GLASS CiR„
NEWS
EDITORS
David Watts
27 Raydean Road
BARNET, Herts. EN51AN
John Towse
25-27 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3FH.
No. 34 March 1986
THE FRENCH CONNECTION: THE DECORATIVE GLASS OF JAMES A. JOBLING AND CO. OF
SUNDERLAND DURING THE 1930S,
By Kate Crowe
The story began with James Angus and Henry Greener’ who jointly owned the small
Wear Flint Glass Works in Trimdon St., Sunderland, opposite Hartley’s Wear Glass
Works – a much larger factory, famous for coloured window glass.
Angus and
Greener’s factory became known for pressed glass; production continued after Angus
died And Greener moved to larger premises at Back Alfred St., in 1873. Greener
died in 1882 and the firm, in financial difficulties, was taken over in 1885 by
James Angus Jobling, a Newcastle mineral merchant who supplied chemicals to the
glass trade. Jobling installed new equipment but further financial troubles led
him to appoint his nephew, Ernest Purser, as manager in 1902.
Purser, whose Anglo-Irish family was associated with brewing and Arthur
Guiness’s famous stout, was apprenticed in electrical engineeenng at C.An Parsons
in Newcastle.
His first step to revitalize the glassworks
to initiate an
intensive programme of capital redevelopment, the four old 9-pot furnaces being
replaced by seven 14-pot furnaces of latest design.
Semi-automatic presses and
gas-firing for the leers were also installed.
Progress continued after. the First World. War and Purser acquired the right to
manufacture and market the. new Pyrex ware in Gt Britain and the Empire excluding
Canada.
Coupled with vigorous marketing, this proved a stupendous success so that
by 1930 the factory occupied a 2-acre site, compared with the original half-acre,
and the original workforce of 100 had increased tenfold.
Only 10% of the production was flint glass, however, hand-gathered and
hand-pressed and, in consequence, expensive compared with foreign competition.
The main outlets were the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) and multiple
stores like Woolworths for whom ‘Weardale’, a competitor for the Czechoslovakian
‘Jacobean’, was produced.
The Pyrex patent expired in 1933 and, to maintain
sales
impetus, decisions were taken to produce light shades and coloured glass as well as
new Pyrex designs. The coloured glass followed the Greener tradition; his batch
notebooks listed formulae for opal, opaque green and blue, amber, golden yellow,
pink, yellow-green, New green, Blue Stone and copper ruby. One problem was
standardization of colour production and, to achieve this end, the raw materials
were subjected to quality analysis, making possible the produttion of unusual
shades such as Opalique, Jade, Pearl and Tortoiseshell, a
–
eiluiring complex batch
mixtures. Opalique probably derived from an ideatp
e
cOMpetewith Lalique and
Chance Bros. of Birmingham in the lighting market.
Attempts to negotiate
manufacture of Lalique and Sabino (a French lighting specialist) designs under
licence failed; Opalique was developed and named by Purser in 1935.
It was
particularly used for animal novelties – fish, birds etc. – as well as bowls; some
were signed ‘Jobling Opalique’ but many unsigned pieces have been confused with
Lalique’s productions. This is not surprising as the Company Secretary knew Paris
well, and the designs of many successful lines – Fircone, Flower, Bird, Tudor Rose
and Oyster Shell – all came from French artists. Plaster models were commissioned
from Mr Etienne Franckhauser, a notable modelmaker in Paris, who also worked for
Lalique and Sabino.
His original plaster model for a nude female survives; it
shows interesting departures from the final product, modified for the English
taste!
British mouldmakers, steeped in the tradition of cut glass, had no
experience of this kind of work.
The Company offered financial rewards for
British designs and two, Spider Webb and, possibly, Jazz Pattern – both geometric
designs- went into production.
In spite of vigorous (unprecedented) promotion the new art lines were less
successful than had been hoped and, in 1935, contributed no more than one third of
the flint glass output.
Attempts to enrole a new designer brought John Goss to
the firm.
