EDITOR
1
David Watts
27 Raydean Road
1
1
.ernet
9
Herts. EN5iM!
1
2i it-)
!Et) ECT OF
THE MEIVIPOLITAN
mom° AND
No. 31
March 1985.
MORE LIGHT AT BLACK CREEK
a …As he blew the curl of smoke from his still warm revolver the tilt of his
sombrero changed sharply to reveal, by the smoky yellow beam of the single kerosene
lantern, the hard lines set on the cruelly handsome face.
He slid the Colt
fourtyfive smoothly back into its holster….”.
So runs the traditional image of
the Far West, the flavour of which is all too apparent at Black Creek Pioneer
Village, faithfully reconstructed, only a short drive from Toronto, from buildings
rescued from those early days.
In a setting of delightful rolling countryside one
can sample the authentic atmosphere of Saloon bar, Hotel, blacksmith, printer,
miller, local store and many more that show that_Hollywood has missed a few points.
The Sheriff must have had the stature of John Wayne for no baddies swing from
hastily errected gallows, creeking jently in the wind to upset the pleasure of our
appreciation!
The major involvement of glass, apart from spectacular shoot-ups in
the saldon bar, was the utilitarian provision of oil lamps and shades.
The most
casual association with American glass manufacture brings an awareness of the
importance, diversity and beauty of this major item of commercial glass production
and it is an appropriate subject for the first exhibition to be held at the McNair
Gallery, part of the new visitor complex ajoining Black Creek.
“The Kerosene Era:
Lamps from the Thuro Collection” is an exhibition of more
than 1000 lamps from
the
monumental collection of 2000 lamps formed by Catherine and Carl Thuro, Toronto.
Kerosine is a Canadian discovery and was first demonstrated in Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island, in 1846, by its inventor, Dr Abraham Gesner, a Nova Scotian physician
and geologist.
Several decades later he invented gasoline to fuel the new-fangled
motor car!
The exhibition contains lamps of all types, from tiny miniatures through tall
banquet lamps to bracket, hanging, mechanical and transportation lamps. • Materials
range from tin to exquisitely carved cameo glass.
Among those designed for special
use are street lamps and lanterns, pocket and footwarmer lamps.
Catherine Thuro, researcher, lecturer, writer and museum consultant in the field of
early lighting, has written
two books, ‘Oil
Lamps: The Kerosene Era in North
America’, which has been widely acclaimed and is now in its fifth printing, and ‘Oil
Lamps II: Glass Kerosene Lamps’.
The exhibition runs from May
9
– August 13, 1985, and has a related seminar on May
11th (details from Black Creek Pioneer Village, 1000 Murray Ross Parkway, North
York, Ontario, M3J
2P3). Parts of the collection will later be exhibited elsewhere
in America.
It would be nice if the light could likewise be shed in Europe!
A new guide to common methods of artificial lighting during the past 300 years has
been produced, mainly for
archaeologists, by E.I. Woodhead, C.
Sullivan & G. Gusset
called ” Lighting Devices in the National Reference Collection, Parks, Canada”,
1984, 86pp., 85 illus., price $6.60 outside Canada.
Order from the Canadian Govt.
Publishing Centre, Supply and Services, Hull, Quebec, Canada. Orders payable to the
Reciever General for Canada. Cat.no261-2/9-21E.
STUDIO GLASS EXHIBITIONS
1180 CENTIGRADE: Glass sculpture by West Midlands Artists.
This is an exhibition of work by Arlon Bayliss, Keith Brocklehurst, Liz Crowley,
Tessa Clegg, Keith Cummings, David Reekie and Jim Roddis.
No details of the
exhibits have been provided but we can be sure that they will be of customary high
standard.
Initially at Broadfield House, the exhibition runs at Stafford Art
Gallery until April 20; at Stoke City Museum June 1 – July 6; at Aspects, 3-5
Whitfield St. London, July 13 – August 10; at Hereford City Museum August 22 –
September 21; and at Helios Pictures, 2 Salisbury Rd. Moseley, Birmingham September
28 – October 26.
