There is a fascinating story behind the relationship between the Fenton Art Glass Company and the Allan B. Wrisley Company in the late 1930's. This article will explore this association and the subsequent production of hobnail vanity items for Wrisley which were very unique. This foray into the hobnail line would prove crucial to Fenton's financial well being during a very difficult economic time for the company.

  Although Fenton's first piece of hobnail was a Ruby Overlay lamp font made in 1935 for Lightolier, it was not until several years later that the company was induced to manufacture hobnail glass in larger quantities. In 1936, L.G. Wright Glass Company approached Fenton with some old hobnail moulds. Heacock states in his book, "Fenton Glass - The Second Twenty-Five Years", (page 44, item #246), that this Wright hobnail mould found in Indiana, PA was probably made around 1900 by The Northwood Glass Company from an old Hobbs, Brockunier & Company mould.

  Frank L. Fenton just happened to have a sample of this Wright bottle on his desk when Fenton's Chicago representative, Martin Simpson, stopped by Frank's office. Martin asked Frank if he could take the bottle with him and he returned with it to Chicago. It was sitting on his desk when a buyer from the Wrisley Perfume Company spied it. Apparently they were looking for new marketing tools to increase sales of their perfume. It seems that often the perfume bottle sold the perfume.

  The Fenton Company was approached to determine if they could produce a facsimile of this bottle for Wrisley. Frank Fenton told them that they could, but the bottle would have to be modified in order to make the production costs feasible. The neck was shortened and the neck interior was widened to accept the wooden and cork stopper that replaced the metal or porcelain stopper that was on the original Hobbs "Dewdrop" design bottle from the 1890's. Wrisley asked for a test run but did not want the more expensive bottle produced for Wright. Fenton began producing this perfume bottle for the Wrisley Company in early spring of 1938. The hobnail design (known as #289 when produced for Wrisley, for all other production including Fenton's own line it was called #389) was a huge success for Wrisley and was one of two accounts that literally saved the Fenton factory from bankruptcy. In fact, the popularity of the bottle induced Fenton to experiment with the pattern and later produce a wide range of hobnail items that have become known as their hallmark.