Cambridge Rainbow - Violet
by Lynn Welker
Issue No. 49 - May 1977
This month's color conversation is about Violet - an extremely beautiful, lavender, opaque color.
It is a late color, but one of the hardest to find in the Cambridge spectrum of colors. Many confuse it with the earlier Heliotrope, but distinguishing the two is relatively easy. Violet has a definite blue cast which Heliotrope does not.
Heliotrope was made in very plain shapes with the exception of the
Ram's Head bowl, Doric candlesticks and the matching 8" plate. Violet
was made in strictly later patterns such as Mt. Vernon, Everglades
and Jenny Lind. (see photo at left) The only exception to this is the plain
Hambone ashtray made in Violet. This is a late shape compared to the
long production of Cambridge glass. Violet is most often found in the
Everglades pattern. It has been seen in several size bowls (all being
of the Leaf pattern rather than a floral one). However, no candlesticks
have been sighted as yet! The Leaf covered candy dish was available in
Violet and is one of the most desirable pieces in this color.
Rounding out the pieces of Everglades in Violet are the 6" Sunflower
vase, the 10½ in. Tulip vase and the 5 in. Leaves vase (see photo
at right). You may possibly find other shapes in this pattern and color
combination, as most Violet was produced in Everglades.
A limited amount of stemware in the Mt. Vernon pattern was produced in Violet. The 10 oz. goblet and the 6½ oz. tall sherbet have been seen. Do you know of any other Mt. Vernon stems in Violet? The crimped bowl, covered candy dish and the Rose bowl are known in Violet in the Jenny Lind pattern. There seems to be less of the Jenny Lind pattern in Violet than of the previous two patterns mentioned. The Hambone ashtray previously noted is the last piece of Violet of which more than one is known.
A large oval Caprice bowl and 4 in. Seashell ashtray are two unusual pieces of Violet which are the only ones known to exist so far. Please write us about any unusual pieces of Violet that you may have seen or are the lucky owner of, and we will note it in the CRYSTAL BALL.
An exact date for Violet has not been determined. As the Jenny Lind pattern is an extremely late pattern, production of this color was most likely in the late 40's or early 50's. It was definitely a short lived color as its rarity proves.
Good Luck in finding your piece of Violet!
Pieces of Violet may be seen in the following color reference books: Bennett's The Cambridge Glass Book, plate 7; Welker's Cambridge Ohio Glass in Color, Book I, plate 6; and Book II, plate 7. Most of the shapes mentioned can be found in the N.C.C. 1930-34 Catalog Reprint.