AMERICANS IN GLASS
The title may savour of prawns in aspic but that is far from the true situation for
although anything and everything may appear to go, and does, indeed include
‘Fishbones in Glass’, this exhibition of glass as an expressive sculptural medium
in its own right is the result of an exhaustive (the catalogue says exhausting and
is probably right!) review of over 1000 slides by 375 artists. Only 20 of the 73
works were by invited artists. The eight jurors came two from Germany, where the
exhibition is also to be. staged (in addition to Denmark, Holland, Switzerland,
France, Iceland and the U.K.) and six, including Bill Warmus (recently resigned as
Associate Curator
–
of
–
20th Century glass at the Corning Museum) from the U.S.A.
The whole project flowed from the advocacy and financial support of the Leigh
Yawkey Woodson Art Museum that, since 1978, has promoted interest in American
studio glass not just in the U.S.A but worldwide.
The 152 page catalogue, priced at $20, illustrates in full colour, A4 size, all the
exhibits together with a curriculum vitae of the artists and a short expos& by
each artist of his motivating influences. The fact that some of these are
incomprehensible – at least to me – leads me to conclude either that an impeccable
incomprehensibility is one way of achieving greatness or, more probably, that this
is an inevitable response to the inevitable question!.
I found more interesting
the interpretations of some of the works included in the Press Release and feel it
a pity that such interpretations could not have been included in the catalogue to
enhance appreciation of the work.
I would not attempt to describe any of them.
A feature of the exhibits is their size.
The catalogue gives this in undefined
units but if they are centimetres then they range from about a foot to a couple of
yards or more. The jurors note that submissions in flat glass were almost
completely rejected while a continuing reliance on Art Nouveau, Art Deco and
contemporary German influences remained painfully obvious.
The viewer must judge
for himself but I thought, looking at the pictures, that it is from such
pronouncements that new art movements spring.
Leaving aside the German takeover I
felt that there was no shortage of originality, frequently combined with an
exceptional degree of manipulative expertise and judgement in the use of primary
colours, muted tones and complex colour mixes.
Such art forms usually have no
obvious potential for commercial exploitation but the use of radio waves by Paul
Seide to excite, from a distance, colourful gaseous discharge phenomena within his
creation must surely lead to more practical applications.
This exhibition will
certainly delight and perhaps occasionally revolt but one thing is sure and that is
that it must be compulsory viewing for all those interested in the contemporary
studio glass scene. The American workers have unquestionably thrown down thu glove
to the rest of the world.
In the
U.K.
‘Americans in Glass’ will be on show only at the Manchester City
Gallery of Modern Art, Princess Street from May 24 – July 21, 1985.
Viewing timea
are Mon.-Sat. 10-6, Sun. 2-6.
GLASS CIRCLE MEETINGS
CURRENT THINKING ON THE CONSERVATION OF MEDIEVAL STAINED GLASS
By Professor Roy
–
Newton FSGT
Professor Newton began by demonstrating how early (12th century) stained glass
windows contained predominantly red and blue glass made from “pot metal” with the
colour right through.
By the 14th century the use of silver staining had extended
the range of colours to include yellow and green (by backing on blue).
The window
was constructed so that thick leading outlined the main features of the picture while
thinner leading separated details. The leading can thus provide useful pointers in
restoration work.
Fine details were achieved with brush-painted black enamels,
fired on.
Later, an alternative form of picture window was divided into large
rectangular panes with the picture painted in very fine detail in polychrome enamels.
The story content of one stained glass window could be high – a scene of the Fall
showed in 3 progressive stages the devil tempting Eve who is seen picking the apple
and handing it to Adam who is also seen eating it. Binoculars should be used to
study the detail in stained glass in cathedrals and will cause no offence.