Poor selling lines were discontinued and a programme of new designs
begun, several of which are known from registration numbers. World War Two
brought this brief and unique phase in English glass history almost to a close;
after the war two Opalique lighting bowls, Iris and Mermaid patterns, were brought
out but sales, initially buoyant, gradually declined and flint glass production
ceased in 1960.
The Meeting was held at the Artworkers Guild on February 20th, 1986, and the
hosts were Mr Hurran, Mr and Mrs Hobbe and Miss Worsley
A fine full-colour catalogue, of the recent exhibition of Jobling Decorative
Glass in the Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery, lists 62 registered designs and
another 17 from the Jobling catalogues. The illustrations allow identification
for the first time of many familiar designs and draw attention to novel products,
such as a cigarette box with an ash tray in the lid, a honey jar with tray and
spoon, salad servers and other items that many will not have seen before.
The
catalogue, produced with the assistance of the British American Arts Association,
the Corning Foundation and Corning Ltd., is a 60-page, A4 quality production by
Kate Crowe and John Baker. The Tyne & Wear County Council Graphics/Photography
Unit is to be particularly commended for the layout and artwork which
is
of a high
standard.
It is reasonably priced at £4.95 from Sunderland Museum or from
Broadfield House, Kinswinford, where the exhibition of 150 pieces is on show until
May 4th.
DCW
BROADFIELD HOUSE TO END ADMISSION CHARGE
From April 1st the admission charge of 75p is to be abolished. It was found to
be counter-productive to the general aim of advancing the interest and
understanding of the history of glassmaking in the area and the appreciation of old
glass.
The usual problem that the fees add up to a significant sum for family
entry meant that mum and the kids were often left in the car while dad took a quick
look round.
All that is now to end and Dudley Council are to be complimented on a
bold and wise decision at a time of financial stringency.
Of interest to
engraving buffs is the news that 16 of the best stipple- and 4 wheel-engraved
glasses from the Bradford collection will be on show at the museum from the
beginning of May or slightly earlier.
At the present time the technical problems
of displaying these outstanding pieces, by Wolff and others, to the greatest
advantage is being overcome.
This exhibition will certainly continue until the
end of 1986 and perhaps beyond.
GLASS ON SHOW IN LONDON
Spring, in the Capital, brings plenty of interest with an exhibition of
‘Necklaces and Headpieces in Glass’ by Wendy Ramshaw at ‘Aspects’, April 1-26.
The Craft Shop at the V & A has an exhibition of ‘Pate de Verre’ by Circle member,
Diana Hobson, until April 10; also at the V & A, there is an exhibition of ‘Swedish
Glass’ by Ann Warff, April 1-30?.
‘In Line’ follows the Scandanavian theme with
‘Selected One-off Pieces by Orrefors and Resta’, April 7-26; ‘One Off’ is showing
°
Glass Furniture by Danny Lane’, April 5-15; and Liberty’s has a ‘Sale of Selected
Work by members of the British Artists in Glass’, April 10-30.
In more architectural vein, at the Building Centre in Store St. you can see
‘Recent Commissions of Stained Glass’ by Goddard and Gibbs in conjunction with
Hartley, Wood & Co. March 24-April 12. The Royal Institute of British Architects,
Florence Hall, has ‘Photographs and Pieces of Contemporary English and German
Stained Glass’, April 8-18, while from April 7-10 there is an International
Conference on ‘A Glass Erivironment: Directions in Craftsmanship, Architecture and
Design ‘ at the Royal College of Art.
In the words of the old Music Hall song “…and then if there’s nothing better
to do the rest of the day’s your own!”.
CANDLESTICK
1599
COMPORT
2593
CIGARETTE BOX
2598
CRINOLINE LADY
2596 7
3.
JAMES A
JO BT 1NG
AND CO
Items from the James A. Jobling catalogue.
SALE NEWS
Sotheby’s February 10th, 1986
The first glass sale of the year saw about 150 lots of English drinking glasses
come under the hammer. The rarest by far was the ‘Perry Amen glass’. This is
engraved with the Old Pretender’s initials and crown, flanked by the words of the
Jacobite anthem. At the lowest point of the bowl the word ‘AMEN’ is engraved.
