An analysis by the Hooked on Carnival Team
One of the challenges in carnival glass is identifying the pattern AND the manufacturer. Often it is easy, but occasionally some missing information can make it extremely difficult.
An example of that is identifying which company made a specific Grape & Cable spatula footed plate, since they were made by both Fenton and Northwood.
The single easiest characteristic to help you determine which company made it is the exterior pattern (on the side with the spatula feet). If there is a back pattern (which is called Meander) – it’s Northwood. This is what the Meander pattern looks like on the back of a bowl:
If it is plain – it’s Fenton.
But what do you do when you only have a picture of the front? The grape patterns are amazingly similar, so it now requires you to look for specific identifying points.
Check the comparison below for the easiest way to ID the manufacturer – Fentons grapes are in nicely racked pool ball shapes – 3 bunches have 14 grapes (4,4,3,2 & 1), 1 bunch has 15 (5,4,3,2 & 1). Northwoods grapes are in uneven bunches with odd quantities of grapes per bunch – and 2 opposite bunches have a few tiny grapes at the bottom.
There are other more subtle differences – less room between the leaves and the grapes on the Northwood version, looser vines outside of the cable on the Fenton version.
Hope this helps!
NOTE: This information is only valid on the spatula footed versions of the Fenton and Northwood plates (and bowls).