The cause of loss of detail in a window may range from weathering over the centuries
to this year’s over-enthusiastic cleaning lady.
If the enamelling has gone but the
glasseis substantially sound, the position of the enamel may be determined because it
slightly eats into the glass. Although the depression caused is no more than half
the wavelength of light, not apparent of the naked eye, it may be visualized by
optical instruments, so facilitating restoration.
Weathering on the back of glass,
opposite regions of heavy painting, resulted when the glass painter matted the back
of the glass as well as the front to get the necessary intensity of colour,
Old glass is best protected by an outer window of modern glass but it was an
aesthetic problem that from the outside the appearance of the building was affected
and the theme of the window obscured.
This was overcome at York and Canterbury by
making duplicate leaded clear glass windows in which the main outlines of the subject
were depicted.
This breaks up undesirable reflections as well as indicating the
nature of the subject.
The main enemy of stained glass is slight moisture which
could cause condensation problems after double glazing.
This was avoided by
ventilating between the panes from outside (rather than from inside).
The cold,
outer, air contains less moisture and does not condense because the dewpoint
temperature is not reached.
With slow ventilation, through narrow channels in the
stone cills, residual heat in the stonework helps to warm the incoming air at night.
Possible problems from the so–called ‘greenhouse effect’ are riot a
danger because the
old glass, with a much higher iron and manganese content, already makes the medieval
glass much hotter than would be expected with modern glass.
Aesthetic considerations sometimes conflict with those for conservation.
For
example, should one provide the enamelled detail, such as a face, where the original
is unknown? This has been done at York Minster by an artist with a knowledge of
medieval drawing on new, dated glass panes and is much appreciated by the general
public.
The replaced blank pane is kept and can be reinserted in the window if
there is a change of policy at a
later date.
At
Canterbury, the policy is not to
insert reconstructed details but simply leave these areas blank.
A different
problem
arose
at Chartres Cathedral,
noted for its ‘heavenly blue’ light.
The light is due to the fact that while the blue glass was a
–
stable soda glass, the
other colours were of potash glass containing an excess of calcium.
This weathered
to form a crust on the
outside of the glass,
keeping out the light and obscuring the
detail.
Experimental cleaning of the potash glass successfully restored the detail
but, as light of all colours was now entering the cathedral, the ‘heavenly blue’
gloom was lost. – Objections led to
the cleaning programme
being abandoned.
Similar problems arise where a window has been broken at some tine past and
reassembled as a jumble of pieces, without regard for the original picture.
Reconstruction of the original is acceptable when the subject matter is known – the
arms of a shield, for example, but may cause uproar when the subject is pictorial
and, of necessity, more freely interpreted.
The speaker closed with pictures of the recent fire at York Minster. ExtensiVe fine
heat cracks were cause to the glass of the rose window. Experiments are currently
in train to find a slow-setting resin of suitable refractive index to stabilize and
obscure the damage. Other windows were found to be heavily coated with smoke but
otherwise unaffected.
Because of the bad weather, the turnout was only modest but a lively debate ensued.
Some purist conservationists demonstrated the art of ‘uproar’ by roundly condemning,
on ethical grounds, the sort of conservation being carried out at York. They also
specifically rejected any consideration of the views of the general public, whose
donations make it possible. No constructive alternatives emerged, however. The
temperature of a chilly evening having been raised a degree or two, Professor Newton
brought a fascinating evening to a topical close with a brief dissertation on ‘acid
rain’.
It has now been shown that this does not cause or accelerate damage to
glass, but only interacts with the products of previous decomposition (caused by
non-acid moisture).
If all rain were acid it could even be. good for future glass!
The meeting was held jointly with the London section of the Society for Glass
Technology at Guy’ Hospital Medical School (UMDS) by the kind permission of the
Secretary. The hosts were The SGT, Mr and Mrs Cyril Weedon, and David and Rosemary
Watts; as always, Rosemary’s catering efforts were greatly appreciated.
