Glass News from Angela, December 10th 2003
Hi,
I hope your preparations for Christmas are going well, and when the time comes, have a wonderful happy Christmas. You have earned it!
In our December Newsletter we have some information about Glass Dumps, about August Walther look-alikes (even more of them!), and about Muller Freres French art glass; there's more information about glass exhibitions and events over the next couple of months, some newly published books about glass, and links to our glass on eBay. I do hope you enjoy this Newsletter.
If the links don't work in your email copy of this newsletter, you'll find another version with all its links working here:
http://www.glassnewsletter.com/031210news.html
1: Glass Dumps (large bottle glass door-stops or paperweights): Did you know that the metal foil used to make flowers inside some 19th century glass dumps is not silver, its very thin tin foil, probably retrieved from the inside of empty tea chests! Thanks are due to William Drew Gaskill for being brave enough to take one apart to test the metal - quite a difficult and dangerous job!
Many people think glass dumps were made from the bottle or window glass "dumped" at the end of the day and used up by the glassworkers in their spare time, making friggers for themselves. Recent writers have pointed out that in the early 19th century this was unlikely to be true. Firstly in those Dickensian times, workers had very little "spare time" as they worked all the hours of daylight. Secondly until 1845 there was a hefty tax on all glass made, irrespective of whether it was used, so the glass factories themselves found ways to use up all the glass. And thirdly these glass dumps are still around in their thousands with the same designs appearing very frequently, some with the factory name stamped on the base. They clearly were part of many factories' production and meant for sale or used as promotional gifts, at least until the mid-19th century.
There's a new article about Glass Dumps on the Glass Encyclopedia which you can read at http://www.glassencyclopedia.com/glassdumps.html .
2: August Walther - even more Look-Alikes: We all now know that August Walther and Sohne, in Germany, made cloud glass back in the 1930s in colours and designs similar to Davidson's cloud glass (from England). Thank goodness there were sufficient differences for us to be able to tell which factory made our cloud glass pieces. But did you know that Walther's also made look-alike pieces to some Bagley and Sowerby, Jobling and even Crown Crystal Glass (Australia) designs? We'll include more about these look-alikes in future newsletters. One big question is "Who was copying whom?" Because Walther's "Gibraltar" diamond-shaped flower vase and frog insert looks, from catalogue pictures, to have been identical to Bagley's Wyndham pattern 1333D, and may have been in the Walther catalogue a couple of years before Bagley introduced this design. We are finding out more about that, to tell you later. And talking of Bagley Glass, don't forget about our CD on Bagley Glass which you can read more about at http://www.glass-time.com/orderbagleyglasscd.html
3: Muller Freres were one of the major French glassmakers in the Art Nouveau period. Their family were glassworkers going back generations, and there were nine brothers and one sister in the Muller Freres family firm. Some of them had worked at the Saint Louis glassworks, some had worked for Galle. They formed their own company in 1895 in Luneville, Lorraine, and continued (with a break during the first world war) until the early 1930s making superbly decorated art nouveau glass. Some of their carved cameo glass designs had as many as seven layers of different colored glass.
When they re-established themselves in Luneville in 1919 after the war, most of their production was more commercial and they made a large volume of lamps, bowls and vases with a simple mottled effect. There will be an article about Muller Freres soon on the Glass Encyclopedia. I need a good photograph or two to illustrate their work, preferably a vase, so if you can help I look forward to hearing from you. Also, I have been contacted by a researcher in France who wants to know which firms imported Muller Freres glass into the USA at the time it was being made (pre 1935). If anybody knows can you drop me an email . Many thanks.
4: OUR GLASS on eBay:
There seem to be all sorts of problems with eBay at the moment, especially with the search function. Consequently things are not selling well - its a good time to find a bargain and a time when we need your support! We have tried to put up an interesting mixture of new and old glass for you to look at leading up to the holiday. And we will keep a good selection available over the holiday period, in case you want to indulge in some ebay-ing - you'll find our auctions at http://www.myglassauction.com
We have been promoting Ray Ansin's stunning "Gardens in Glass" pendants, and I think his new signature cane which is now included in his paperweight-beads is a great innovation. Take a look at one of these:
Ray Ansin - Millefiori Red Begonia Garden in Glass, kiln annealed lampwork focal glass bead pendant, stunning red begonia flowers with detailed yellow stamens and with Ray's new signature cane "RA" - on eBay #3162632807.
Ray Ansin - Millefiori Pink and Red Rose Garden in Glass, kiln annealed lampwork focal glass bead pendant, beautifully formed roses and Ray's new signature cane "RA" - on eBay #3162123726.
Ray Ansin - Millefiori Wild Garden in Glass, kiln annealed lampwork focal glass bead pendant, blue and white forget-me-nots with yellow stamens, and Ray's new signature cane "RA" - on eBay #3162127201.
