Carnival Glass was made predominantly in the USA, Europe and Australia – and to a lesser extent in South America and India. In the USA, the UK and Australia there are very strong collectors clubs, however carnival is not so much appreciated in Holland. Indeed they are so 'Un-dutch' that it is widely assumed that they were intended for export. Research by collectors is slowly uncovering this forgotten Leerdam product.

The British Pottery Gazette reported in 1931 that iridised glass was being made at Leerdam. so it is suggested that they were produced mid-1920s to mid 1930s. The moulds were mostly taken from older Leerdam models which were infrequently used. Some carnival items are patterns which appear frequently as clear pressed glass and are documented in the first 1900/06 catalogues, others are attributed to Leerdam on less-concrete evidence. They are usually somewhat 'old-fashioned' patterns which are untypical of the 20th century Dutch taste, but have been 're-incarnated' with the addition of iridescent orange lustres. Carnival production in mainland Europe is not yet fully catalogued, so it might be expected that other designs will be found or attributed. These bowls are quite frequently found in Holland but their identity is not always clear. It is often a surprise to discover that the items shown on this page come from Leerdam, and that we are now discovering more and more of them. From comparing the known examples, it seems clear that the carnival products are of inconsistent quality, with the degree of lustre variable, as well as the colour density of the marigold (orange). It is difficult to ascertain whether these variations were equally clear at the period of manufacture, since both may be attributed to age and use. The moulds are 'modular' i.e. assembled from compatible sections. The two bowls shown above (known to carnival collectors as 'Checkerboard Panels' or 'Zippered Round') show a distinctive starburst design which makes good use of the pressed-glass technology to distinguish itself from 'wheel-cut' glass. This design would have existed as a (range of) base plates which could be used to make various objects. The same base pattern IS found on other objects which are known to be Leerdam, and is NOT found on products known to belong to another factory. It seems likely then, that we should consider it 'distinctive' and therefore place them amongst the Leerdam group.

We report all our Dutch carnival finds to the experts, Steve and Glen Thistlewood!

Steve and Glen have included our Dutch Star sugar-on-foot in their researches, and we would love to hear more from Dutch collectors about their carnival glass!