Octagon - Imperial
Found in a wide range of shapes, Octagon was one of Imperial's most prolific patterns. Shown left are two sizes of the water pitchers. One is 10 inches tall and the other is 8 inches tall. There is also a 6 1/2 inch tall milk pitchers in the same style. Water pitchers are mostly found in marigold and then purple. A rare green also exists. Next are two versions of the tumbler. The marigold tumbler has a ground base while the purple variant has a collar base and is therefore about 1/4 inch taller. The table set has the standard four pieces including a covered butter dish, spooner, creamer and covered sugar. Marigold is the predominant color with an occasional green or purple example found.
Pictured above to the left is an Octagon Wine Set with: decanter, stopper and six wines. In the center are the three stemmed pieces found in Octagon. The goblet is 6 1/2 inches tall and has a 3 1/8 inch base. The wine is 4 inches tall and has a 1 7/8 inch base. The cordial is 3 1/2 inch tall. The stems have smooth round bases. The three stems pictured here are the three stems found in the Imperial ad shown below. To the right is an Octagon pedestaled vase. The vase is 7 7/8 inches tall. The sawtooth edge on the bottom base is 3 3/4 inches across.
Green is a very rare color in Octagon. The above bowl, described as a centerpiece bowl, is 12 inches across and thus would have had a unique mold to make it. The marigold rosebowl has a 61/2 inch opening and would have been made from the large berry bowl mold. The photo to the right is a sherbert. It is 3 5/8 inches tall and has a top diameter of 3 3/4 inches. Notice that the sherbert has a smooth top and a sawtooth edge on the base. Because of the sawtooth edge on the bottom of the sherbert, it would not sit on an underplate as other Imperial sherberts do.
Octagon is not found in a punch set but custard cups in two varieties are known. The cup to the left has a collar base and is therefore slightly taller than the cup with the ground base. A rare Octagon shape is the one-handled nappy. The nappy is 5 3/8 inches across excluding the handle. To date, the nappy has been found in clambroth and marigold. Octagon toothpicks were widely reproduced in the contemporary era by Imperial and these can be found in a range of colors. Above are a contemporary era purple toothpick and a classic era marigold toothpick. The newer example does have the IG mark on the inside bottom.
Salt and pepper shakers are very rare in classic era carnival glass. In Octagon, the shakers are known in this purple and in marigold. The large compote is pictured in the center. The top can be ruffled or round. The large compotes seem to be found exclusively in marigold. The large compote has been reproduced in other colors. The berry set is made up of a large 8 to 9 inch bowl and six 4 to 5 inch bowls. Berry sets can be flared, such as this one, or ruffled.
To the left is a two-handled 6 1/2 inch tall celery vase. This shape is extremely rare in Octagon and has only been found in this marigold. The Octagon celery vase is not a listed shape in many early writings on the pattern. In the center is the small compote. These small compotes have the most available colors in Octagon and include aqua, marigold, purple, smoke and the teal shown above. It is 5 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches across the top. Notice that it has the sawtooth edge on both the top and on the base. To the right is a photo of the exterior of a small (4 1/2 inches across) berry bowl in lavender; a very light amethyst.
There are several different patterns on the underneath of the bases of the Octagon pieces depending upon which shape it is. The photo on the left shows that base pattern of the stemmed pieces; goblet, wine and cordials. The pattern is a multifaceted sunburst starting from a point in the center. The center photo shows the base pattern of those items that have sawtooth edge bases including both compotes, the sherbert and the vase. There are four circles each with a sunburst in them. The circles are separated by four sets of branching rays. The other shapes including pitchers, tumblers, cups and bowls have the third pattern shown on the right. This base pattern has a raised button in the center with a star in it. The sunburst starts around this button and goes to the outer edge. All these base patterns are inset into the glass of each piece as opposed to being a raised pattern.
The Butlers Brothers ad to the left shows various Octagon pieces as well as some Star and File pieces.

The ad below is for a single handled nappy and was in the Lee Manufacturing catalog issued in 1915 while the ad for the three Octagon stems is from an Imperial catalog.