Big Butterfly
By Lee Markley
The pitcher in the photo was sold at the American Carnival Glass convention in the summer of 2014. It is the only reported example in marigold. It also has a crack near the handle and sold for around $1200.
Above you see two views of this only one known pitcher. The one to the left shows the pitcher full on, and the one on the right shows the butterfly in all its glory. Photos courtesy of Wroda Auctions.
The pitcher has a height of seven and one-half inches near the spout. The top diameter is four and three-eighths inches, and the base is four inches. The handle is molded, and there are four mold lines. The domed base has no pattern on the outside or inside. The design features four large butterflies each on a mold section. The pitcher is cylindrical and has a stippled background.
The top is scalloped. Just below the rim twenty-four indented circles or thumbprints with twenty-four diamond‐shaped shells or fans between them. Each one is outlined by eleven raised dots or beads. A band of twenty-four indented thumbprints or bullseyes encircles the pitcher above the waist. There are no fan shapes. Under them is a row of raised ribs, twelve in each mold section.
The tumblers are similar in design. They are three and three‐fourths inches tall and have a top diameter of two and three‐fourths inches, while the collar base is two and one‐half inches across. There is a multi-rayed star on the base. Like the pitcher, the tumblers have four mold lines. There is a plain three‐fourths inch band at the top. The twenty bullseyes are located just under this band. Their tops form scallops. The same fan-shaped shells are found between them totaling twenty. Four highly raised butterflies are on the stippled background-one on each mold section. There are twenty bullseyes around the base, but no raised ribs. The tumblers come only in marigold and olive green. The same bead pattern outlines the fan shapes at the top.
Only one marigold pitcher is known and none in olive green. Only one marigold tumbler is known which sold in September 2010 at the Whitley auction for $11,500.
The photo on the left is Lee’s green Big Butterfly tumbler. The tumbler on the right is one of two marigold Big Butterfly tumblers known. Right photo courtesy of Seeck Auctions.
There are five known olive-green tumblers. The one in the picture was purchased by the author recently. The other four came from a dealer in Decatur, Indiana, and were sold to Dave Ackerman of Michigan. They are now dispersed to four different owners. They have sold from $650 to $6,000 at auction. The pattern was made by the U.S. Glass Company, probably at their Gas City, Indiana plant.
Sources: Britt, John. HOACGA Educational Series –Tumblers. Carwile, Mike. An Encyclopedia of Carnival Glass. Doty, Dave. New Field Guide to Carnival Glass for 2011. Kamm, Minnie. A Second Two Hundred Pattern Glass Pitchers. Mordini, Tom. Carnival Glass Auction Prices 1986 – 2013. Owens, Richard. Carnival Glass Tumblers.
Editor’s Note: Lee wrote this article several months ago. A second marigold tumbler sold recently at a Seeck Auction, and with a small base chip brought $1,200
This article first appeared in the ICGA Pump in the September 2016 issue and is reprinted with permission.
