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The Myths and Mysteries of Straw Marks
The Myths and Mysteries of The Myths and Mysteries of Straw Marks
After I joined the San Diego County Carnival Glass Club, I met some very knowledgeable and helpful people.
Diane and Dean Fry were two ot them. They've always been very helpful.
This dumb information happened a little earlier, before I joined the Club. I had taken my Mother to San Diego for an appointment. After we finished our business, we decided to stay over and go to the Santee Flea Market. They had a pretty good sized one at the outdoor movie theatre. We arrived there pretty early and watched an older gentleman come in to set up. He threw a blanket down on the ground and proceeded to put about eight or nine pieces of Carnival Glass down on that blanket.
I began talking to hin and he told us he lived in a trailer park where there were some older ladies who owned the Glass. He had volunteered to take it to the flea market. I was really new to Carnival at that time! He had some white Carnival! I had never heard of that color in Carnival. I thought, "Does he know what he's talking about?"
During our conversation, he continued to tell me about the strawmark that is often seen in the bottom of a piece of glass. He said, "The glass makers took a piece of straw from a broom, would draw it across the piece of glass to see if it was done. If it was done, then it would leave that mark."
Well, being a novice, I swallowed it hook, line, and sinker!..........So, back to the Club and my first meeting. I was talking to Dean and somehow the conversation got around to strawmarks. I proceeded to make this dumb statement about how the strawmarks are made. Dean was very nice. He just grinned and chuckled a little and said, "Now let me tell you the real story."
When the hot glass is held over the mold and just enough is put into the mold, the handler cuts off the molten glass with metal shears, which are much cooler than the molten glass. If this is done just right, so it's thrown to the side of the piece, it blends in with the rest of the glass and doesn't show. When too much, too little, or the molten mix doesn't get thrown to the side, the result is the visible strawmark. Makes much more sense! Too bad I hadn't joined the Club earlier, I would have learned correct information and perhaps even bought some of that white carnival....................Ardonna Bucher
A Few Words on Vaseline Glass · A Lesson in Toxic Issues · A Personal Reflection into Fenton Past · America the Beautiful · Beginners Journey · Brocaded Roses by Central Glass · Don Grizzle and His NW Jardiniere · Famous Last Words · Fenton Dragon & Lotus · Fishscale & Beads · Frank M. Fenton · Grapevine Lattice · In Memory Of George Loescher · Lattice & Points/Vining Twigs · My First True Love ~aka~ Cosmos & Cane · My First Days of Carnival Glass Collecting · Popularity VS. Actual Rarity · The Different Millersburg Peacock Molds · The Myths and Mysteries of Straw Marks · The Stuff We Prize is Just on Loan · Thoughts From Fay · What A Message · Wholesale vs. Retail
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