Every once in a while I will find glass listed as Candlewick that is anything but. When I started in business my first purchase was a set of Candlewick plates and tumblers – I bought it because I remembered the beaded design.
Imperial Glass made Candlewick for a very long time and it’s their best known and most popular pattern.
Imperial’s Candlewick is elegant glass made with quite a bit of hand work; for example the base rim on this saucer is ground. Seams are quiet and the glass is high quality. There are patterns with beaded stems or rims from other elegant makers – Libby’s Knob Hill – but most of the confusion comes from lower grade mass produced patterns.
Anchor Hocking made glass with beads on the base called Boopie. If you saw Boopie next to Candlewick you would see Candlewick is better glass, greater clarity and the seams aren’t real noticeable. The Boopie pieces that confuse people are footed tumblers or stems.
The other glass that’s confusing is a snack set with beaded handle on the cup. The snack set cup is more rounded than the Candlewick one and the beads are smaller and set in the handle. You can see how the beads on the Candlewick cup decorate the outer curve.
Please don’t be alarmed since the vast majority of Candlewick shapes have nothing similar. You aren’t likely to even come across most of the beaded glass.
At one time I had a large selection of Candlewick but have sold most of it. It’s a pretty pattern that looks great on a table and the huge selection of accessory pieces means you can find just the right piece for what you want. It’s fun to collect for that reason, too, plus it’s available and not terribly expensive. The simple design is appealing and perfect to show off the beautiful clear crystal.