Hand-pressed glass with an added lustrous metallic iridescence was a great success when first marketed in the USA in1908. It was equally popular in Britain from 1909 and by 1911 had spread throughout the British Empire. Its exotic patterns, variety of shapes and dazzling iridescence delighted purchasers upto the early 1930's. Carnival glass was used only for a very brief period as a prize at funfairs and so the name is ill deserved. The surface lustre of prime examples of this glass is remarkably similar to that of Tiffany and Carder, but the art glass trade denounced it vehemently and most glass authors and experts dismissed it as 'cheap rubbish'. But Carnival glass has emerged from the obscurity of the scorn that surrounded it for over sixty years. This book gives a brief history of the glass and guides the reader through the confusion of misinformation and muddle about the subject.