Its provenance is impeccable; it was in the Perry collection, then in the Anderson
collection followed by the Fox collection. It was also exhibited at the Glasgow
Archaeological Society on 17th November, 1905.
It sold for
£14300,
a modest
advance on the last ‘Amen’ glass sold at Sotheby’s just over a year ago for £13750.
A Jacobite wine-glass on a knopped air-twist stem, engraved with the usual rose
and two buds, symbolizing the Old Pretender and his two sons, but with the rare
motto ‘TURNO TEMPUS EDIT’ (see the article in GC News No.25 for explanation}, sold
for £4070, against the pre-sale estimate of £1500-£2000. To further Jacobite
portrait firing glasses made £2860 and £3080 respectively in spite of lower
pre-sale estimates.
By and large, most of the best pieces went for more than the estimate, while
the fairly ordinary items went at, or a little below, the estimates.
Single
glasses sold noticably better than lots consisting of two or more.
It is a pity
that pressures are allowed to force cataloguers to insist on a minimum value of
about £200 per lot.
One wonders if a marginally higher commission rate on single
item lots below £200 value might not be in the interests of both the vendor and the
auction house. It would certainly give more encouragement to the budding, and
sometimes impecunious collector.
Continental glass was slightly less popular, some major items not reaching the
reserve price. One notable exception was a very fine signed Samuel Mohn beaker,
sold to a well-known Austrian dealer.
This beaker was painted in transparent
enamel, depicting a view of Meissen with the river Elbe in the foreground.
It
fetched £16500 (estimate £8000-£12000).
Glass paperweights in the lower price categories sold at around estimates.
The sale totalled £221000 with 12% of the lots remaining unsold.
One is greatly handicapped in the accurate reporting of auction sales by the
particular reluctance of auctioneers to state clearly, and at the time of the
auction, that an item remains unsold.
No purpose seems to be served by this,
especially as no secret is made of any percentage remaining unsold.
Perhaps we
might see some improvement in the future.
J.T.
CELERY
PICKLE JAR
VASE 82
Items from the James A. Jobling catalogue.
BOOKS BOOKS, BOOKS!
Members with an eye to a bargain will have found plenty to tempt them during the National
Book Sale, now a regular post-Christmas event. Works by Circle members. Robert Charleston
and Barbara Morris and the late Hugh Wakefield all appeared, briefly, with a third off the
full price, as did the 2nd edn. of ‘Irish Glass’.
The Illustrated Guide to Glass by Felice
Mehlman and the Glass Volume in the Arthur Negus series, at £3.50 each were on offer for
little more than one third of the original price and are becoming available in the
specialist ‘Remaindered ‘ bookshops. Also remaindered, from America, were ‘English Cameo
Glass’ by Ray and Lee Grover at £15.95 (originally $50) and ‘The Glass of Desire Christian:
Ghost for Galls’ by Jules S. Traub for £5.999 (originally $39.50). This last is an
entertainingly written piece of glass detetection producing evidence that because of the
demands for Galle’s cameo products much of the production was taken over by Christian at the
Meisenthal factory in Germany. The evidence that Christian produced glass to Gall6 designs
and bearing the Galls signature is overwhelming. The evidence that Christian actually
designed original pieces in the Gall style and put Gall6’s signature on them is, in my
view, purely inferential.
He clearly had to know about Gene’s methods and techniques to
fulfill his contract and, at the time his contract with Calle ended, very similar glasses
appear that may bear either the Galls or the Meisenthal factory signature.
Other pieces
occur with the Christian or factory signature that are in the GallV style but not known to
occur with the Galls signature. This shows that Christian continued production in the
style with which he had become familiar and was certainly designing his own pieces at that
stage, but there is no evidence that Galls and Christian enjoyed anything other than the most agreeable of working relations.
It may, however, give a new significante’to the
early pieces that Galle specifically marked as being his own work. Galls learned his
original enamelling skills at the Meisenthal factory and the two men possibly knew each
other from an early age.
