Fenton's many Crest patterns

by Christine Nagy

Although The Fenton At Glass Company most recognized pattern is the Hobnail pattern, in milk glass, by far the Crest Line had the longest continuous production, from 1941 though the 1970's. Sivercrest, the mainstay of the Crest Line had it's beginnings as Crystal Crest, actually a double crested treatment, crystal trim with an outer a milk glass trim. Later the outer edge was Silver Crestdiscontinued, leaving the plain applied crystal trim we have learned to enjoy. Keep in mind that the white milk glass made prior to 1958 will have a fiery opalescence when held to the light, and after will be a more opaque white. The oval Fenton logo was used after 1970, and earlier pieces had a foil label. The Silver Crest Line (at left) has something for everyone ... vases, baskets, epergnes, a complete dinner service, vanity sets, comports, bowls of all sizes and many other items.

Fenton started producing the Crests with colored trim beginning with Aqua Crest. It was the first of the colored crests, having several runs, in the 40's and then again in 1963, renamed Blue Crest. Gold Crest, a clear amber trim on a milk glass body also was produced in the 40's and 1963 ... who can forget those Harvest Gold appliances of the 60's? Rose Crest (at right), another milk glass item, this Rose Cresttime with a transparent pink trim, was issued from 1944-47, making it rather scarce.

Fenton had winner when it started producing Peach Crest, actually ruby glass with a milk glass overlay ... all edged with that popular crystal crest. Peach Crest had a variety of unusual and desirable shapes and styles ... baskets, vases, top hats ... over 60 pieces in the complete line. The production of a variation of Peach Crest, Black Rose, is distinguished by a black crest ... which proves to be quite elusive!

Always attuned to the fashion trends, the 1950's brought about another variation on the crest theme, the Snowcrest Line. This time they reversed the colors, bringing out some deeper tones of glass with a milk glass edge ... Ruby Snowcrest, Amber Snowcrest, Emerald Snowcrest, were produced from 1950-53. Blue Snowcrest, the scarcest of the Snowcrest Line had a very short production run from January through June of 1950, making it a real find for collectors today. The pink and aquas of the mid 50's saw 2 pastel milk glass lines: Silver Turquoise and Silver Rose. Silver Rose, 1956-59, was a pastel aqua or pink milk glass with a clear crest. I can still remember the Formica counter tops of those days, with pink or aqua squiggles on a white background, and kitchen accessories in those colors.

There are too many crest colors to mention all of them here, but some of the more elusive ones are: Apple Blossom Crest, 1960-61, a solid pink glass edge on milk glass, Black Crest, 1968, and Flame Crest, which proved to be difficult to produce a consistent shade ranging from ruby to orange, 1963-64. There are many hand painted designs on Silver Crest, probably the most famous being Violets in the Snow.

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Webmaster's NOTE: The NDGA wishes to thank Christine Nagy for her permission to use this article.