John Deacons - traditional millefiori paperweight with concentric rings of star-shaped millefiori and cartwheel twists, blue background, and a full 3" diameter. Signature cane and artist's label - on eBay at #3162714685.
Keith Mahy - from a new series of paperweights introduced recently by Keith, we are offering a beautiful and unusual Earthscape silver iridized paperweight, signed and dated by the artist - on eBay at #3162699104.
Peter Viesnik - superb green Cala Lily paperweight signed Viesnik '02 New Zealand - on eBay at #3163994693.
Keith Mahy - a beautiful turquoise perfume bottle with pink and red pulled feather-stripes, signed and dated by the artist - on eBay at #3162720798.
Garry Nash - a beautiful striped blue and gold paperweight with millefiori and gold leaf, signed G. Nash - on eBay at #3163992684.
And two vintage pieces from the former Glass Time Museum collection are:
1930s orange Bohemian glass classical shaped vase with art deco black enamel silhouette of a lady with a lamb (Mary?) - on ebay at #3163360237.
EAPG bowl in green opalescent vaseline glass by Dugan c. 1906 - on eBay at #3163393934.
They are all put up without reserve and so far most of them do not have any bids. If you would like to see a quick summary with pictures, or keep in touch with the new items I am going to add, please go to http://www.myglassauction.com/
5: EXHIBITIONS, CONFERENCES AND GLASS SHOWS:
a: The Paperweight Collectors Weekend at Broadfield House Glass Museum is this coming weekend, 13th - 14th December (near Birmingham, UK). William Manson, renowned Scottish paperweight maker will be demonstrating his skills and
displaying his work. There will also be display and trade stands including The Cambridge Paperweight Circle and the Sweetbriar Paperweights Gallery. Whilst you are at Broadfield House you should also take a look at the Exhibion of Decanters through the Ages, which runs until April 18th next year. Visit the Broadfield House website if you want to know more about where Broadfield House is, and when they are open - http://www.glassmuseum.org.uk
b: Metrolina Antiques and Fine Collectibles Show starts on Thursday Jan 2nd and ends Sunday Jan 5th, at the Metrolina Expo Trade Center, north of Charlotte, NC. To see a map and read more about this huge show, click here http://www.metrolinaantiqueshow.com/metrolina/location.htm
c: Tiffany Glass: A lecture by Jytte Willumstad at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exploring the luminous works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, unrivaled master of glass techniques. 3:00 p.m. December 21st in the Gallery Talk Stanchion, Great Hall. To find out more visit their website at http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/
d: "Orkney In Glass" Joan Holdsworth solo exhibition at the Tankerness Museum, Kirkwall in the Orkneys, Scotland. This exhibition started on November 29th and runs through to January 10th. I imagine its a bit cold up there, but the exhibition sounds good if you are in the area..
e: Depression Glass Shows in the USA click here- http://www.glassshow.com/Shows/ashows.html - a listing of depression glass shows across the USA - really useful. It's amazing how many Depression Glass Shows there are in the USA. You are so lucky!
f: Antique Shows in the UK, France, and the USA - give it plenty of time to load; its a very useful site
http://www.dmgworldmedia.com/antiquefairs/bymonth2002.htm .
6: RECENT BOOKS ABOUT GLASS - for your information in case you missed them.
Click on any of these titles to read more about the book.
a: Colored Glass by Noel Tramontana published by PublishAmerica in December 2003. Paperback, 244 pages.
b: English and Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Jane Hayward (museum curator) together with Mary B. Shepard and Cynthia Clark, published November 2003 by Brepols Publishers.
This is a two volume in depth examination of the museum's superb and important collection, with 123 stained glass panels being considered in detail, some 40 color plates and numerous black and white illustrations and drawings.
c: Encyclopedia of Paden City Glass: Identification and Values by Carrie and Jerry Domitz, published by Collector Books in November 2003.
d : Lotz: Bohemian Glass 1880 - 1940 edited by Helmut Ricke, Ernst Ploil, and Jan Mergl; published by Hatje Cantz Publishers in November 2003. This is one we have been waiting for. Helmut Ricke always produces good books, and this book has a section written by Alena Adlerova, one of the most respected Czech writer on glass.
e: Bagley Glass by Angela Bowey, Derek and Betty Parsons; published on CD September 2003.
I do hope there was something interesting for you this week.
Very best wishes
Angela
Useful links:
The Glass Museum at http://www.glass.co.nz
The Glass Encyclopedia is at http://www.glassencyclopedia.com
The Glass Links Page is at http://www.glass.co.nz/links.htm
The Glass Message Board is at http://www.glassmessages.com
My glass at auction http://www.myglassauction.com
To join this list: http://www.glass-time.com/joinglasslist.html
And if you would like to leave, just drop me an email and tell me please.
From: Angela Bowey
http://www.glassnewsletter.com - archive of my Glass Newsletters