Riihim'a'ki
 |
 |
Riihimaki Factory
|
Trademark
|
RIIHIM'A'KI
Published information places carnival glass production in the 1930s era.
Finnish glass design and art glass are known all over the world. The Finnish Glass Museum at Riihimaki has permanent exhibits on the history and development of glass design from the 1920s to the present day.
The basic exhibition also records the history of the Finnish glass industry, spanning over three centuries. There are exhibits on the early history of glass making, techniques, the mechanization of glass making, and the history of household glass. The museum is an old glassworks building, which was refurbished according to designs by Tapio Wirkkala.
In addition to the basic exhibition, the Museum features special exhibits on the history of glass and glass design in both Finland and other countries. The Museum also provides excellent facilities for concerts of classical music.
With thanks to Bob Smith of Boston, MA, we present yet another dilemma - having no easy solution as to whether Riihimaki followed Dugan in making the FOUR FLOWERS pattern. While visiting the Museum, Bob took photos of marigold and purple carnival glass in Finnish designs, as well as the Four Flowers bowl shown here in the black and white results. The factory catalogue cover illustrates the Trademark design, along with printing (for those of you with ability to translate). There are some other patterns displayed in the catalogue which have been in question as to manufacturer for many years, such as Drapery Vt., one which could possibly be Western Thistle, and one which bears great resemblance to Tiger Lily, - as in Imperial Tiger Lily. The Wide Panel Thistle water set is shown also.
There have always been “rumblings” of “borrowed” or “stolen” designs from one producer to another, so perhaps these findings are proof of such practice. (More on this subject to be found in accompanying site segments.)
 |
|
1939 Riihimaki Catalog Cover label
|
|
 |
|
Side-lever press shown in the 1939 Catalogue
|
Glassmakers the World over use the same tools, just as moulds are sold from time to time when factories close. Imperial, Heisey, Cambridge, McKee, L.G. Wright all sold moulds to other manufacturers. The practice continues today.
Should you care to contact the Frys, their email address is:
Search Our Sites
back to Carnival Glass 101
Our other sites you may enjoy:
Everything you EVER wanted to know about Indiana Glass
Great Reference for Newer Carnival Glass.
Complete Glassware Catalogs Available to Download
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Broken Links? Corrections?
Your Friendly Webmaster is here to help!