Tell Your Friends!

By Galen & Kathi Johnson

While out antiquing recently, we were thrilled to see a rather unappreciated Tree Bark water set by Jeannette selling with a framed advertisement for that water set!

The advertisement had been placed in a national agricultural magazine called ‘The Farmer’s Wife’. It was a monthly offering from a St. Paul, Minnesota publisher that ran from around 1905 to April 1939. It then merged with ‘Farm Journal’ and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was renamed as ‘Farm Journal and Farmer’s Wife’.

As of August 2024, only 3 of the 11 sets sold in the Hooked on Carnival database were sold with a lid on the pitcher. If these were well used, the lids are always going to suffer damage, but obviously they were sold without lids (as in this advertisement).

Also, of the 8 pitchers sold (4 aqua base glass, 4 marigold) none had a lid.

This framed advertisement is dated as May 1926 issue, and it’s interesting to see that they are comparing it to European iridescent art glass (which was very expensive).

It’s difficult to believe that by 1926 most people wouldn’t already be very familiar with Carnival Glass, but it is a fact that by this time we were entering the Utilitarian era so the pieces made and offered were designed for daily use.

The special offer in the ad: If you just subscribed for four years and sent $1.95, you could get the 7-piece set. Postpaid and carefully packed no less!

And if you could acquire 2 four-year subscriptions by convincing friends that the magazine was exactly what they needed – the set was yours free. By the way, the four-year subscription cost was $1 per person. 

It’s quite easy to picture sharing your ‘Farmer’s Wife’ magazine with friends over coffee, easily convincing them to subscribe so you could ‘win’ the lovely water set, isn’t it?

This article first appeared in the Carnival Glass Action! (TCGC/HOACGA joint newsletter) in 2024 issue and is reprinted with permission.