Vintage Stretch Glass

Stretch glass is a close cousin of carnival glass in that both types of vintage glassware feature iridescent finishes. The key difference is that carnival glass is shaped before being iridized whereas stretch glass is iridized first, then worked. This causes the layer of metallic salts on the surface of a finished piece to exhibit stretch marks, created when the piece is formed and shaped. In the United States, stretch glass was produced from roughly 1916 to 1935 by a number of glass manufacturers, located primarily in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Fenton called its stretch glass Florentine glass, and produced everything from bowls and plates to baskets and vases using the stretch technique. Common colors ranged from Persian Pearl and Celeste Blue to Grecian Gold and Velva Rose; Royal Blue is a particularly rare vintage Fenton stretch glass color. Fenton also decorated some of its pieces with dolphin handles or feet. Northwood, which is probably best known for its vintage carnival glass, also had a line of stretch, which it sold as Rainbow. Of Northwood's Rainbow pieces, its vintage Tree of Life footed bowls and compotes are most sought by collectors. Other manufacturers of stretch glass include Imperial, Tiffin, and Diamond Glass-Ware, whose Adam's Rib line gets its name from the molded ribs that run vertically on candlesticks and horizontally on comports. And stretch glass of a ruby hue by almost any manufacturer is always in demand.