–
r ….,..101944$113110.
THOMAS BETTS – CUTTER AND GLASS SELLER – NEW EVIDENCE
By Alex Werner (Museum of London)
Betts died on January 7th, 1765, without leaving a. will.
A probate inventory of
his goods, chattels and credits was subsequently made and copies survive in the
Public Records Office in London. It took six appraisers eight days to draw up the
inventory which gives some idea of its length.
It includes Betts’ working tools,
stock in trade, household possessions, investments, leasehold estates and book
debts.
Betts had his engraving workshop located above and at the back of the Cockspur
Street shop.
The inventory lists all the engraving tools, as well as some
implements involved with constructing chandeliers, girandoles and other large
objects.
From 1756, Betts’ had a large waterpowered cutting workshop in Lewisham.
Again,
all the cutting machines, wheels and spindles are listed in the inventory. These
include “underhand mandrels and frames” as well as iron wheels for cutting.
In
the “Ware Room” glass objects awaited the attention of the cutter or were in the
process of being cut. The speaker than analysed certain terms such as ‘liqueur
glasses’ and ‘sugar plumbs’.
The layout of the Cockspur Street shop was then discussed, followed by a brief
survey of the stock in trade.
Most valuable were the branches, followed by
girandoles and ending up with over ten thousand wine glasses!
Two unusual pieceS
were examined in detail.
These were glass fountains and glass tonns, using
illustrative material from trade cards and a slide of a recently discovered blue
cut glass tonn – a barrel supported on’ a glass stand with metal fittings or a
cherub astride the top of the barrel.
An impressive list of 230 of his customers includes many aristocrats such as
Princess Amelia and the “Duke of York”.
It is clear the Betts had considerable
wealth and enjoyed a commensurate lifestyle with elaborate furnishings at his
Lewisham home.
(A.W.)
The meeting was held on March 19th, 1985, in the Lecture hall of the Royal
Entomological Society by the kind invitation of Mr D. Lanmon, Miss J. Shadel
Spillman and Mr L. Trickey.
– 5
–
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
In Appreciation of Gabriella Gros
The following letter from Dr Harwood Stevenson unfortunately missed the last issue.
Dear Madam and Sir,
The “News” boasts no correspondence column and space must be short. But
noticing that the next issue will be the thirtieth, ao less, may I be enboldened in
this note to express thanks, assuredly felt by all members, for the efforts put by
our Editors into producing this so valuably eclectic combing of Glass News for us
several times
,a year.
I am Yours gratefully,
Harwood Stevenson
I hear that Dr Stevenson has himself been laid up in hospital with heart trouble
and I am sure all members will join with me in sending our best wishes for a rapid
return to the best
–
Of health.
(D.C.W).
Appreciation from the Circle of Glass Engravers
I have also heard from Peter Dreiser to express appreciation of the interest,
enthusiasm and support Gabriella showed for the Society of Glass Engravers. She
rarely missed one of their exhibitions and her critical analysis of their skills
was always appreciated. Trying to convey in a written report the imagery and
achievements of an exhibition of engraving is a testing exercise, but Gabriella
always managed to get over the ideas in an interesting and often entertaining
manner.
It is another of her talents that will be sadly missed.
(D.C.W)
Resignation of Jo Marshall
Jo Marshall writes from her new address at Beaubush House Antiques, 95 Sandgate High Street, Folkstone, Kent, to say that as a result of lateral movement into the
antique trade she regretfully tenders her resignation to the Circle. Jo will be
missed at Circle meetings, at which she was a regular attender and gave invaluable
service as a provider of sandwiches at those venues where the catering is
difficult. Jo says that she will be delighted to see any Circle members who
happen to be passing through Sandgate.
At the moment, she is stocking ceramics
and furniture although she hopes to include glass in the future. We are pleased
to record our gratitude for all she has done for the Circle and wish her every
success in her new venture.
