Emerald Green and
Pastel Marigold
I know, I know! After reading the title of
this article you’re saying, “What the heck does emerald green
carnival glass have to do with pastel marigold? Has this guy lost
his punch cups?” Well, the short (me short?) answer is that emerald
green is one of everybody’s favorite colors and pastel marigold is
one of mine! Since I’m writing the article................well, you
get the picture.Emerald green is just about
the hottest color carnival glass on the planet. I’m sure you’d all
agree with that. But what “emerald green CG” is not always agreed
upon by everyone in the room. Well folks, guess what? I’m NOT here
to wade into that discussion. I’m here to share some pieces of
emerald green CG that will be sold April 28th and some pieces that
the owners will call emerald green, no matter what I, or the auction
brochure, says. Let’s get on with it.
| The definitive piece of Emerald Green CG being sold that
Saturday in Kansas City is an unreal Peacocks plate that some of you
have already taken note of in Article 4 of this series. It is on a
rich, dare I say it?, emerald green base glass, and is loaded with
uncompromisingly blue iridescence. I think most carnival collectors
usually associate emerald green to Northwood. Well, Harry outdid
himself here! This incredible plate came out of a United
Kingdom collection. |
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Another killer Northwood EG piece is a fantabulous
Grape & Cable hatpin holder. Drips with emerald green and blue
iridescence. Park it alongside the Fenton Orange Tree hatpin holder
being sold and you have a ‘his-n-hers’ matching pair. Fenton didn’t
turn out a lot of emerald green pieces, but when they did.... This
is one of those. |
Now, let’s turn our attention to two of the most
important pieces being sold in the auction -- an emerald green
Imperial Grape water pitcher and an emerald green Imperial Grape
water carafe. Over the top! Imperial’s emerald green is not the same
as Northwood’s. One of the main reasons is that it is almost always
associated with Imperial Grape patterned pieces, the exception being Four
Seventy Four pieces. And unlike Northwood Peacocks and G&C pieces,
the Imperial Grape pattern doesn’t have a lot of un-patterned surfaces where the
bluish iridescence stands out. But make no mistake, when you see a
piece of Imperial’s emerald green, you know it, especially in
comparison with “Helios green” Imperial pieces! The color is so rich
and full of brilliant multi-colored iridescence that it is virtually
impossible to describe with words or photograph to capture it's
sparkling beauty. These two pieces will definitely make their new
caretakers ‘the talk of the town.’
Two more plates just have to be highlighted here
-- the emerald green Chrysanthemum chop plate and the emerald green
Poppy Show plate. The ‘chopper’ was featured in the previous “Rare
and Unusual” article so, other than a photograph of it, I won’t
belabor the point. The green Poppy Show plate is also out of this
world. It has a brilliant, multi-colored finish that takes your
breath away. This is one of the best, believe me.
Okay. Everybody out of the pool! Switch! Pastel
Marigold. How many kinds of pastel marigold are there? Let me count
the ways.
| My very favorite version is PM with a
yellow overlay. And what better piece to start this off with
than this fantastic yellow Grape & Cable plate? It has so much yellow, it has
no marigold! So why call it “Pastel Marigold?”
Because I don't know what else to call it. If you buy it come April, you can call the color
whatever you want. For sure it’s a favorite of almost anyone who
sees it. I bought it at the McKenna Auction conducted by Tom Burns
in 1996. I’ve never been sorry. |
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Another overall yellow piece that some of
you may have noticed in a previous article of this series is
a Northwood Grape Leaves bowl. I love it's soft yellow satin
finish, accentuated with soft pinks and blues. A killer
piece of pastel marigold. It came from a PNWCGC auction
several years ago and has been one of my favorites ever
since. |
| Slightly different, but only slightly, is a Three
Fruits bowl. This plain-backed bowl has the same soft pinks and
blues on a yellow overlay as the Grape Leaves bowl, but this one has
a ‘ginger ale’ look to it. I think that is fostered by the heavy,
stretchy, almost tissue-paper, finish. To be honest, I’ve never seen
another piece of carnival glass like it. |
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I’ve always liked classifying things as
“pastel marigold” because it gave me an excuse to buy, or
try to buy, two of everything --
two Peacocks bowls, two Peacocks plates, two Good
Luck...........well, you get the message. Be sure and look for them
in the auction. I’ll share some pictures of them with you on the
website. I've owned more than a couple of these pastel marigold Good
luck bowls, but this is the best. You might say, I've never
seen one I didn't like (or try to buy!) |
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A different ‘kind’ of pastel marigold is found
on
the Acorn Burrs water pitcher selling in the auction. I’ve never found a matching
tumbler for it, and honestly I never expected to. This pitcher has
glistening pinks and blues and an overall “soft” look to it. The
sparkly-ness of it is enhanced by the ribbing in the pattern behind
the acorns and the leaves. I loved this pitcher when I first laid my
eyes on it in John Roller’s room at the ICGA convention in 1979. But
alas, it was beyond my pocketbook. But as luck, and fun!, would have
it, John decided to have an impromptu auction around the outdoor
swimming pool. Is it my imagination, or was carnival glass
collecting a bit more informal 25 years ago? Don’t answer that!
Anyway, I managed to snag this beauty then, mainly because I think
the bright sunlight reflecting off of it blinded everyone else. Ah,
those were the days! |
| Going back to the yellow highlights side of the
spectrum, please check out the Peacock at the Fountain punch set.
Wonderful. In the many years that I’ve owned this set, I’ve been able to find 3 or 4 punch cups with the same yellow overlay.
The base also matches the yellow tones perfectly. I bought
the gorgeous punch bowl top at an Indianapolis Antique Show
from Steve Morrow quite a few years ago. Check it out! |
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I’ll close with a third kind of pastel marigold --
a radium-finish pastel marigold. Radium-finish pastel marigold?
Hey, I’m writing the article! Virtually impossible to
photograph is this phenomenal PM
Poppy Show plate purchased in 1980 from I know not who. It has
unique ‘coloration’ (thanks Bill Carroll for that word) and belongs in your
collection! |
Jan and I hope to see you at the HOACGA convention
at the Kansas City Airport Embassy Suites, April 25th through April
28th. I promise you will have a great time!
Return to
John's Collection |
