Josef Inwald's JACOBEAN Copyright G&S Thistlewood

Promotion and "spin" are facts of everyday life in these post Millennium years - but who would expect them to have been involved with a line of Carnival Glass back in the 1920s? Let's take a trip back in time and look at the astonishing marketing exercise that surrounded the Jacobean range of glassware. Our story begins early in the 1920s, when Clayton Mayers first began to advertise Jacobean Glassware. In February 1923 ads for the range were placed in many popular British magazines and journals, including the "Tatler," "Punch," "Ideal Homes" and the "Pottery Gazette." Householders were urged to beautify their homes with Jacobean Glassware - and were tempted with shapes for every purpose and designed for every room of the house. For the Breakfast Room, a whole range of items was specifically designed, including egg cups, toast rack, sugar basin, cream jug, marmalade jar, fruit dish, and beautiful vases for table decoration. Then there were items for the Drawing Room, the Dining Room, the Lounge, the Bedroom and the Bathroom. An astonishing array of shapes was made - though only a few lines were produced in marigold Carnival. In December 17, 1923,  the London importer and distribution agent, Clayton Mayers, applied for a British Registered Design in respect of a glass tumbler. The RD number (Registered Design) was 702446 and the tumbler was produced in five different sizes, ranging upwards from a diminutive tot with a tiny 1 inch base that stands just 2 ¼ inches high. Four of the five sizes are known in rich marigold, and all of them are illustrated here (above). Each of the four bears the press-moulded RD number 702446 around the edge of the base (see below)

The Jacobean range of glass was made by Josef Inwald A.G. in the area known then, as Czechoslovakia or Bohemia. Inwald was a major manufacturer of pressed glass as well as blown and "art glass" items. Their head office was in Vienna, but they manufactured glass at various locations (including Rudolfova Hut) and had warehouses in Budapest, Prague, London, Vienna, Paris as well as a network of showrooms around the world.

In the UK, Clayton Mayers marketed the Jacobean range heavily. The British trade journals ran ads and special Jacobean promotional supplements were included with some issues of the Pottery Gazette. Jacobean items were also offered in exchange for cigarette coupons by the International Tobacco Company in London. By 1925 it was reported that Jacobean Glassware had spread all over the country (Britain) like wild fire. The range was constantly increasing. Inwald's catalog from the 1920s showed over 150 different shapes in the Jacobean pattern - it was a triumph of marketing and had become a major best-seller. In France the range was known as "Milord" and was marketed by the firm, Markhbeinn of Paris (see illustration right), with a huge range of shapes on offer. In Argentina, Jacobean vases were marketed by the glass firm Cristalerias Papini under the pattern name "Lirio." In the USA, the distributor F. Pavel & Co., of New York, offered an assortment of Inwald's Jacobean glass. Back in England, the marketing machine was gearing up for even greater promotions. Window bills, specially constructed stands, showcards, leaflets and more were being used to push sales. In a promotional event seen as very avant garde for its time, there was even a cinema film made to sell the Jacobean glass range - called "A Visit to Miss Madeleine Carroll's Flat", it was intended to show the beauty and utility of Jacobean glassware in a modern home. In 1932 a change took place. Tariffs on imported glass began to take their toll in Britain. Clayton Mayers announced that some (not all) of the Jacobean tumblers were to be made in Britain. Until that point, all the Jacobean items had been manufactured bv Inwald in Czechoslovakia. Within a few years, several more items in the range were also made in Britain by various firms that probably included Davidsons on Tyneside. However, the United Kingdom wasn't the only country to stock Jacobean. It is most likely that all iridized articles in the Jacobean pattern were made and iridized in Czechoslovakia.  On November 21, 1924, Clayton Mayers further registered a set of items in the Jacobean pattern with the number 709314. The copyright on this number was extended through to November 1934. A splendid, iridized decanter is known with this number moulded into it. Other items in the  #709314 set were a sauce bottle, biscuit barrel (cookie jar), cress bowl with plate, hors d'oeuvre dish and vinegar bottle. The copyright on #702446 expired on December 17, 1938. It was then replaced by the registered number 791409 which is only found on non-iridized crystal items. In the 1920s there was a certain cachet in having a British registration number on the glass. No doubt Josef Inwald, intent on marketing their glassware widely in the United Kingdom, believed that it would help them. So what shapes are known in Carnival? Tumblers in various sizes, water pitchers (see below), decanters and tumble-ups. A full dressing table set including powder jars, perfume (see right), atomiser and cologne bottles in various sizes, a large tray, small pintray and a ring tree. Possibly many more items were iridized and have yet to be discovered by collectors. Marigold is the only reported color so far. A major "signature characteristic" of Josef Inwald's glass was the mirror shiny grind on the base. Inwald produced exceptionally high quality glass. It stands head and shoulders above much other pressed glass output of the era. Their quality control appears to have been excellent. All Carnival examples (marigold) have the mirror shiny ground base, and are considered to be fine examples of the genre.

Above, a page from the catalog of the French distributor Markhbeinn, showing a small part of the vast Jacobean glass range from Inwald. All items had the same four figure pattern number that was given in the inwald catalog.

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Note: All text and images are Copyright G & S Thistlewood and may not be copied.