Swirl - Northwood
Northwood's Swirl is sometimes called Interior Swirl or Ribbed Swirl. There are several variations of the pattern, but all have one similarity in that the swirl pattern for both the pitcher and the tumbler is on the inside. There is no exterior pattern. All are blown moulded with the exception of Variant #7. Mostly found in marigold with only certain variants also found in green with a marigold iridescence on the top third only, a treatment Northwood called "Alaskan." To join Fenton in making iridized glass, Northwood rushed victorian lemonade set molds into production. These were probably not produced for a great period of time as Northwood quickly developed new and more intricate molds for carnival glass. Thus, none of these variants are easily found today.
Variant #1: Tankard style water pitcher with three rings around the base with applied handle. Found mostly in marigold and seldomly in green with Alaskan iridescence. Variant #2: Tankard style water pitcher, same as VT #1 but without the rings at the base. Has an applied handle. Found in marigold. Variant #3: Tankard style water pitcher in shape similar to the Northwood's Dandelion tankard with applied handle. The bottom of the tankard forms a six sided bowl. Found in marigold. Variant #4: Bulbous style water pitcher in a tear drop shape with applied handle. Found in marigold and has a crimped top edge.
Variant #5: Cylindrical style water pitcher, with a defined shoulder at the neck. Applied handle. Found in marigold and has a crimped top edge. Variant #6: Bulbous style water pitcher in a true round cannonball shape with applied handle. Currently only one is reported, but not confirmed, in marigold and thus no photo is available. Should anyone have a photo of this pitcher, please consider sharing. Variant #7: The only pressed molded swirl water pitcher. Identical in size and shape to Northwood's Raspberry water pitcher. Handle is part of the mold. Found in marigold. There is an exterior pattern of vertical panels. This pitcher is marked Northwood on the inside bottom. Variant #8: Tankard style water pitcher in shape similar to VT #10 but shorter and with a bowl shaped bottom and an indentation above the bowl with applied handle. Here is a whimsey vase made from VT #8. Without a photo of this water pitcher, it can not be confirmed that this variant exists.
Variant #9: Bulbous style water pitcher in a tear drop shape which does not extend completely to the bottom. Applied handle. Found in marigold and has a crimped top edge. Variant #10: Above is another variant of the Northwood Swirl tankard. Similar to Variant #3 in shape, however, the bottom does not form a six sided bowl. It is round. Variant #11: Swirl pitcher with a flared base and a formed shoulder. In green with Northwood's Alaskan iridescence. Has an applied handle. All the water pitchers above use the same tumbler. Found in marigold and occasionally in green.
To the left is a copy of an advertisment from the 1909 Butler Brothers catalog for the Northwood Swirl water sets. From left to right, the ad features Variants #4, #1 and #5.
Most tumblers are marked with the Northwood N, but some are not.
This green tumbler is not marked with the Northwood N.
Northwood Swirl water pitchers seem to have been older molds rushed into iridized glass production when it was first being made. These molds previously made enameled lemonade sets in blue, green and clear glass. As carnival glass became popular, the glass companies started to make new mold with naturalistic designs such as flowers, grapes and leaves and these simpler water pitcher molds were soon retired. Thus these water pitchers are quite rare.

Variant #1 may have been modified to make Northwood's Oriental Poppy water pitcher. They both have the same base diameter and the rings at the bottom. The Swirl pitcher is much lighter than the Oriental Poppy. The added design to Oriental Poppy may have required more glass to be placed into the mold prior to it being blown. The back top of each pitcher is about the same height but the ice lip of the Oriental Poppy is much larger.

Variant #7 is the only press molded water pitcher and Northwood's Raspberry water pitcher most likely came from its modified mold. The basic shape and exterior panels are the same.

Variant #3 was thought to have been modified into Northwood's Dandelion water pitcher. Both have the six sided bowl shaping at the bottom, however, there are significant differences. The collar base of the Dandelion is slightly larger, the overall height of the Dandelion is taller. The six sided bowl on the Dandelion is formed by panels that have downward facing arches while the six sided bowl of the Swirl pitcher is formed by upward facing arches on petals coming from the base. The Dandelion pitcher may have been a modification of this Swirl variant pitcher but maybe not.