Provenance

How do we know what items were made by what companies since most of the items pictured in this price guide were made over 100 years ago. Well fortunately early company catalogs were produced and distributed to merchants all over the country, many of which still survive even today. Many are housed in libraries throughout the country. These catalogs show drawings of the items that were being made at that time. We need only to match up the patterns and we know who the makers were. Another way of knowing was by digging in large broken shard piles located at the original Glass Company site. By this method researchers can verify beyond doubt who the makers were. Above is the photo is of a footed "Nut Dish" in Blue Opalescent in the pattern called "Pearl Flowers" produced by the Northwood Glass Company. Below is a picture of an ad taken from a Butlers Brothers Catalog dated 1904. In this ad you can clearly see the drawing of the "Pearl Flowers" Nut Dish which I indicated with a red number 1. The ad states that these Novelty items were made in three different Opalescent colors; Blue Opalescent, Canary Opalescent (This was their Yellow or Vaseline color), and Flint Opalescent (This was their Crystal or Clear color) Also in the ad notice how many different shapes you could find "Pearl Flowers" in. I numbered them 1 through 4. These different shapes were easily made by taking an item out of the mould and while it was still hot, they could manipulate it into different shapes. The 1904 Butlers Brother Catalog showing a Northwood ad is the provenance for the actual Nut Dish shown in the photo. The actual Nut Dish pictured is authentic based on the information in the company ad. The items pictured in this price guide have been identified in this manner. Here is something to consider. Although the ad clearly states that the Novelty items shown were made in Blue Canary, and Flint opalescent, to my knowledge "Pearl Flowers" has not been found in a Canary (Vaseline) color. This does not mean that one doesn't exit. It may be out there just waiting for someone to find it. Throughout the Price Guide you'll find copies of these Butler Brothers advertisements shown as provenance for the different companies manufactured items. Not all the photos shown will have these advertisements included. As they become available they will be included.