EXHIBITS FROM WORLD FAIRS 1851 – 1904
Jane Shadel Spillman writes with a request concerning an exhibition she in
preparing at Corning. for 1986.
Jane is looking for notable examples of glass
exhibited at any of the World’s Fairs from 1851 to 1904 but is particularly trying
to find the Morrison.Tazza and the Ailsa Jug, both of which were exhibited by
Dobson and Pearce at the London Exhibition of 1862. The Morrison Tazza, engraved
and with gold mounting decorated with turquoise, has not been seen since 1862, but
the Ailsa jug was sold at. Sotheby’s on February 20, 1975.
If any member can help with these or other exhibition pieces please either let no
know or write directly to Jane at the Corning Museum.
-6-
FREDERICK CARDER: PORTRAIT OF A GLASS1AKER
ee
This exhibition, devoted solely to the work of the brilliant and influential
Englishman who made Corning his home, will be on view April 20 through October 20,
1985, at the Corning Museum of Glass.
Frederick Carder (1863-1963) spent nearly 80 years of his century-long life
designing and making glass, and perfecting and,rediscoverieg.techliques. The
first part of his life was spent studying art and he eventually worked as a
designer for Stevens and Williams in Brierly Hill, near Stourhridge. In 1903 he
emigrated to the U.S.A. and founded the Steuben Glass Works at Corning, N.Y.
He
directed the firm for nearly 30 years and became world famous for his brilliantly
coloured glass: iridescent Aurenes, velvety Verre de Sole and fluid Intarsia (which
Carder considered his greatest achievement).
He lived long enough to see his
glass go, first of all., out of fashion and then become avidly sought by collectors.
The exhibition will
feature 170 pieces made or designed by Carder. It includes
several unique objects from his personal collection but most will comerfrbm the
–
Rockwell Museum, Corning,
N.Y., which displays the most comprehensive collection of
Carder glass in the world. Other pieces. will come from the Corning museum of
Glass and from private collections.
Paul V. Gardner, who worked.as a designer directly for
Carder and is a leading
-scholar on Cakder glass, is the guest curator of the exhibition. Some members may
recall the oustanding lecture he gave to the Circle on this topic some
rears
ago.
He is author of the 112 page catalogue, with 79 full colour and 4 black and white
illustrations, that will accompany the exhibition. The price is not yet available
but I may be able to obtain a 40% discount for a combined
order of ten or
more
copies.
Anyone interested please let. me know.
After closing in Corning, a selection of 100 pieces from the exhibition will tour
museums in the U.S.A., Japan and Europe.
It is hoped the exhibition will be shown
in the U.K. but venues have still to be arranged.
A supplementary exhibition entitled “Frederick Carder, His Life and Work” – a five
panel photographic display surveying Carder’s life and glassmaking career – will be
shown at the Rockwell Museum April. 20 through October 20.
THE CITY GLASS WORKS AND POTTERY By Michael T. Vaughan
This volume, a preliminary study of the factory that made the internationally
renowned ‘Clutha’ glass, is now available from the author for 5.00 per copy,
including p & p.
Write to 13, the Croft, Larkhall, ML9 lAX, Lanarkshire,
Scotland.
THE GLASS ART SOCIETY INC. ANNUAL CONFERENCE
This year the C,A.S annual conference will be held in New ‘Orleans from May 23-26.
The theme is IMagery, Decoration and Expression and glass artists, students,
collectors, dealers, scholars and all those interested in glass are invited to
attend.
An impressive list of speakers haS been lined up and the $100
registration fee includes a party with cocktails aboard the Mississippi steamboat,
Natchez.
Student,as well as hotel, accomodation is available.’ Anyone interested
write to G.A.S., P.O. Box 1364, Corning, N.Y. 14830.
Copies of the Journal reporting the proceedings of the 1984 conference are
available for $16.50 (inc.P+P): some earlier volumes are available at $11.00 each.