Cranberry Hobnail with Nails...Literally

[greenacres]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_kw=VINTAGE+FENTON+CRANBERRY+GLASS+HOBNAIL+OPALESCENT+VASE           

Here are som samples on ebay.

[GreenhornGirl]

ironlord, that's a really good process you have down.  I spend waaaaay too much time researching my pieces sometimes.  Thanks greenacres!  Wendy, you have a great theory there; but if they put nails in the bottom regularly for visitors' pieces, I would think I'd be able to find at least something about it online.  I have tried a zillion variations of "nails in glass" and Fenton and have come up with nothing.  It drives me nuts when there's a mystery like this and I can't figure it out!

I'm tempted to try contacting Fenton...although they might not even know if it happened years ago by a past employee.  I'm also tempted to email the Fenton Finders of Kansas members, who have their email addresses on their site, but I don't want to bother them if they get a lot of people asking for valuation requests.  I am more looking for the story behind why the nails would be there, first & foremost, at least.

I requested to join the Fenton Yahoo! group which is the most active-looking Fenton forum I've found, but I'm still waiting for approval.

[ironlord1963]

Here is a forum that has help me from time to time with glassware, you may want to ask them.

http://chataboutdg.com/

[GreenhornGirl]

Cool, thanks, signing up now! 

[cogar]

and this is odd to me--two nails on the inside of the bottom of the glass (inside the glass, you can't feel them) arranged similar to an X.

Have you considered the possibility that the "X" marked it as being an "eXperimental" piece? 

[GreenhornGirl]

and this is odd to me--two nails on the inside of the bottom of the glass (inside the glass, you can't feel them) arranged similar to an X.

Have you considered the possibility that the "X" marked it as being an "eXperimental" piece? 

No, but good theory...that would be awesome!  Still digging into this one with a couple of forums and hopefully something concrete turns up.  I sure hope it's an eXperimental piece! 

[GreenhornGirl]

I've gotten a decent amount of replies on this piece from glassware & Fenton forums; many amused people and several theories, but no answers yet.  I've sent out an email to Fenton, Fenton Finders, and others...the piece is definitely a Fenton (you all were right as usual!) but still waiting and hoping for more answers on the nails.

[ironlord1963]

   I need to bump this one for fentonfrk to see.

[GreenhornGirl]

Thank you ironlord!  I still have this piece and I am still puzzled about it and haven't been able to find any new answers.  One person suggested the worker had some spirits in his thermos that day...another suggested that it was experimental and they knew it would be a throw away piece so someone decided to have a little fun with it.  I've been told that pieces that had mistakes (whether intentional or not) were all supposed to be destroyed, but some workers would sneak them home to save them instead, and this may be one of those pieces.  I wish I knew the story so badly 

[KevinB]

Very cool. I have seen one like this before in the early 80's in Philadelphia. I remember my grandfather asking me to get the nails out of the bottom for him because he needed to fix something. He was always messing with me but all in good fun. I would mess back I remember looking back at him and saying there is only one way to get them out as I pretended I was gonna smash it on the table. I was only a little kid so I dont know who made it but there was atleast one other like it. My moms memory is not good at all but I will ask my aunts about it. One of them might still have it and remember where it came from.

[snowflake]

Still think that piece is super! Someone had a great sense of humor! 

[fentonfrk]

This is definatly a Fenton cranberry opalescent hobnail piece. It is called a mini bud vase and they came with 3 or 4 different styles of ruffle edge. The pink color looks good to me, always some variation of color from piece to piece. As for the nails, (and this is my own opinion) i think they are just a fluke accident. I wouldnt read to much into them being there. This is not an experimental piece since it is cataloged in several books. Keep up with the reserch but i dont think it means anything.

[cogar]

The odds of accidentally dropping 2 nails into a glass mold or the odds of accidentally dropping 2 nails into molten glass in a mold …..  and 1 nail landing on top the other to form an “X” …. as well as both nails being per say “centered” in the thickness of the glass without “touching” either surface of the glass ……………. seems pretty remote to me.

[wendy177]

Agree cogar Did not see any way nails could have fallen into a mold during the videos of the glass makers working at Fenton.  GG try and contact some one at Fenton!! 1-800-319-7793 x311  This is a number to reach someone to book tour reservations but maybe they can direct your call to someone who can help. 

[GreenhornGirl]

KevinB, are you sure that it was a Fenton, though?

fentonfrk, thanks for your input.  At first I thought it was just a cool glass oddity, but when I started asking Fenton collectors about it, they were all really excited & intrigued and one group even asked me to bring it to a national convention.  When I say experimental piece...I understand that this piece is catalogued, etc. but it had to be invented at some point so I would think there'd be early experimental editions of it that may or may not have been destroyed.

I agree with cogar that the chances of it falling right in the center of the glass thickness in an X and not touching the top or bottom surfaces is really remote.  Also I think the nails are longer than the width of the vase opening, so they would have had to have fallen in vertically and then fell into an X horizontally at the bottom where it's wide enough, and directly into the center of the molten glass so it doesn't touch either surface...I just don't think it happened that way.  It looks too arranged in there.

Thank you Wendy!  I did email Fenton a couple of months ago about it and haven't gotten a response, but I think calling them is an excellent idea.  I will try to call them on Monday.