
• Ruby red and amberina glass
• Tangerine yellow base glass with orange
  iridescence
• Topaz bright canary (vaseline) glass
• Velva Rose pink glass
• Wistaria purple glass

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Fenton Florentine Line Colors (early colors)
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Fenton Florentine Line Colors (later colors)
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• Diamond Glassware Company had changed its name
  from Dugan Glass by the time they began
  production of stretch glass. Since we have few
  hard records from the Dugan-Diamond operation,
  most information has come from trade journal
  descriptions. It appears that Diamond used the
  term Lustre to refer to dope-iridized pieces,
  but Rainbow Lustre appears to have been more
  commonly associated with what we would call
  stretch glass.
• Egyptian Lustre is probably the most unique
  stretch color black glass with multicolored
  iridescence!
• Other stretch colors known and names likely used
  are
• After Glow pink stretch (very rare color for
  Diamond)
• Amethyst, Twilight Wisteria a light and medium
  purple glass
• Blue, Harding Blue, Vesuvius Blue a Celeste
  Blue color
• Blue Crackle a cobalt blue glass, often
  crackled
• Egyptian Lustre true black glass
• Gold a marigold-like iridescence
• Green a Florentine Green color
• Pearl crystal stretch
• Midnight Wisteria a very dark purple glass
• topaz a couple of pieces of vaseline-yellow
  have been found, but the Diamond name is not
  known.
• red a couple of pieces of ruby have been
  seen, but we dont know Diamonds name for this.
  Most assume that they used Ruby as most
  companies did.

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Diamond Glass-Ware stretch glass colors
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• U.S. Glass was actually a consortium of several
  glass companies and trying to pin down stretch
  glass production to one or more of these
  companies has been very difficult. To make
  things worse, Tiffin Glass Company became a
  dominant office for this company in the 1920s and
  1930s and it is possible that the Tiffin company
  may have used molds originally belonging to other
  companies! Research by Berry Wiggins suggests
  that Factory K (King Glass in Pittsburgh, PA) may
  have been the major producer of the consortiums
  stretch glass. This consortium produced a wide
  array of stretch glass colors, including unique
  opaque and translucent ones.
• In U.S. Glass advertisements, the term Aurora
  effect appears to be associated with pieces that
  fit the description of stretch glass. Advertising
  pages often note that the pieces are available in
  blue, green, topaz and crystal plain or
  iridescent.
• Common Transparent Colors
• amber a true amber glass color (actual name
  not found)
• Blue a Celeste Blue type
• Canary Topaz a typical vaseline-yellow type
• Crystal clear glass with white iridescence
• Green a Florentine Green type
• light blue-green looks like Fentons
  Aquamarine (actual name not known)
• olive-green a true olive-green color, not like
  Northwoods russet (actual name not known)
• Pink a Velva Rose type
• Purple a light Wisteria-type glass
• Royal Blue a light cobalt blue glass

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U.S. Glass transparent stretch colors
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• U.S. Glass stretch glass colors continued
• Besides the transparent colors, U.S. Glass
  companies made an interesting array of
  translucent and opaque, often slag-glass, colors.
  U.S. Glass also made a couple of lines that have
  overall enamel applied to the back/outer
  surfaces. Cumula refers to an enamel effect that
  looks like white clouds on a light green
  background. Pomona can be either blue decal-like
  motif overlaid with yellow or purple enamel.
  Other enamel decorations have been found, but
  with no associated names.
• Carrara also seems to be a name associated with
  the opaque, slag-glass types.
• Translucent and Opaque colors known are
• black amethyst a really dark purple that
  appears black
• Jade Green a translucent, bright green glass
• Mandarin Yellow a translucent, bright yellow
  glass (this name may refer to some other
  transparent color)
• Old Rose a translucent, pink glass
• Opaque-Slag colors known are
• Coral slag glass with pink to yellow tones
• Nile Green slag glass with dark to light green
  spots and swirls
• Pearl Blue pale cobalt blue glass with faint
  swirls
• Pearl Gray cream to tan slag glass with brown
  swirls
• red slag an ox-blood red slag glass (no name
  found)

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U.S. Glass translucent slag stretch colors
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THANKS!