Fabulous Fenton Glass
by Anita Stratos
Fenton became a source of chatter in the glass collecting and auction world when it announced last year that it would be closing in October 2007 after 102 years as a family owned and operated business. Of great concern was the possibility that Fenton’s molds would become the property of companies that would produce fake pieces, some of which would be unmarked and all of which would be difficult to detect. However, these fears were temporarily relieved when the company recently announced that it would undergo a financial restructuring in an attempt to stay in business. Part of this restructuring is the creation of two Fenton companies; Fenton USA and Fenton International.
“Fenton USA will consist of glass made domestically and Fenton International will consist of glass and non-glass products that are imported,” explained George W. Fenton, President of Fenton Art Glass in a December 4, 2007 web press release. “Each brand will be clearly marked.”
While there are some Fenton fakes on the market, the problem is more about recognizing the differences between Fenton glass and glass made by other manufacturers that resembles Fenton but was not made to deceive. Experts agree that one of the biggest problems comes from dealers who see a piece of glass with hobnails, crimping, and other typical Fenton designs, automatically label it “Fenton,” and price it accordingly.
However, Debbie Coe, co-author of the book Fenton Art Glass - A Centennial of Glass Making 1907-2007 and board member of the Pacific Northwest Fenton Association (PNWFA), recalled two fakes she’s seen.
“Luckily there aren’t many (fakes),” Coe said. “Several years ago the A and A Importing catalog featured a Stag and Holly three footed bowl in a dark carnival and a white carnival color. No Fenton mark on it. Recently we have seen a hand-painted Aqua Crest-like vase in French Opalescent Spiral Optic that is encased in crystal glass.”
There are some gray areas with Fenton. Coe said that companies like LG Wright Glass bought their own glass molds, but then had Fenton and other glass companies make the actual glass pieces for Wright to sell under their own label. These were legitimate products sold by companies that were not trying to fool consumers; today’s Fenton collectors do not take issue with these pieces, but new collectors need to know the differences to keep their collections authentic. In addition, prior to the 1960’s Fenton made glass lamp parts such as shades, founts, etc. and supplied them to lamp companies.
“After Fenton realized how much money different companies were making on their lamps, they decided to make lamps for themselves sometime in the 1960’s,” Coe explained. “After all these years, the collectors don’t seem to care whether they were actually sold by a lamp company or by Fenton. None of the companies put their label on the lamp so unless you have original advertising, no one knows who they were sold by.”
However, Nick Duncan, vice president of Fenton Finders of Greater Kansas City, notes that he’s seen reproductions of early Fenton labels. Since only pre-1960’s Fenton carried the paper label, Duncan is skeptical when he sees a glass piece listed online as having the original paper label. The only way to know for sure is to see a picture of the label as well as the glass piece, making sure that the piece and label are real Fenton and the age of both is correct.
During World War II, when acquiring imported glass was difficult, some companies had Fenton make glass parts for their products. Once such company was DeVilbiss, for which Fenton supplied glass parts for perfume atomizers. To make matters more complex, companies such as Abels Wasserburg bought undecorated Fenton vases and bowls, then added painted decorations to them. These were sold under their Charleton label. As you can see, you can find Fenton-made glassware legitimately sold under other companies’ labels.
But take heart - marked Fenton glass is easy to identify. Since Fenton reissues some of its pieces, in the 1960’s they began adding marks to help collectors identify the production decade. This is a partial list; more complete listings can be found in Fenton guide books: 1960’s to 1970’s: “Fenton” inside oval; 1980’s: addition of “8”; 1990’s: addition of “9”;, 2000: addition of “0”; Anniversary collections: additional mark of 75th, 80th, or 90th.
In addition, if Fenton purchased a mold from another company, an upright script “F” inside an oval is used to distinguish the piece. Seconds are marked with a sandblasted capital “F” or star, or a hand-scribed “F”. Some Fenton seconds may lean or have air bubbles, but others have now flaws - the piece simply may not have the right color or shape, or the hand-painted design may be missing or different from the example in the catalog. These flawless pieces may actually be more desirable because only a few exist.
On occasion you may find an unusual mark such as Heirloom, Diamond Jubilee, Glass Legacy and others: these are specific collections made for QVC. Also, membership in some collecting clubs such as PNWFA includes a free piece of Fenton made exclusively for the club, and Fenton favors are custom-made for their annual conventions. These pieces may include the club’s initials and the year of manufacture.
Duncan emphasized that experience is the best teacher to help you quickly recognize the feel, weight, color, and size of true Fenton glass. He added that there is one additional mark that can be found on newer Fenton glass, and that’s a “handler’s mark”. This mark is impressed when a handle is being attached to glass, and each handler uses a different mark. On occasion a mark will be “burned out”; that is, the mark faded as the piece cooled because of the intense heat of the glass.
Finally, it’s important to remember that no two pieces of Fenton glass are exactly the same because each is individually made by hand, making each a fine example of American craftsmanship.
At A Glance:
Signs of a Fake:
1. Glassware that is extremely heavy for its size with no marks.
2. Carnival glass that is too shiny.
3. Aqua Crest vase cased in crystal, possibly with weighted crystal bottom.
4. Flowers that are a-typical for Fenton design.
Photos courtesy Barbara’s Unique Antique Boutique, Jamesburg, New
Jersey.
Reference books and collecting groups are the best way to keep from being fooled by a fake. Here are a few: Fenton Art Glass by Debbie and Randy Coe; Pacific Northwest Fenton Association (www.GlassCastle.com); National Fenton Glass Society, Inc. (www.FentonGlassSoc.org); Fenton Finders of Greater Kansas City (www.FentonFindersKC.net).
What topics would you like to see covered here? We’d love to answer your questions and hear about any experiences you’ve had with fakes, forgeries, and repros. Please send all correspondence to FooledByFakes@gmail.com.
