Northwood Grape & Cable Aqua Opal Banana Boat Bowl

It was listed on eBay as "Antique Northwood Grapes & Cables Banana Boat Aqua Blue Carnival Glass Stunning!". It should have been listed as "Antique Northwood Grape & Cable Banana Boat Aqua Opal Carnival Glass Stunning!".The description included it was "Estate Fresh from Boston's North Shore." It actually did not go through the bidding process at auction because it was listed as a Buy It Now $995.00 selling price.

It measures 12.5" wide, 6.5" wide, and 5.5" tall. This one is the second one know to be in perfect condition. Don Hamlet owns the other perfect one. In my conversation with Carl, he stated that he feels these banana boats are beginning to form a regional pattern of having been found in New England. The one that Paul Berube found that he sold to Don Hamlet was from Massachusetts. Although this one was said to have been found in Boston, it was actually found in Salem, New Hampshire. How do I know? Well let me tell you! After the auction was over, I heard that it sold and I looked it up. Sure enough it was true.

As an item of great interest, I had posted on Facebook to Carnival Glass Showcase, Carnival Glass Network, Carnival Glass Show, Share, Enjoy, and also to my personal page of how this bowl had slipped through all of our fingers, especially mine, living only 50 miles from Boston. Then, a young lady, Kathleen Walsh, from Londonderry, New Hampshire, (12 miles from my house) retorted , "Ya...someone bought it at the Salvation Army in Salem, NH. I saw it on the shelf for $14.99 last week. Should have bought it...darn!"

I asked if she was serious and she said she was and that the bowl was not from Boston. She said she collected Fenton Glass and decided to pass on it because she could see no maker's mark on the bottom. Right there on Facebook I asked Carl if these pieces were typically marked with an N in a circle by Northwood. I could not remember seeing one on Don Hamlet's when I photographed it. He answered, "No, the Grape & Cable Banana Bowls are not marked. I've owned many of them over the years and seen countless others. I've yet to see one that was marked." Then, the eBay seller, Jeff Keegan of Salem, New Hampshire, must have found it shortly thereafter at the Salem Salvation Army, right there where he lives.

After my announcement on Facebook about "the one that got away", the actual buyer of the bowl came forth and wrote in to say, "Okay. I guess the cat's already out of the bag, so I'll confess. Guilty as charged. Slap the cuffs on me! Yes, I bought the Aqua Opal Grape & Cable Banana Bowl on eBay. It was just a case of pure, blind luck as far as timing was concerned. I had just finished up doing a few things around the house, sat down in my office & decided to see what was newly listed for Carnival Glass. There it was right at the top of the page. It had just been listed. VERY quickly checked the photos & description & hit that “Buy It Now” button as fast as I could! I immediately contacted the seller and requested Priority shipping & even offered to come & pick the bowl up in person. He was very nice & re-assured me that he was very proficient at packing & shipping glass. He double boxed it & packed it to the hilt. He shipped it out first thing Saturday morning and, as I'm right next door in Maine, it arrived here Monday morning. Still, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep over the weekend waiting for it's arrival. It's a positively stunning piece of glass & it's in absolutely perfect condition! I've snapped a few quick photos of it & I'll get more soon. At first glance one might tend to think the opal is only around the top edges, as it appears in the first two photos here. But if you put the piece in a slightly more subdued light the rich opalescence on the grapes, leaves, vines & cable jumps right out at you, as is evident in the third photo. The iridescence is also top notch. I've spent 47 years buying and selling antiques & collecting Carnival Glass and never imagined that I would ever have the opportunity to own such a rarity. I closed my antiques business 4 months ago and retired. Kind of ironic that after all those years, with thousands of pieces of Carnival Glass passing through my hands, that something like this comes along now. Carl O. Burns"

I told Carl what an overnight sensation the post was. It hit over 1,100 views from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next morning. This is the first time this many views have been recorded for a piece of glass on Showcase in such a short time. It sure is special!

For those of you who recognize Carl's name, he has written very informative books on Carnival Glass in the past. His books are all gone now but once in a while you can find a copy on eBay. Although he says they are outdated for information, I think it is very worthwhile to buy one if you ever see one come up. Here is a prime example of how valuable knowledge of Carnival Glass can be that comes only with experience. Carl was able to recognize this rarity in an instant.

There was also one other person on Facebook who reports having seen the listing before it was sold. Carl tells me that the reason he hit the Buy it Now button before this other fella was because he knew and had done business with this seller before. The other person had to spend a few moments to look at the seller's feedback and credentials. And who could blame him? but it cost him valuable time. You can always get out of a "commitment to buy" on eBay for a good reason. Also, with something this rare, even if it were damaged, it was worth much more than the asking price. In this case, it was buy it now and ask questions later.

I messaged Carl to keep me in mind if he decided to sell it some day. and asked him for his permission to put it up on Carnival Glass Showcase with the other two. He said to please feel free to share it on Showcase adding, "I will likely keep the bowl a short time. As I stated, I retired a few months ago. I sold 99% of my Carnival collection privately and on eBay a few years ago and only have a few pieces now. This piece really belongs in a "premier" collection along with its other companion rarities."  So he invited me to swing up to Maine for a visit when I returned home from the April  2017 HOACGA convention where I sold some of my glass at auction.

I met him half way at an antique shop in Arundel, Maine that I really like to visit every few months. It was a perfect meeting place.and a beautiful sunny day. We struck a deal that was good (although painful) for both of us. It was a wonderful beginning and ending to the HOACGA week for me. Many people at the convention mentioned seeing the bowl on Facebook. I had to smile and say how pretty it was with a sigh.... I did not want to count my chickens before they were hatched so I didn't say anything to anyone. It feels really good to be able to write this article!

What are the chances this rare bowl came FROM a Salem, New Hampshire Salvation Army Store, where it was recognized and held by Kathleen who LIVED in Londonderry, New Hampshire, was SOLD by Jeff Keegan on eBay who is a Salem, New Hampshire resident, BOUGHT by a Maine resident only three hours away, and then SOLD  to me, Christina, who lives 20 minutes away from where it was first found? People who know me know can tell you this about me....and that is... I do believe in miracles, don't you?

The Christina Katsikas Collection