Northwood Tornado Purple Small Size Vase

This is a recent acquisition of a vase I've known about for at least thirty years. It was owned by an antiques auctioneer, Philip Fitanides, of Hooksett, New Hampshire, whom I worked for all those years ago. Today, Philp is my friend of forty years and also my landlord as the property owner where I own and operate a consumer fireworks business, Hooksett Fireworks.

Phil doesn't exactly remember where the vase came from but he knew in his heart it was a really special piece of glass. He really enjoyed looking at it saying everytime he held it, it would get his blood boiling...or maybe it was his juices flowing....something like that. All he knew about it was that Northwood made it. He didn't know what the pattern was and back then, it was hard to research everything without going out to buy a reference book on the subject every time. Also, back then, people didn't interact and share the way they do today. Everything was hearsay and instead of a computer, we had the grapevine and sharing information from dealer to dealer was like pulling teeth. No one in the trade wanted to educate one another. The less your competitor knew, the better.

Back then in the 70's and 80's I was not collecting Carnival Glass but, as Phil's assistant, I knew a handful of hardcore Carnival glass collectors like Bob Bishop and Dick Weatherbee. They would stop in every so often to see if we had anything new in old Carnival glass. At this point, Phil had now retired from ten years of continuous auctions every Saturday night and had turned his auction gallery into an antique shop. He had this Tornado vase in an old, oak, slant-front, bakery showcase along with some of his other favorite things. One way Phil would find out more about his items and their worth was to display them. Then people would ask about them and a conversation would ensue. It was a tough way to extract information and it didn't earn him any friends but he'd learn a lot that way.

At some point in time, Dick Weatherbee had seen the Tornado vase and had asked to buy it but Phil, not knowing what it was or how much it was worth, was always reluctant to come up with a price for it. Truth be told, he liked it too much and was not ready to sell it. Dick was persistant and would stop in once a year to inquire about it but Phil turned him down everytime. He did tell Dick that if he ever decided to sell it outright he would let him know first.

About ten years ago, I wrapped a box of some of Phil's most beloved antiques, including this vase, and told him to hide it for safe keeping. It was moved and then hidden several times, again and again, until he completely forgot where he put it. Yes, it was lost in a huge building filled with three floors of antiques. I believe the last time Dick came by to ask about the vase, Phil told him he couldn't find it. I can remember Dick asking me to please find the vase for him and that he would be back for it. Well, all that never happened.

Since then I came across Dick and his wife Diane at my first time attending the Tampa Bay Carnival Glass Convention in 2008. It turned out, at that time, they had a home in Massachusetts and also a place in Florida which enabled them to become very involved in the club. It was my very first convention and Diane graciously took me under her wing and helped me get acclimated to the schedule and introduced me around. Dick recognized me right off. We laughed and talked about that Tornado vase and how stubborn Phil had been in selling it all those years.

Well now, for the last seven years since then, I have become completely enthralled with Carnival Glass to where I am today. During the last year,  I made a trade with Philp for that vase from memory and a few other items for something he needed more, a car. I told him I could wait for him to come across the hidden box someday but to make an ernest effort and a real attempt to find it. Knowing my love for Carnival glass, he said there could be no one else he knows whom he could be happy to share his special vase with. Yes, he knew it wasn't going anywhere if I had it. We have, over the years, become like family to each other.

The day finally came on January 4, 2015. "Happy New Year!" he announced with a smile and a grin when he came to my door and asked me to unwrap what was in a small box he placed on my counter. And there it was....and here it is!

It stands 6.25" tall and is considered to be the smaller of two sizes known, having a base measuring 2.75" wide. Dave Doty once explained that the small version has the "zipper" in the pattern that goes all the way down to the base whereas the large version has the zipper going down just far enough to be equal to the tail of the tornado. The larger version also has a wider base, 3" wide, and the overall height of 6.5" tall which is just slightly taller than the small version. Very interesting! Thank you Mr. Doty.

You'll also notice that this vase was made with a double collar base. It is worth mentioning that this is one hefty piece of glass. I love the size of it and I find it displays well with my Corn Vases and Hatpin Holders.

At first I thought it was black amethyst, which Northwood was not known to make. I could barely make out a pinpoint of purple light holding it up to the winter sky but after I washed it and the sun came out brighter the next day, I felt it was the deepest purple in color that a piece of glass can be before it is considered black amethyst.

The iridescence is a wonderful combination of teal, turquoise, magenta, green, and yellow which is found only on the upper half of the vase in a demure a satin finish. The inside, within it's opening, looks like brushed satin. The bottom half has a rich, bright, shiny radium finish that mimicks the look of polished 18K gold. It's not often to find a satin and a radium iridescence together like this. Very elegant.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing this story about  the Tornado that couldn't twist and turn its way out of Hooksett, New Hampshire. It's here to stay!

The Christina Katsikas Collection