Decorated Candlewick - Part III - Red Flashing & Beading

by Virginia Scott
Glass Review - April 1983

In my November, 1982 article I discussed pieces of Candlewick which Red Flashed Candlewick have been made in red glass. Here I will tell about some crystal Candlewick items that are decorated with red flashing and red beading.

Illustration 1, shows the earliest Candlewick picture I have found in any magazine. This appeared in the February, 1939 Shopping Section of House and Garden Magazine. The text states, "Both bowl and the plate beneath it are gaily edged with bright red glass beads. We now know that the "bright red beads" were fired-on red flashing rather than red glass. The bowl and plate in the picture seem to be the 400/75B Candlewick Salad set which consists of a 400/13D 12" plate and the 400/75B 10½" bowl. The fork and spoon shown here is not the Candlewick 400/75 set with 6-bead handles which was used with later salad sets. It is, according to the text, "cut and polished crystal".

Several other Candlewick items are known to have had red-flashing beading. I have a 400/88 flat top cheese compote with red beading. This compote has a sort of "bulge" - not a full bead - in the stem. Later 400/88 cheese compotes have a much larger bead. Customarily 400/88 compotes were sold with a 10" 400/72D handled plate to complete a 400/88 Cheese and Cracker Set (no. 2). So it seems safe to guess that 10" handled plates might also be found with red beads. Other items reported with red beading include a 400/89 Marmalade jar (no. 6), a 400/122 Sugar and Cream set (no. 4) and an 11" Belled Bowl. I believe red-flashed beads were put on Candlewick in the late 1930's.

I mentioned in that November, 1982 article that 400/74SC (square crimped) 4-toed bowls (no. 8) have been found in crystal, blue, red and black glass. We can now add that crystal 400/74SC bowls have also been found with red beading and cobalt blue beading. It seems evident that Imperial liked to experiment with that particular bowl since it has been found with so many variations.

In addition to red flashing on the beading of Candlewick, a few items have been found with other red-flashed decorations. The 400/122 Individual sugar and creamer set (no. 4) has been reported with red-flashed body and clear handles. Another piece with red flashing is the large 400/143C flip vase (no. 8). A B'Tween Place 400/118 ash tray was found with red sides and clear bottom (no. 5).

Illustration No. 8, found in a shoppers ad in a 1943 magazine shows a very attractive version of the 400/79 Candlewick Hurricane lamp. Pairs of the complete lamp have been found by two collectors and the 400/79R Candleholder which is the base of the lamp has been reported by several others. The description of this lamp in the ad was interesting. It was called a "Fine Old Bohemian" lamp and was declared to be an "exact reproduction of the rare and costly pieces that made Old Bohemia the art glass center of the world". The chimney was described as having "Cranberry decoration on fine crystal, fired with tracings of gold on the cranberry leaves and bird". The saucer and candle cup of the candleholder (no. 9) have bands of fired-on red-flashing. We have not been able to find who made the beautiful glass shade.

Illustration No. 7 shows the very rare 400/680 Candlewick Hurricane lamp which is not shown in any Candlewick catalog. At Imperial I found a 1942 ad from Gift and Art Buyer Magazine which shows the lamp. Two collectors have reported finding the candleholder which is hard to recognize as Candlewick if the separate Candlewick adapters which fit into the candle cups are missing. One of the candleholders found is trimmed with red along the arms, around the top of the candle cups, around the large ball on the lower base and has a red center finial.