Northwood’s Raspberry

By Barb Chamberlain

Northwood’s Raspberry is not without a bit of controversy. Some authors maintain that the Blackberry pattern shapes by Northwood could definitely be a part of the Raspberry line. According to William Heacock, James Measell, and Barry Wiggins in their book, Harry Northwood, The Wheeling Years, 1901 – 1925, the water set was originally described as a blackberry pattern advertised by both Butler Brothers and Rouss in their advertising in 1911 and 1912.

Raspberry, as we know the pattern now, was made in water pitchers, tumblers, milk pitchers, and occasional pieces. The water pitchers and tumblers appear to be the most readily available—in some colors. Marigold, green, and amethyst were the colors that were mentioned in the advertisements that were mentioned above. The water pitchers and tumblers are also found much less frequently in blue, ice blue, ice green, and white. Assembling sets in the last four colors will take quite a lot of effort. It appears that a very nice blue pitcher took top honors in bid amount at auction.

Above you see a green Raspberry water pitcher with a tumbler.

Interestingly, the milk pitcher looks identical to the water pitcher. It is when you compare the size that you see the difference. While the water pitcher is about nine inches to the top of the spout, the milk pitcher is only about seven and one-half inches tall. The water pitcher is one of Northwood’s smaller pitchers, which would mean that it wouldn’t hold as much liquid. That means the milk pitcher would hold a relatively small amount of milk—perhaps just enough to pass around to pour on your morning cereal.

As you can see, the milk pitcher and water pitcher are nearly identical. The size difference is shown well with the two pitchers side by side, with the milk pitcher on the left.

The milk pitchers have sold at auction fairly often in amethyst, green, and marigold. Ice blue, lime green, and white have sold less frequently. Carnival Glass 101 mentions there is also a blue milk pitcher known.

The occasional dish is also known as a sauce boat or a creamer. As a creamer, it is obviously an odd shape and would hold a substantial amount of cream. It is the only piece in this shape that the Northwood Glass Company produced. It is very similar to Dugan’s Fan piece in this unusual shape. These “creamers” were made in a more limited number of colors. Amethyst is the most often seen color, but green, marigold, aqua/ teal, ice blue, sapphire blue, and teal are listed as selling.

Shown above are the Raspberry occasional piece, the Berry interior of Daisy and Plume, and the Blackberry with basketweave compote.

If you study the patterns on the water pitcher, milk pitcher, tumbler, and occasional piece, you will see that they all feature the stems of raspberries, leaves, and flowers, but they also have basketweave molded at the bottom of the pattern. Of course, the placement and shapes of the berries were made to fit the size of the piece when molded, so they all appear a bit different dependent on the shape you are examining.

Although the berries on the Blackberry compote might appear to be a bit different in shape, I believe that was because the berries in the mold were made to accommodate the shape of the compote, and when the shapers finished the pieces after they were removed from the mold, the berries could have become more elongated. The compotes also exhibit the same flowers as used on the Raspberry pieces. Granted, the basketweave is not on the interior—but the back pattern is Basketweave. These Blackberry/Raspberry compotes can be found in amethyst, green, horehound, ice blue, marigold, and white.

I will make a case for the berry interior on the Daisy and Plume bowls or candy dishes being in the Raspberry family, as well. There is no Basketweave pattern involved, but the berries, leaves, and flowers are indeed very much like those on the water pitchers, milk pitchers, tumblers, and occasional dishes. Colors are very similar to the other pieces mentioned—amethyst, green, horehound, ice blue, lime green, and marigold.

As you can see, the milk pitcher an You can see the flowers, berries and leaves are all basically the same in these three pieces shown in close-up photos. Top left: berry interior of the Daisy and Plume bowl; top right: Blackberry compote, Bottom: Raspberry water pitcher.

So, I rest my case. I would be glad to have any of your opinions on the Raspberry and Blackberry patterns on the pieces that I mentioned and whether you would agree or not. I don’t propose that the names should be changed now. They are too well known where they stand. If you have any colors or shapes that I haven’t mentioned, please email me at dbcham@iowatelecom.net or write to me at 124 E. Honey Creek Dr., Manchester, IA 52057. Include a photo so that I may share in a future issue of The Carnival Pump.

This article first appeared in the ICGA Pump in the March 2017 issue and is reprinted with permission.