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Greentown #375 Cactus

Greentown Cactus Chocolate Covered Sugar
Chocolate Covered Sugar

Topaz Opalescent Photo of Individual 4" Berry Bowl: Bing Hilton

Greentown Cactus Chocolate Creamer
Chocolate Creamer

The Cactus pattern was introduced by the Indiana Tumbler & Goblet Company (Greentown) produced in Greentown, Indiana and was known as pattern No. 375 which was produced in the early 1900s, around 1901-1903.  This Greentown pattern has been called both "Cactus" and "Paneled Agave," with "Cactus" being the name preferred by collectors since the 1930s when J. Stanley Brothers coined the name "Cactus" when he was writing for HOBBIES magazine.  Most of the original Greentown Cactus pieces were made in Chocolate Glass but the four colors Cactus was produced in include Canary, Chocolate, Clear Opalescent, and Nile Green.  Bing Hilton who has published the book in 2002 titled "The Greentown Glass Company" kindly provided us with rare photos of an original Greentown Canary Cactus individual berry (sauce) bowl which is shown above and in more photographs below.                                      

In the years 1901 to 1903, at the Greentown, Indiana plant of The Indiana Tumbler and Goblet Company, Mr. Jacob Rosenthal produced a Caramel Slag Glass, better known as Chocolate Glass. This Chocolate Glass was used in a pattern they referred to as No. 375 or Paneled Agave. Mr. Rosenthal was later the Factory Manager and Head Chemist for the Fenton Art Glass Compay. In 1959, the Fenton Art Glass Co. copied Greentown's No. 375 Paneled Agave pattern with new Fenton moulds. The Fenton Art Glass Company called their replica of this pattern -- "Cactus". These new Fenton moulds were not made to exactly duplicate the Greentown pattern, but were sculpted to be a close replica.            

Greentown never produced Canary Opalescent in #375 Cactus - all of the Vaseline items are pure Canary without any opalesence and the 5 shapes are the only items so far known in Vaseline Glass and their current locations:

1) Covered Cracker Jar [Greentown Museum]
2) Open Sugar [Greentown Museum]
3) Covered Sugar [Private Collection]
4) Individual Sauce 4" (Berry) Bowl [Private Collection in Kokomo, Indiana]
5) Master Berry Bowl 8.25" [Private Collection in Wisconsin]

The individual Berry (Sauce) Bowl photographed in 2002 by Bing Hilton is shown below.

The single known Greentown Cactus Canary cracker jar is in museum and goes back to workers. The sugar bowl without lid is also in the museum. One individual berry (sauce) dish is at Dave Turners antique shop in Greentown, Indiana. The other known berry bowl is in a private collection in Wisconsin and is a master berry bowl. The sauce dishes are the regular Greentown footed sauce that were produced in substantial quantity in Chocolate. The master berry bowl is 8 1/4 inches in diameter. None of these Canary items were produced with opalescent rims. They all have the deep greenish look which was Greentown's canary the same way their opaque white had a bluish cast to it. The only opalescent rims on Cactus are in clear glass - one is sugar bowl and the other two are tumblers.

Pattern 375 Cactus was first shown in January 1902 at the Pittsburgh glass exhibition and was also made in clear and Nile green. The base of the Greentown cactus cracker jar and Fenton are same but the lids are different. The finial on the Greentown cracker jar has sharper serrations and the lids on Fenton either have a lot of swirl on underside or are very plain. The Cactus cruets are the same except for stoppers and the lower right side of the handle on the Fenton Cactus Cruet is marked. Greentown never marked anything and even used very few mold numbers in their pieces. I know on the cracker jar one of the differences between Greentown and Fenton is that one has like 43 beads going around the bottom and the other something like 38.                                                        

Greentown #375 Cactus is a beautiful pattern and the inspiration for the Fenton Cactus pattern introduced by Fenton in 1959.


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