It is unreasonable to assume that Christian made no contribution
whatever to the technological developments of such complex pieces when those from the post
Galls period are of such high technical standard. Whatever interpretation, you place upon the
evidence this lavishly illustrated volume undoubtedly provides a good read and a stimulating
insight into the commercial practice of the age.
DCW
PERFUME AND FLAGONS By Edmund Launert
Travels abroad brought me in contact with this volume written in German by our Glass Circle
member.
It relates the history of scent-bottles and containers of all sorts, as well as
the evolution and use of scents in all walks of life – cosmetic, medicinal and religeous –
over the centuries.
This book makes for very entertaining reading, whilst giving a wealth of information on
a subject of wide interest to a broad section of the public, relating, as it does, not only
to the development of scent and scent bottles in precious, semi-precious and not sc precious
materials, but going into more unusual aspects of the subject, such as burial objects etc.
It tells how, apart from gold, silver, jewels, porcelain, glass and enamel also wood was
used to preserve scent; how pomanders, perfumed gloves and other rare and unusual containers
were made.
But primarily, of course, Dr Launert concentrates on scent bottles.
He takes us from
the Renaissance, when it became fashionable for people of standing to carry their own scent
bottles, through the 17th century with its Venetian glass-makers, then the 18th century and
the coming of porcelain, when liquid perfume was largely replacing the solid and cream kind,
into the 19th century.
Then mass production began to put glass and porcelain bottles
within financial reach of a much wider section of the public – but with artists like Lalique
and Marinot also creating unique pieces as scent containers, bringing us into the present
century with Art Deco etc.
The book has 212 pages with 364 black and white and 49 coloured illustrations. The
collection Schwarzkopf in Steinhorst and that in the Museum Furkunst and Gewerbe in Hambutg
are mentioned in some detail. Dr Launert obtained his doctorate at the University of
Munich; since 1959 he has been working in the Scientific branch of the British Civil
Service.
J.T.
NEW RELEASES FROM THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENTTUBLTSHING CENTRE_
GLASS OF THE BRITISH MILITARY ca. 1755-1820 By Olive R. Jones
–
and E. Ann Smith.
Glassware use by the British military in Canada from C. 1755-1820 reflects domestic
activities rather than military ones.
The glass, primarily bottles and tableware
associated with drinking, eating and health and personal care, is discussed in a catalogue
based on historical documents and archeological remains and illustrated by both artifact
photographs and perio&drawings..
Fragile and not essential, glassware was owned largely
by officers and officers’ messes.
pp. 134, b/w illus. 137, 1985. Price $7.95 in Canada ($9.55 Canadian funds outside Canada).
Cat No. R61-2/9-28E.
GLASS BEADS: The Levin Catalogue of Mid-19th Century Beads; A Sample Book of 19th Century
Venetian Beads; A Guide to the Description and Classification of Glass Beads.
By Karlis Karklins
The Levin Catalogue is composed of two similar collections of glass and stone beads
assembled by Moses Lewin Levin, a London bead merchant in business from 1830-1913. A total
of 621 beads of 128 varieties make up the collections, dated 1851-69.
Although the beads
are recorded as having been used in the African trade, several have counterparts in North
American sites, thereby making the catalogue potentially valuable for those studying North
American trade beads.
Housed in the Museum of Mankind, London, the manufacturer’s or dealer’s sample book of
Venetian beads contains 16 tray-like pages which display 380 varieties of wound, drawn and
mould-pressed glass beads, as well as a non-glass bead and three cabochons.
Purportedly
originating’in Venice in 1704, although most, if not all, of the beads are probably
Venetian-made, the collection can be attributed to the second half of the 19th century.
The guide provides information relevant to the classification of glass beads from
archaeological sites in Canada.
It is partly based on and intended to be used with ‘A
Classification System for Glass Beads for the use of Field Archaeologists’ by Kenneth and
Martih Kidd.
It includes an evaluation of several bead classification schemes, an overview
of bead-Manufacturing techniques, a descriptive list of the various classes and types of
beads recorded to date, an explanation of the physical attributes of a bead, and some
interpretive material.
Information relevant to entering glass beads in the Parks Canada
artifact data base system is also provided.
