Fenton Cat Slipper in Vaseline #012

 

This shoe was manufactured by Fenton Glass Company. The slipper is a familiar design of this company called the ‘cat slipper.’ This specific shoe’s manufacturing number is TO #3995, the TO for Topaz Opalescent, the color’s name designated by Fenton. The shoe is a Vaseline glass piece and fluoresces distinctly under a U-V light. It was made from 1939 until 1948 and re-issued in 1962. For an in-depth explanation of Vaseline glass, see

http://theshoecabinet.com/2007/12/12/vaseline-glass-the-magic-glass/

The shoe features a cat on the front, it’s head curled over it’s front paws. It is very difficult to see the features of the cat in this photo due to the hobnail pattern, but a different cat shoe with a good close-up view will be posted soon.

The hobnail pattern refers to the distinctive raised, white ‘bumps,’ reminiscent of a type of nail head called the hobnail. This is a common style in Fenton glassware.

This shoe was an acquisition of the collection of Lillian P. Wood, and purchased at Ramblin’ Rose Antique Mall in Oshkosh, WI in March of 2001 for $24.

The first issue of this shoe is valued at $35.00 to $50.00. The re-issue’s estimated value is $30 to $35. An identical shoe of the collection is currently in storage. Its history is unknown.

Sources of the above information are Yellow Green Vaseline: A Guide to the Magic Glass, Revised Edition by Jay L. Glickman and Terry Fedosky, published by The Glass Press Inc, 1998 and Collectible Glass Shoes by Earlene Wheatley, published by Schroeder Publishing, 2001.