Top Ten Tumblers
by Lee Markley
This article has been put off for quite a while because I couldn’t make up my mind how to proceed. My final decision was to make several lists based on manufac- turer and a list from unknown or minor makers with the “ultimate” ten culled from those lists. Here are the lists by makers:
Northwood
No. 1 – Wisteria lime green
No. 2 – Plums and Cherries, marigold and blue
No. 3 – Drapery, white
No. 4 – Memphis, green
No. 5 – Peach, marigold
No. 6 – Nearcut, marigold and purple
No. 7 – Waterlily and Cattails, blue
No. 8 – Grape Arbor, custard and smoke
No. 9 – Wishbone, custard
No. 10 – Raspberry, white and blue
Fenton
No. 1 – Leaf Tiers, blue
No. 2 – Lily of the Valley, blue
No. 3 – Bouquet, Persian blue
No. 4 – Orange Tree, no band, blue
No. 5 – Orange Tree, ice green
No. 6 – Apple Tree, marigold on milk glass
No. 7 – Strawberry Scroll, marigold or blue
No. 8 – Scale Band, green or blue
No. 9 – Fentonia Fruit, blue
No. 10 – Milady, green
Millersburg
No. 1 – Morning Glory, marigold
No. 2 – Morning Glory, green
No. 3 – Morning Glory, purple
No. 4 – Gay Nineties, marigold or purple
No. 5 – Hobnail, marigold, purple, green, or blue
No. 6 – Multi-Fruits and Flowers, green
No. 7 – Perfection, green, marigold, or purple
No. 8 – Hanging Cherries, purple
No. 9 – Feather and Heart, green
No. 10 – Marilyn, green
Imperial
No. 1 – Cone and Tie, purple
No. 2 – Chesterfield, red
No. 3 – Chatelaine, purple
No. 4 – Diamond Lace, marigold
No. 5 – Flute and Cane, marigold
No. 6 – Fashion, purple
No. 7 – Fieldflower, red
No. 8 – Lustre Rose, marigold decorated
No. 9 – Four Seventy Four, emerald green
No. 10 – Octagon, collar base, smoke
U. S. Glass
No. 1 – Frolicking Bears, olive green
No. 2 – Big Butterfly, marigold
No. 3 – Big Butterfly, olive green
No. 4 – Massachusetts, marigold
No. 5 – Rising Sun, blue
No. 6 – Buttress, marigold
No. 7 – Portland, marigold
No. 8 – J. R. Milner, marigold (Cosmos and Cane)
No. 9 – Cosmos and Cane, white
No. 10 – Pacifica, marigold
Cambridge
No. 1 – Inverted Feather, green
No. 2 – Inverted Feather, purple
No. 3 – Inverted Feather, marigold
No. 4 – Inverted Thistle, marigold
No. 5 – Inverted Thistle, purple
No. 6 – Sweetheart, marigold
No. 7 – Inverted Strawberry, blue
No. 8 – Nearcut Souvenir, marigold
No. 9 – Inverted Strawberry, purple
No. 10 – Double Star, marigold
Dugan
No. 1 – God and Home, blue
No. 2 – S-Repeat, marigold
No. 3 – Harvest Flower, purple
No. 4 – Vintage Banded, marigold
No. 5 – Circle Scroll, purple
No. 6 – Heavy Iris, peach opal
No. 7 – Quill, purple
No. 8 – Grapevine Lattice, blue
No. 9 – Circle Scroll, marigold
No. 10 – Heavy Iris, white
Others
No. 1 – Chain and Star, Fostoria, marigold
No. 2 – Sydney, Fostoria, marigold
No. 3 – Aztec, McKee, marigold
No. 4 – Majestic, McKee, marigold
No. 5 – Checkerboard, Westmoreland, marigold
No. 6 – Martec, McKee, marigold
No. 7 – Cut Cosmos, maker unknown, marigold
No. 8 – White Oak, maker unknown, marigold
No. 9 – Rose Windows, Fostoria, marigold
No. 10 – Buzz Star and File, maker unknown, marigold
ULTIMATE TOP TEN
No. 1 – Frolicking Bears
No. 2 – Big Butterfly
No. 3 – Morning Glory
No. 4 – Wisteria, lime green
No. 5 – Northwood’s Nearcut
No. 6 – Cone and Tie
No. 7 – Leaf Tiers, blue
No. 8 – Aztec
No. 9 – Sydney
No. 10 – Peach, marigold
Honorable Mention
Plums and Cherries
S-Repeat
Vintage Banded
Chain and Star
Multi-Fruits and Flowers
Inverted Feather, green
Bouquet, Persian blue
Hobnail
How did I arrive at the “Ultimate Ten”? It is mostly on the basis of rarity, attractiveness, and then desirability.
The Frolicking Bears was listed at the top because of the mystique that surrounds the tumbler. They often aren’t the most attractive, and more of them are known than some tumblers not listed, but they’ve had more press. Big Butterfly was listed second because of its rar- ity–only one marigold and four olive green tumblers are reported. The Morning Glory tumblers in all colors were placed third due to their attractiveness although they are more plentiful than some farther down the list.
The ice green/lime green Wisteria tumbler ranked fourth because of its design and scarcity. The fifth position of Northwood’s Nearcut tumbler is due to its being difficult to find along with its desirability. Cone and Tie at sixth is there because of its beauty as well as rarity. Why the blue Leaf Tiers at number seven? There are fewer than a half dozen reported, and they have an at- tractive footed design. Aztec, even though it is marigold, is a rare McKee tumbler, better known than some of the other McKee tumblers, was ranked eighth. Sydney, at number nine, is a rare Fostoria tumbler. Fewer than a half dozen are reported. The number ten tumbler is the marigold Peach. There are only one or two reported.
The next half dozen I couldn’t squeeze into the top ten, and they should be mentioned because they are attractive and difficult to find. They are listed in no particular order. Some might wonder about the S-Repeat tumbler. It is regarded as old by most tumbler collectors. Only five perfect ones are reported. The sixth has a minor chip. Chain and Star is another rare tumbler that doesn’t have as good a marigold color as it could. Plums and Cherries is a very rare tumbler, but hasn’t had the publicity that others have. Vintage Banded has suffered because the pattern was reproduced for L. G. Wright, but it is not easily found.
All Cambridge Inverted Feather tumblers are not easily found, but the green one is particularly difficult and usually has very good color. Multi-Fruits and Flowers is a very attractive design as is the Hobnail. Both have the Millersburg mystique going for them. The Persian Blue Bouquet is a rare, but relatively unknown, color in a fairly common pattern.
This is my attempt at making a top ten tumbler list. With all the tumbler collectors out there, there should be some interesting lists that should be submitted to promote your idea on the “top ten.”