This is a revised edition of the work
originally published in 1982.
pp.123, 123 illus. 1985. Cat. No. R61-2/9-23E. Price $6.25 in Canada ($7.50 canadian funds,
outside Canada)
THE PARKS CANADA GLASS GLOSSARY FOR THE DESCRIPTION OF CONTAINERS, TABLEWARE, FLATGLASS AND
CLOSURES
By Olive Jones and Catherine Sullivan with George L. Miller, E. Ann Smith, Jane E. Harris
and Kevin Lunn.
The glossary definesterms used in catalogue records and reports by Parks Canada personnel
ofur the description of glass containers, tableware, flat glass and closures from
archaeological sites.
Included in the glossary are suggested functional classifications for glass artifacts,
as well as discussions of glass composition, manufacturing techniques and their date ranges,
decorative techniques and motifs.
Shape definitions and suggested measurements have been
given for the various container parts.
Tableware forms and usages are defined.
The
various types of closures used on containers and tableware in the 18th, 19th and 20th
centuries are discussed, as is the description and dating of window glass.
pp. 184, 152 illus., index.1985. Cat. No. R64-162-1985E, Price $12.25 ($14.70, Canadian
funds outside Canada)
Order all books from the ,Canadian Govt. Publishing Centre, Supply and Services Canada, Hull,
Quebec, Canada K1A 0S9 quoting title and Cat No. Make cheques payable to Receiver General
for Canada.
WATER SET
4050
7
REFLECTIONS OF VENICE: The Influence of Venetian Glass in Victorian England 1840-1900
This Exhibition, examining the influence of Venice on glass manufacture in Victorian England,
is on show at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester from March 14 – May 10, 1936.
Exhibits come from a number of museums and galleries throughout the country and include
items from lesser known collections such as that of Manchester Polytechnic and a series of
pieces by James Powell from Wightwick Manor, West Midlands.
Examples of 19th century Venetian glass in the exhibition include a chandelier, from the
Castle Museum, Nottingham, which has been restored and reassembled especially for the
exhibition.
A bowl made by the Salviati Company displays another facet of Venetian
imagination. Two seaegreen, winged horses rise from the body of the bowl, formed by the
retorti technique, which has aventurine inclusions; it is supported on a stem with applied
dolphins. It still retains the Company’s label with the price £3-3-0 paid by Blackburn
Museum and Art Gallery, probably in the 1880s.
The 19th century saw a revival of interest in early Venetian glass in England.
Manufacturers, such as James Powell of Whitefriars, were influenced by the seventeenth
century Venetian originals.
Powell produced table-services in the Venetian manner in a
characteristic clear green glass.
His delicate, thinly-blown table-services convey the
feeling of the hand-made products of Venice and provide a contrast to some of the highly
decorated Victorian glass on display.
Although glass-makers of the Arts and Crafts movement, like Powell, emphasized the
outline and proportions of the Venetian originals, the majority of the factories catered for
popular taste with highly ornamental glass.
Examples of this type of glass – such as a
flamboyant convolvulus vase, produced in the late nineteenth century, have been borrowed for
the exhibition from Broadfield House.
The exhibition, organised by the Postgraduate Course in Art Gallery and Museum Studies of
the University of Manchester, provides a unique opportunity to see, side by side, a wide
range of English and Venetian glass of the nineteenth century.
A 20-page catalogue, A4 size with numerous black and white photos, a list of exhibits and
a resume of the techniques used in their manufacture, is available for £1.50.
EXHIBITIONS AND MEETINGS ABROAD
AMERICA
Jacksonville, NC. Onslow County Arts Council. ‘Good Glass: An Invitational Exhibition with 30
American Glass Artists’. March 5-April 1.
Lathrup Village, MI. ’14th Annual National Glass Show’. April 1-30.
Pittsburgh, PA. Western Pennsylvania Historical Society Museum, ‘2nd Annual National Class
Seminar’ organized by the Pittsburgh Chapter, National Early American Glass Club. April
25-26.
