Frank (and anyone else interested in Victorian novelty pieces):
This is a little owl creamer, all trimmed up and ready for your zoo.
http://www.vaselineglass.org/owl1.jpgWhile it does not look it in the photo above (which is a true likeness), it is vaseline/uranium glass:
http://www.vaselineglass.org/owl2.jpgHeight is 3 3/4" maximum. widest point (beak to handle) is 3 1/8".
No original catalog has ever identified this little hoot! However, I have a theory.
http://www.vaselineglass.org/owl3.jpgThe little kitten on pillow is also vaseline, and has the same strange dingy yellow look to it, and it is a known novelty by Richards & Hartley, a company that was in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, during the time period the kitten was made in this color (1884-1891). I have also seen other KITTEN ON PILLOW pieces, and all are this color. When the two are put side by side, and the color is so distinctively different than most vaseline glass, I think in this instance, we can be about 99.9% certain that the color was pressed at Richards & Hartley. That last .01% is reserved only if a catalog illustration is located. There have been a few references that have published this creamer, and all have given their speculation, but none have based their speculation on a distinctive color.
Frank, if you want to crop and use the KITTEN ON PILLOW toothpick holder for the ZOO, you have my permission. height on that one is 3 3/8". The Kitten on Pillow has been reproduced in China, but not in vaseline. There are slight differences between the original and the reproduction. I have seen the reproduction in a very dark amber, a forest green, a cobalt blue, a yucky pink, and a frosted clear. The piece was originally made in a medium amber, a medium blue, this vaseline, and clear (no frost). There is limited detail on the reproduction: cat's ears are almost non-existent, hair of cat has little detail, and the tail is thicker. Detail on the daisy and button pattern is also pretty bad.
No reproductions exist on the owl creamer. Blue, amber, vaseline, clear.
Mr. Vaseline Glass