Los Angeles, CA. GlaSs Art Society Annual Conference, ‘The invisible Preeence: Light in
Glass’. This is a fareranginig exploration of the effect of light on glass, both artistic and
architectural.
(Lnarticularly liked the lecture title ‘How and When to Steal Ideas’!). At
the Ambassador Hotel, April 16-19.
FRANCE
Also exploring light at MgCon, Sonora, Centre Culturel, ‘La Lumire dans tous see *gtats’,
organized by La Compagnie Claude Malric. March 15-April 12.
Paris, Galerie Marie Zisswiller, ‘Bijoux de verre’, March 4-April 30.
AUSTRALIA
Wollongong, Wollongong City Arts Gallery, ‘3rd National Glass Biennial’, Feb 3-March 30.
CANADA
Toronto, Harbourfront, ‘Canadian Glass Conference ’86’, April 3-6.
Toronto, Ontario Crafts Council, ‘Glass Concious: Contemporary Stained Glass’, April 2-30.
GLASS EXHIBITION IN VIENNA
As far as the serious collector of continental
.
glass is concerned the publication
by Michael Kovacek of his Catalogue of Exhibition Glass is fully on a par with the
Krug and Biemann catalogues of recent years.
The exhibition, which not unnaturally deals mostly4ith
,
the glass of Central
Europe, was held in Vienna last Novem
b
er and December when 450 glasses dating from
1600-1930 were on offer. Of these, 260
.
were illustrated in the cataloguewith
detailed descriptions and provenance.
The English edition of the catalogue has 428 pages.with 260 superior colour
photographs, 29 in black and white. Thirteen articles serve to introduce the
different glass groups, and provide a general survey of the relevant period.
The descriptions of the display range from the ‘Formglasses’ of the 17th and
18th centuries, mainly Tyrolean spirit flasks, through Venetian glasses, to the
enamelled Humpen and specimens of the early baroque period. One chapter deals
with the glass of the baroque period generally, and gives special mention to superb
engraved specimens by artists such as Gottfreid Spiller, Christian Gottfreid
Schneider and Martin Winter. Two Dutch stippled and diamond-point engraved
glasses are included in the next section. Johann Joseph Mildner, famous glass
artist of Lower Austria, is represented by 5 glasses.
Next comes glasses with transparent enamel painting from the workshops of Mohn
and Kothgasser. Apart from some topographical views of Vienna, Berlin and Milan,
a glass decorated by Anton Kothgasser himself is shown (No. 84).
The engravings of the 19th century on both coloured and colourless glasses are
represented by some very famous artists.
For example, a glass with a caricature
of Prince Meternich and Vienna’s Lord Mayor Czapka on his flight from Vienna after
the revolution seems of great historical significance.
A special group, not unknown in England, are the Hyalith, Lithyalin and ‘stone’
glasses of the Beidermeier period produced mainly in the workshop of Freidrich
Egermann of Count Buquoy in Bohemia – at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire – and also by J. Zich and Carl Stolzle of Lower Austria.
Another group contains excellent examples of BaCcarat, St Louis and Clichy
paperweights from the period around 1845-1860 as well as about 50 Bohemian weights.
The famous house of J & L Lobmeyer in Vienna is well represented by several
partly painted, partly engraved decorative glass objects produced mainly in the
second half of the 19th century.
A particular group of previously little known items mentioned in the catalogue
are the original glasses painted by Hans Schleissmann which show caricatures and
various scenes of daily life in Vienna.
Also illustrated and described are 40 examples from the glass house of Johann
Loetz Witwe, Galls, Daum Tiffany and others of the ‘Art Nouveau’ period.
All in
all this is an important publication worthy of shelf-space to collectors with an
interest in European Art-glass. The catalogue is available from Glasgalerie
Michael Kovacek, 1010 Wein, Stallburg gasse 2, Austria,; PRICE £30.
J.T.
NEW MEMBERS OF. THE CIRCLE
The Glass Circle is pleased to welcome the following new members.
Mr Brian E. Moody, St Albans, Herts.
Mr J. Delafaille,
Manchester
Mrs Jenny Thomson Kingston, Surrey, and Penrith.